Myth, Mimesis And Magic in the Music of the T'boli, Philippines

by Manolete Mora

Why is musical mimesis so much a part of the cultural world of indigenous Filipinos? What does it tell us about their musical sensibilities and their social world? This book addresses these issues through a study of the relations between musical poetics, myth, and magic in the musical and spiritual lives of T'boli men and women from the highlands of southwestern Mindanao. Manolete Mora's study shows that musical mimesis is an intrinsic part of the cultural process of interpreting, articulating, making, and remaking the world. More significantly, it suggests that musical mimesis is intimately linked to a moral universe that is grounded in reciprocity. Musical mimesis is a way of establishing contact, fusion and identity with the other, and this is possible because of the existence of concepts of knowledge and being that are fundamentally different from our own.

This book embraces wide-ranging ethnographic materials and issues that will be of interest to the musicologist, anthropologist, and student of Southeast Asian folklore and cross-cultural aesthetics.

242 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mountain Learning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, written in a clear and lively manner, and full of interesting stories. I usually find it difficult to read books which are studies published by universities; the "academic" approach, style and writing of such books usually send me to Snoozeville immediately. This one is different. I felt like the author enjoyed his research and in doing so was able to share with us on the page what captured his imagination about the T'bolis. It didn't seem like a "substantial compliance" piece in fulfillment of a postgrad requirement, or just to add another book to his list of publications. The author was able to illustrate the magic of T'boli culture and say something about it in a clear and interesting way. I felt like I learned something new and important while reading it; definitely worth the read.

[Theresa calpotura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into T'boli culture through music, and T'boli music through culture. I learned so much about Filipino heritage through this book.