Negros Panaad Festival Dances A Reflection of Negrenses’ Cultural Identity

Negrense cultural identity has been slowly eroded with the dynamics of virtual colonial cultural influences through social media. This sad state prompted the creation and organization of some cultural festival that will reawaken the cultural awareness and consciousness of every Negrense. This study aimed to analyze Negros Panaad festival dances to unearth the embedded cultural contexts which encapsulate the Negrenses’ Cultural Identity. The descriptive-narrative approach was employed to gather different dance characteristics, including historical background/context, movement description, costumes,
accessories, props/dance implements, and music/rhythm. To examine the participants’ understanding of the dance, its relation to everyday life activities, and worldview, the focused group discussion, and direct observation were conducted. Ten choreographers, ten dancers, five barangay officials, and five old-aged
key informants, with a total of 30, served as participants of the study coming from different local government units joining the Panaad festival dances. Significant findings revealed that these dance characteristics manifested from festival dances were solid shreds of evidence of the different cultural contexts which rightfully mirrors the rootedness and the cultural undertone of Negrenses as a person in general. This suggests that understanding different cultural contexts lead to an understanding of the Negrenses’ Cultural Identity.

Keywords: Festival Dances, Dance Characteristics, Cultural Context, Cultural Identity