The Arts

There are always so many wonderful and exciting things happening at our museum. This is the place to find out about the arts of Alonzo Saclag. Alonzo Saclag's works are a national treasure, which is why it is hard to find most of them online. Here are a few of Saclag's works.

Greetings and welcome to Alonzo's Artwork! We are delighted to have you here and excited to share his passion for creating one-of-a-kind art pieces that will inspire and enhance your life.

Welcome
to Alonzo's Artworks

TONGALI

The tongali is a four-holed nose flute made up of a long bamboo tube, closed at one end by the node in which the blowing hole is burnt. The flute has three finger holes. The blowing hole is placed under an angle the nose and the player gently blows into the tube. This instrument is from the Northern Philippines and played by the Kalinga and other people of Luzon. The tongali is one of the few nose flutes in the world that is still actively taught, thanks to the work of Jose Maceda at the University of the Philippines and the ongoing effects of the music department of UP Quezon It is one of the numerous traditional instruments that students can study at UP. There are stories from this region that say that the nose flute was used to help rice grow when it was young, as the rice was attracted to the soft sounds of the flute, and would grow to put its ear above the water to hear it better.

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GANGSA

The gong, or gangsa in the local dialect, is a single hand-held smooth-surfaced gong with a narrow rim. It comes in various sizes and metal components and is beaten with a padded stick. A set of gangsa, which is played one gong per musician, consists of gangsa tuned to different notes, depending on regional or local cultural preferences. The number of gangsa in a set varies with availability, and depends on the tradition of a particular ethnic group of the Luzon Cordillera: Kalinga, Ifugao, Bontoc, etc. The beating also depends on the purpose why the gongs are brought out and played. The beating of the gongs in a feast also signifies nobility and thanksgiving for important gatherings such as weddings, family reunions, healing of the sick or even during the final rites of a burial or recognition of an important person in the village.

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BUNGKAKA

A bungkaka, also known as the bamboo buzzer, is a percussion instrument (idiophone) made out of bamboo, common in numerous indigenous tribes around the Philippines such as the Ifugao, Kalinga, and Ibaloi. The instrument is constructed from a length of bamboo with a node at the bottom end. The upper half is shaped such that there are two tongues facing each other, while the bottom end acts as a resonator chamber

PALDONG

The paldong is a traditional lip-valley flute of the Kalinga tribes in the Philippines. The paldong is made of bamboo, its upper edge is cut away obliquely from the backside, and then cut away slightly from the frontside. The player's lower lip is placed against the cut-away surface. The paldong is open at both ends, with a total of four finger holes: three in front, and one at the back. The melodies played on the lip- valley flute are mostly improvisatory. When given titles, the titles describe what the music is trying to simulate such as the chirping of a bird, the cry of an eagle, the buzz of a wasp, etc. It is a solo instrument, usually used by men for serenades or courting women, or merely for leisure and to pass the time away.

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