Ye Gas Kafun is probably the most famous singer of the Tboli people, and her singing style is of striking beauty. She is from Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. The video recording was made on November 10, 2004, inside the house of the late hegelung master Mâ Fil Angkoy.
A Tboli friend gave me the following summary of the improvised lyrics: "The recurring theme of the song is about a visit by an American (not necessarily American, could be any white race as Filipinos collectively refer to 'whites' as American). [In this case, it refers to the person making the video, and that's me.] The guest gave them bread and looks rich and so while they are glad to welcome him, they are also saddened by his imminent return to his world without them. Their laughter is brought about by the word tendanan which is double entendre, literally it means placing one's leg over someone's, in this case it alludes to a desire to flirt by touching. In total, they are charmed by the visit by someone who comes from afar, who breaks bread with them and of the loneliness of parting. There is a lingering sadness to the song. The laughters masked a sadness over some kind of separation."
There is a change of pitch at 6:37. If you will listen carefully to her singing from the beginning, you will notice that her pitch becomes lower and lower, during her performance. At a certain point, I think she simply starts to feel uncomfortable because of the low tones, and she is just "fixing the problem" by changing to a higher pitch... Anyway, there is nothing unusual about it. I recorded a good number of epic chants that usually go on for a couple of hours. The singers will usually sing for about 2-5 minutes, then take a break and drink something, before going on. When they start again, they will usually do so at a different pitch than before, depending on what is comfortable for them, at that very moment. I think, in this video here, that's just what the singer is doing, even though there was no interruption.
At the end of the video, Mâ Fil, the owner of the house starts playing the hegelung, the boat lute of the Tboli. This playing, however, is not connected to the singing. It is not meant as an instrumental accompaniment. Mâ Fil just starts playing because he is in the mood to do so… In that situation, it was obvious that the hegelung would overpower the voice of the singer. After I faded out the video, the hegelung playing really started, and the singer stopped...
This video was taken in 2004 by German ethnomusicologist Hans Brandeis. All rights reserved.