Part 1: “Si Inday Mapuea-puea”

The Aklanon “kaeantahon” or folk songs exalt the Aklanon ideals and values, like the ideal beauty, respect for elders and native customs, hard work, patience, fortitude, patriotism and the sense of community.

One Aklanon folk song tells of an ideal beauty:

Photo from Makatang Ligaw’s Profile Pictures.

SI INDAY MAPUEA-PUEA

Si Inday mapuea-puea, 

Angay gid sa baeay nga tabla, 

Tumindog, humiya-hiya, 

Ma’t bueak it katueanga.

Si Inday maputi-puti,

Angay gid sa baeay nga tapi;

Tumindog, kumiri-kiri, 

Ma’t bueak it kamantigi. 

Si Inday maitom-itom, 

Angay gid sa baeay nga butong;

Tumindog, maghiyom-hiyom, 

Ma’t bueak it katsubong.

OH INDAY SO FAIR, SO FAIR

Oh Inday so fair, so fair,

Fit for a house made of hard wood;

When she stands and laughs,

She looks like a hibiscus flower.

Oh Inday so white, so white,

Fit for a house made of fly wood;

When she stands and dances,

She looks likes the fair touch-me-nots.

Oh Inday so brown, so brown,

Fit for a house made of bamboo;

When she stands and smiles,

She looks likes the katsubong blossom.

(Source: Beato A. de la Cruz, 1958)



In the folk song, the woman’s desirable characteristics are described with the thought of making a house suited for her kind of beauty, which means the man is courting the woman with the intention of marrying her and making a house for both of them. Nowadays, courtship does not necessarily mean marriage in the near future, or that the man will make a house for the woman he is courting.


(To be continued...)



Excerpts from “Virtues and Vices in Aklanon Proverbs, Idiomatic Expressions and Folk Songs” by Alexander de Juan. Paper read during the 23rd Conference on West Visayan History and Culture, sponsored by the U.P. Visayas Center for West Visayan Studies, held on Nov. 15-16, 2012 at Camiña Bahay na Bato, Arevalo, Iloilo City.