Kah Sidang Travels and Tours

13/09/2024

25/01/2024

Our official entry is ENTRY 25.
Please react "heart" on the actual picture.

A treasured fabric, the Siyabit, is functionally used in various ways. To accentuate the beautiful "pangalay" of the Tausug and the exotic "igal" of the Sama, the siyabit is often used by women as veil, belt, and shawls to showcase a more conservative and regal traditional dance routine.

The "igal kabkab" (fan dance) choreographed with "langka budjang" (martial art dance for women) is a performance that symbolizes women empowerment especially when the fan is a woven "siyabit" that entangles the colorful history of the diverse people of the Sulu archipelago.

2024 TELArawan Photography Contest

Entry 25: Nursida D. Jaluddin
Mindanao State University
Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography

The Beat The Siyabit

Siyabit is the Tausug handwoven square piece of cloth with intricate and varied geometric designs. Many believe that the siyabit design is the Tausug version of the Hindu mandala.

In Sulu, a geometric ukkil is called siyabit, which means “to hook,” an act of weaving angular design. The siyabit has four identical squares in its inner corners representing the elements of fire, air, water, and earth. It also has four identical rectangles surrounding the central square, which is the biggest and has the most intricate design consisting of a zigzag, lines, triangles, lozenges, sw****ka, and cross patterns. The center motif connects the four corners and produces imaginary axes, making the whole design one, corresponding to the Islamic concept of Tawhid or Unity.

17/09/2023

MSU TCTO Sama Studies Center from Tawi-Tawi, Philippines strongly supports "Paglinang", a 15th Year Anniversary Cultural Presentation of the Parangal Dance Company on October 7, 2023.
Ms. Nursida "Kah Sidang" Diamson Jaluddin, expresses this support to the event through an Igal routine.

Parangal and SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District present “Paglinang”
Parangal’s 15th Anniversary production
October 7, 2023 2PM & 7PM
Blueshield of California Theater at YBCA in San Francisco, CA

Paglinang is a Tagalog term that refers to “cultivation” and “development:” a reflection of their ongoing research and engagement with Filipino Indigenous Communities, as well as their efforts in building relationships; nurturing communities, culture bearers, artists, and leaders; and growing alongside them all.

Mobile Videography by Jaudi J. Muctar

13/09/2023

12/09/2023

𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗧𝗖𝗧𝗢’𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀

Sama Studies Center Director Altan Ishmael is one of the speakers at the Arts Education Forum of the Arts Education Programs of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) on September 6-7 at the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez (CCP Black Box) Theater, CCP Complex in Pasay City.

The CCP, through its Arts Education Department, brought together arts educators’ sector - leaders, teachers, teaching artists, advocates and parents – to understand the role of arts education in addressing global issues.

With the theme "Helping Children Navigate Global Challenges", the talks focused on arts education strategies: social values, thinking outside the box, problem solving, critical thinking, resilience and stress tolerance.

Dir. Ishmael’s talk on “Calibrating Values, Cultivating Grit” engaged on the Sama Studies Center and TCTO’s efforts in teaching students and emphasizing sustainability and ocean consciousness and raising the awareness to explore indigenous knowledge and eco-friendly practices and solutions instead of ignoring environmental challenges. Reports on different culture and the arts related projects in collaboration with different offices and agencies were featured: Sama Festival; Igal Sama Boot Camp; Project Sahaya and Project Adjung with the Gender and Development Office; Kahawa Unspoken Poetry Sessions: a student-led initiative by the WikaSAMAhan ALAB; Timpalak Leleng with the NCCA and SED Community High School; a CHED-SALIKHA funded research with University of the Philippines NSRI; and many others.

The talk also featured a live performance from Sama Studies staff, Ms. Nursida D. Jaluddin, a BARMM-awarded cultural master and an Igal Guru.