STARS OF THE SHOW: Mel Anderson, left, Merlyn Longitsch, centre, and Nelida Bolton at the ILPG. Photo by Najeer Feroke
By Anand Holla
For anyone living in Qatar, the vivacious exuberance of the Filipino community is inescapable. That very happy-go-lucky energy is what a bunch of Filipina ladies channeled at the colourful Philippines Special at the International Ladies’ Potluck Group (ILPG) meet yesterday.
The massive gathering of womenfolk at the Al Jazi Gardens Clubhouse in West Bay was upbeat as ever. On the back of last month’s feisty Mexican culture carnival by the Mexican community of Qatar, ILPG members — who come from more than 65 countries — convened for a Filipino fiesta yesterday morning.
The celebrations began with everyone rising in respect for the Filipino national anthem, Lupang Hinirang. Soon, Nelida Bolton, who hosted the event, gave the audience a primer on the history, geography, culture and heritage, of a nation that consists of 7,107 islands and has a population of around 103 million. For the uninitiated, Philippines is broadly categorised into three distinct regions; Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, each of which has its own culture and dialects.
“Philippines has two official languages — English and Filipino — but other dialects such as Cebuano, Tagalog and Visaya are widely spoken as well,” Bolton told the audience, “Philippines is the seventh most populated country in Asia, and 12th in the world.” Bolton also parted with interesting nuggets of her country’s history and even explained the composition of the Filipino flag, or Watawat in Tagalog.
The first of the three diverse yet enchanting dance performances was Singkil. Said to be a dance of Muslim royalty, it is marked by a gradual rise in tempo as the ladies step in and out of rhythmically clashing bamboo poles. “The dancers expertly weave through crisscrossed bamboos, the ladies dressed in elegant Muslim costumes waving great big fans and scarfs, and the men flipping brightly-coloured handkerchiefs right and left,” Nelida explained.
Next up was a show of Carinosa, a Philippine folk dance of Hispanic origin, pulled off with élan by seven ladies wearing Maria Clara outfits (the charming traditional gown gets its name from Maria Clara, the mestiza protagonist of the national epic Noli me Tangere, which was written in 1890 by Filipino national hero José Rizal).
“The graceful movements of this dance reflect affection and charm. The dance is accompanied by the use of fans and/or handkerchiefs,” Bolton said, before proceeding to familiarise the women with more of Philippines, like its national symbols. “Our national tree is Narra tree, which is known for its durability, strength and sturdiness. The Philippine eagle is our national bird. However, the species is considered to be critically endangered,” she pointed out.
“Sampaguita is the national flower of the Philippines, and it is used to symbolise purity, simplicity, humility and strength, while the Philippine Pearl is our national gem,” Bolton continued, “Arnis is a traditional Philippine martial art, similar to fencing. Carabao is used for farming, and is the Philippine version of an ox. Bangus or Milkfish is the Philippines’ national fish, which we usually prepare by deep-frying or marinating, and mango is our national fruit.”
After learning some more about the country whose expat population in Qatar is a sizeable 188,000, the ILPG members were treated to a display of the popular traditional dance form of Tinikling. Originated in Leyte among the Visayan islands in Central Philippines, the dance was inspired by the movement of the Tikling bird (a local bird) as it walks between grass stems, runs over tree branches or dodges bamboo traps set by rice farmers, Bolton explained.
“Dancers imitate the Tikling bird’s legendary grace and speed by skillfully maneuvering between large bamboo poles. This involves two people beating, tapping, and sliding bamboo poles on the ground and against each other in coordination with one or more dancers who step over and in between the poles in a dance,” she said, before throwing open the venue for another visual spectacle.
Among the more well-known modern romantic devices is the serenade. The Philippine Serenade, then, is a musical greeting performed for a lover, friend, person of rank or other person to be honoured. “The classic serenade would be from a lover to his love through a window, to be performed on a quiet, pleasant evening,” said Bolton.
Usually sung solo by the person serenading along on an instrument like a guitar or a lute, this practice still lives on. As Orlan Mendoza and Janno Asis of Music House broke into a romantic ditty, the Filipina ladies, turned up in traditional attire, presented a mini fashion show.
Jeanette Ocampo, who had topped her ensemble with a beautiful yellow organic abaca (species of banana native to Philippines) shawl, said, “This serves as a modern Filipina costume. These days, women wear this attire on special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and parties.”
The icing on the sartorial cake was Jane Daly’s exquisite gown made from the most unassuming ingredient — corn. “This gown symbolises the very country itself with its Filipiniana outline, which is the national dress of the Philippines. The various embellishments woven to it are made of corn husks, abaca twines and bamboo which represents the hardworking Filipinos and how well-adapted their hands are in working through every detail of the dress,” Daly said.
“The whole dress showcases how artistic Filipinos can be and how they can make great use of something that others would consider as trash and turn it into something as stunning as this gown,” she said.
Most of the dresses displayed at the fashion show had to be custom-made from tailors here in Doha. “We wanted to use different fabrics and get the exact frills, for instance, for the Maria Clara dresses,” Bolton said, “And we feel so proud to be able to showcase our culture through this event.”
The successful show is a result of several hours of preparation. Starting from late January, the Filipina women began gathering people, props and resources to put together the programme. Mel Anderson, the chief organiser of the event said, “All the ladies in the community of Filipino ILPG members have done a fantastic job in doing everything they can to make this happen.”
Pointing at two stalls packed with Filipino arts and crafts, Anderson said, “Here, we have handicrafts, clothes and jewellery. The handbags are made of native abaca leaves while the South Sea pearls are from Philippines and India.”
It was a fitting atmosphere for showing off a culturescape as vibrant as that of Philippines. “We were expecting 120 women,” Anderson shared, “However, once everybody began talking about what we were planning, some women even visited us during our practice sessions. Finally, we ended up having 147 ladies here today.”
Most of the 16 Filipina women, who brought out the show, are housewives tending to their small children at home. “There are a lot of Filipino communities in Qatar but we are a group of friends who casually and regularly meet up to chat over coffee,” Bolton said.
Anderson summed up the event’s spirit by reiterating what most people already know. “Filipinos are very hard-working people. We are also a happy lot. We have this camaraderie that makes us want to work together,” she said.
As the ladies got busy closing an entertaining morning with a scrumptious Filipino lunch, Shriani Burley, co-president of ILPG, thanked the sponsors: Torch Hotel, Mercure Grand Hotel, Radisson Blu, Sushi Minto, Crowne Plaza, Bellizza Salon, Sawsdee Spa, 4U, Qatar International Nursery, Caramel, Travola, Hyundai Construction and Snap TV.
The ILPG has been a torchbearer for expat ladies in Qatar, boasting of over 400 members from more than 65 countries. Last year, ILPG celebrated its 10th anniversary.
