Pagkawin: The Traditional Wedding Ceremony among the Sama-Tabawan

In the continuing celebration of the #NationalArtsMonth and love month, the #NationalMuseumPH sheds light on the pagkawin practice among the Sama-Tabawan in the island of Tabawan in Tawi-Tawi province, a traditional wedding ceremony of the Muslims in southern Mindanao. As a community affair, the pagkawin is made festive by the colorful garbs of the wedding attendees, the dancing of the igal (traditional dance), and the pag-usung—a wedding procession practiced only by one lineage, and thus only seen in Tabawan Island.  

The Sama-Tabawan, known to be in commune with the elements and nature, have their rituals, including the pagkawin, guided by the phases of the moon. They usually hold the pagkawin during the full moon, creating a festive atmosphere as the wedding celebration carries on into the night. 

A day before the pagkawin, the bride of the family receives in their home the song (dowry) which may consist of the wedding ring, Qur’an, wedding gowns, bridal shoes, cash, tepo (mats), as well as sugar, packs of cigarettes, panyam (rice cake), and ja (crunchy noodle rice roll). After which, the imams, community elders, and the parents of the couple conduct the pagduwa ‘a pasalamat (thanksgiving prayer).

The bridal carriage tradition called pag-usung however is unique to the Pua family, who descended from the ancestral lineage of previous datus (noble chiefs) and dayang-dayang (princesses). In the pag-usung, the bride is carried and paraded on a kantil (wooden bed) decorated with luhul (canopy) and intricate ukil carvings. Elders performing the igal and playing the agung (bossed gong) join the bride’s entourage from her ancestral house to her maternal house where the groom waits for the wedding ceremony. If the groom is the eldest son of the Pua family, a kantil in the shape of a sea vessel decorated with colorful flags is used. According to their tradition, the pag-usung is carried out to prevent misfortune, sickness, and miscarriage. 

As night descends, igal performances—such as igal pangasik, a traditional courtship dance where the man imitating a rooster attracts and pursues the woman—are performed by the relatives of the bride and groom. Underneath the full moon, they dance with rapid footsteps, shrugging of shoulders, and swaying of arms along with the rhythmic beats of the tagunggu’an ensemble. This part of the celebration becomes intimate since the igal performances can only be viewed by relatives and invited friends of the bride and groom. 

To learn more about the Sama-Tabawan culture, you may watch this virtual tour of the “Tabawan: The Island of Pre-Islamic Rituals and Traditional Practices in Tawi-Tawi” Photo Exhibition, which includes a section on the pagkawin, featured at the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila on May 15, 2021, until January 3, 2022.

#Pagkawin
#SamaTabawan
#TawiTawi
#TraditionalWeddingCeremony
Text by the NMP Ethnology Division and Paul Quiambao

Photo courtesy of Mr. Paul Quiambao (2019)

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