The Samayaan as Public Liminality

Abstract

This paper was originally intended as part of the critical preface of Series 6 of the Ulahingan Epic. Asa religious observance and a special feast, the Samayaan has always been one of the contexts in which the Ulahingan, the epic recounting the heroic exploits of the Manobo ancestors, is chanted. Based largely on personal observations of the actual Samayaan celebration, this paper focuses on the central significance of this occasion to the life of the Arumanen-Manobos of the Libungan area. Although the discussion in this paper concentrates on the present observance of the festival and its accompanying rituals, a brief historical background of the traditional celebration has been provided to trace the extent of continuity as well as of change in the nature and character of the festival over time. More than mere description, however, this paper not only explores the Samayaan as performance but critically examines the transformations in both the structure and symbolic processes and meanings of the festival and the factors underlying such transformations.