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criticism
The
Moro-Moro in Perspective
by Rustica
C. Carpio
WHEN
WE THINK of folk forms, we cannot dissociate them from
the customs, traditions, beliefs, rituals, and even
superstitions of a people. One folk form is the moro-moro
which has flourished since 1650. It is believed that
the moro-moro is an offshoot of a chivalric-heroic
poem called the awit and a legendary religious
poem called the corrido that had swept the country
as early as 1610 up to the beginning of the twentieth
century. Very reminiscent of the Spanish metrical romances,
the moro-moro tells of the loves and brilliant
deeds and adventures of king and queens, of princes
and princesses, of counts and dukes. It also relates
of giants, tigers, lions, bears, serpents, dragons,
angels, saints, and devils. Often tinged with supernatural
and miraculous forces, it may present poisons, magic
rings, birds that drop messages, people who get enchanted
in the forest. The hero is expected to emerge victorious
despite all obstacles and to risk his life for the hand
of his lady love. It is said that once, at a presentation
in the Visayas, spectacular devices like Roman candles,
rockets, sparklers, and even bombs were employed to
show the supernatural powers of some giant. However,
despite all these, the giant still lost in the fight.
The
Mohammedan Filipino, now called Moro, had been
named after the Moors, and since the play usually deals
with the struggle between the Christians (usually Catholics)
and the non-Christians (almost always the Muslim), the
play got its name, moro-moro.
Played
Outdoors
Moro-moro
is performed not necessarily for the mere entertainment
of the people, but specially to celebrate the town or
barrio fiesta in honor of the patron saint. The Spanish
friars between the sixteenth century and the early part
of the seventh century contributed much in popularizing
this form.
The
moro-moro is usually performed on an outdoor
stage. The actors’ entrances and exits are stylized,
the gestures and movements broad and exaggerated, and
the poetic lines and verses recited in declamatory,
sing-song tone, with religious adherence to rhythm and
intonation. Experienced actors not infrequently use
slurs and exceptionally high pitch even as, at times,
they improvise or ad lib lines that are not originally
found in the play.
Specially
in the Visayas, a stage may be permanently constructed
for each new production. There, one finds stages bigger
than those in Luzon. One sees an assortment of materials
in the making of the makeshift stage – nipa palm
shingles for roof and walls, coconut trunks for beams,
wooden pieces for floor, bamboo running horizontally
to serve as supporting structure at the back of the
platform.
The
regions vary in their ways of presenting moro-moro.
In Luzon, specially in the Tagalog and Ilocano regions,
permanent background which contains doorways is used;
each doorway has a name to identify the place or kingdom
it leads to. In the Visayas, on the other hand, the
change of scenery is shown by a change of talon
(backdrop or curtain), often embellished with colorful
paintings, and which is rolled up or drawn to the side.
A
moro-moro may start with an invocation to God
or to the Virgin Mary, and may also sing praise to the
patron saint being honored. Then, as the play starts,
it presents the characters to the audience in either
of the following methods. The characters sing in chorus
and profess their dedication to the audience and to
the performance. They may be identified one by one
in the opening poetry and their roles described. The
characters may be made to march around the stage to
martial music supplied by a brass or string band.
Normally,
the actors move in a stylized way. Their entrances
and exits are characterized by a slow, formal march
around the stage. They may also make a formal bow to
the audience until they reach their assigned places,
a cue for the band to stop playing the march whether
it is finished or not.
Dueling,
an ever-present factor, is very stylized, too. Hardly
is there a moro-moro play that is ever completed
without any clash of arms. In fact, the word moro-moro
itself connotes fighting. The two opposing factions
exchange heated words after which battle music and thence
mime-dance with sweeping of weapons ensue. Fencing,
done in rhythmic strokes, characteristics of clock-and-dagger
performances, begins first with a warm-up and reaches
its climax. The sound of steel swords then vanishes;
the fighting is over; the dialogue then resumes again.
Marathon
Show
Moro-moro
has remained unchanged, basically. A story may be finished
in three nights’ presentation running for five
to six hours each night. In certain places, it is staged
in the mornings, while elsewhere, it is shown in the
afternoons. Because of its marathon length (the longest
presentation is known to have lasted 12 days), it is
rather difficult for the players to memorize all their
lines. Thus, the audience is apt to see the prompter,
who in many cases is also author-director of the play,
on the stage dictating the sequences almost line by
line.
At
times, an opening is bored down-stage near the edge
of the stage and the prompter sits there, hidden from
the audience by a colored covering that shields him
from view. And, because of its length again, the moro-moro
script is very seldom printed. Very often, only a single
script is made, and this does not always stand the tests
and calamities wrought by time and weather. Many times,
authorship is anonymous.
The
dramatis personae almost always come from the poor and
the middle-class families. It seems that those from
the well-to-do and educated groups, specially girls,
do not participate. They frown upon the art as perhaps
their parents more than doubly so.
Some
of the troupes performing are quite professional and
experienced, and have been doing this job from year
to year. The most noted of these groups comes from
the barrio of San Dionisio, in Parañaque, Rizal. The
legend goes that San Dionisio, the patron saint of the
barrio, a martyr of the Catholic Church who was beheaded
in the Middle Ages while preaching the gospel, refuses
to have anything aside from a moro-moro to celebrate
his feast. If this is not done so, there would be rain
or inclement weather or perhaps poor harvest in the
coming season. On this group’s staging of one
moro-moro alone, some P15,000 is spent on customes,
stage props, rehearsal expenses including food of participants,
fees, and other items. Rehearsals for a production
on a grandeous scale last for at least six months.
Costumes
The
costumes worn may be lavish or simple, depending upon
the budget and the material available. But almost always,
there is the display of flashy and loud-colored attire.
In many cases, the male Christians sport pants with
blue stripes, and carry themselves in a manner which
spells dignity. The Moros wear red-striped pants.
Obviously, the Christians are dressed more elegantly
– with sequins, beads, ribbons, buttons, plumes.
The king dons long trousers, displays the crown and
all the regalia befitting a royalty. The Christian
queen appears in white or sky blue gown shorter than
that of the queen. Both male and female royalties usually
wear a cape that covers the back, the one worn by the
female being longer than what the male dons. If the
princess is a Moro, she may wear pink or bright red.
A fan is often carried by the female participants on
the stage and diadems and coronets adorn their hair
for realistic effects.
A
jester supplies the laughter element and, as in Greek
plays, he throws asides that send the audience to rollicking
guffaws. Children await his appearance with enthusiasm
and his presence on the stage parries their drowsiness
in the middle of the evening.
Essentially
of religious character, the moro-moro does have
social implications. It may also unfold stories that
revolve around some medieval, legendary, or historical
figures. Its special inclination to themes on love,
religious devotion, and heroic and noble deeds is very
evident. Affluent in aphorisms, metaphors, and hyperboles,
its use of archaic words and high-flown dialogues still
pervades. The language generally used is Tagalog, although
many moro-moro plays are also written in the
languages or dialects of the different regions of their
origin.
Not
a few moro-moro is presented the whole year round
in different parts of the country. It is interesting
to note that the lines of each player are done in different
handwriting in the script to help individual players
to follow the drama.
While
the zarzuela, a musical, almost operatic, melodramatic
play is more popular in the towns and in a few cities,
and despite the threats of extinction which the films,
tv sets, amateur singing contests, and combo ensembles
so cunningly present, the moro-moro shows promise
that it might thrive for some time yet. It has been
gaining momentum and is being revived by cultural groups
in the cities and in the suburbs of the big cities as
well.
From
Life is a Stage (UST Publishing House, 2001)
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