Harana ug Pamalaye

The night is quiet and tender. All nature seems to pause as if to pay homage to the nascent moon slowly rising by the mountain top. There is magic in the air and romance too, as two young men stealthily make their way towards a modest house among a klatch of coconut trees. Then amidst the stillness, the strum of a guitar was heard while a voice softly whispered a “balak” about love. Then softly too the first note of a love song floats  in the air. “Samtang ikaw nagpau-raray ... sa maanindot mong katulogon, awitan ko ikaw...”

As the song breaks the stillness of the night, a window is opened and the faint light inside reveals a girl bashfully looking down at the singer, a smile on her face.

This is the scenario of the harana, a traditional Cebuano way of telling a girl, “I love you.” It’s a beautiful way of winning a woman’s heart, expressive as it is of tenderness and sacrifice on the part of the suitor and suggestive of his high regard and esteem of the object of his love.

Unfortunately, this is no longer practiced by contemporary Cebuanos, especially the urban dwellers. With the onslaught of modernity with regards to man-woman relationship, the approached now is more direct and impulse driven, and of course, devoid of the thrill that used to be associated with winning a girl’s heart. As a result, love-inspired relationship is rather casual and tentative and changing a partner is not unusual.

Like the harana, the pamalaye or marriage dialogue, is also losing its traditional mooring. As tradition dictates, this affair used to be a dramatized encounter between two “dakong tawo”, each representing the prospective bride and groom. The event follows the following steps: First, the man and the woman must have agreed to tie the knot, so to speak. Second, their parents must have consented to the union. Third, the families of the lovers must have already agreed on the date of the pamalaye.

What really happens during the pamalaye? First of course is the verbal joust in balak, then the negotiation as to the amount and kind of “bugay” or dowry. Once this is settled the date of the wedding is agreed, after which the banqueting follows, charged of course, to the prospective groom’s family.

The harana and the pamalaye are what we will show-case in the Kinaiyang Sugbuanon come March 15 this year.