| Background / Content | The enchanting island of Bohol holds no secrets. It is the merriest musical people under the Visayan sun. To visit Bohol is to visit music-land where people just can’t pass a day without dancing, Singing or strumming the guitar. In the small village of Lubak which boasts of the biggest stone church in the whole of Bohol, Iive a people who at one tip of the hat sing-dance the Balitaw, sway to the Kuratsa and boisterously leap to the Sinulog. Their favorite is he KURADANG where several couples dance and gyrate in imitation of hen and rooster in love play. The couples exert every means to out do each other in creating many movements as they can to impress their audience. This contest like attitude carries on through the dance. In a wedding the bride and groom performs the Kuradang, they are expected to have practiced and mastered unique steps so as not to fall short of people’s expectations. From the start to the finish this high-spirited dance sees the groom chasing the elusive bride eliciting laughter and teasing especially when the groom lifts the bridal gown in a teasing manner. Kiss stealing adds more laughter and fun. An important part of the Kuradang is where attending relatives and friends pin money bills on the newlyweds, groom relatives to the bride and bride relatives to the groom. The Kuradang goes on for as long as there are money bills and coins coming. This is the crowd’s gesture of leading the newlyweds into a prosperous life. |
