Several Filipino community members and Philippine foreign service posts around the world joined the online cultural workshop today called “Move with Malong,” which not only featured the malong as a cultural artifact in Southern Philippines, but also included an immersive Kappa Malong Malong traditional dance with step-by-step instructions.
The malong is a simple tubular piece of cloth that symbolizes Maranao ethnic culture and manners. It is highly functional, because while it serves primarily as a skirt for women and a lower body garment for men, it can also be used as a blanket, a sunshade, a bed sheet, and even as a “dressing room”!
The malong has also been called a cloth of life, because a newborn is wrapped in a malong, and, as the child grows older, this piece of cloth becomes a part of daily life; in death, the body is also wrapped with this cloth.
This innovative cultural event was organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA). The Philippine Embassy in Bangladesh was also joined by the High Commission of Maldives in Dhaka and Ms. Pooja Sengupta of Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre.
More information about the malong and the Kappa Malong Malong dance is available through this link: https://dfa.gov.ph/.../29298-dfa-special-online-screening-1
