Crossing Borders: the Transmigration and Transplantation of the Philippine Kulintang Music outside Mindanao

Abstract

In this essay, I describe the transition of Mindanao kulintang music from a local tradition to a musical artform emblematic of Philippine ethnic and cultural identity among practitioners outside Mindanao. I will look at two parallel streams of the transplantation of this music: one, to the academic centers in Manila and the other, to the Filipino migrant communities in the West coast of North America. In particular, I will discuss the contribution of ethnomusicologists as facilitators of this transplantation as well as that of culture bearers who transitioned to careers as teachers of the music to non-Mindanaon students.