BRIDGING THE GAP
The Ilonggo-Bisaya komposo through time
One of the most durable of the Ilonggo forms of literary expressions is the komposo. The komposo, as the name suggests, is a composition, in this case a musical one.
The komposo, as it is commonly known today, can be traced back to the Spanish period, although the pre-colonial Filipinos had a similar past-time prior to colonization. For example, the Mangyans of Mindoro are still doing it today, composing love songs on segments of green bamboo and singing it while on a courtship. During the Spanish times, it was used as a tool for oral mass communication. Every barangay or town had, in the average, two to three manugkomposo who would sing out in public places, usually the plaza, important events to be commemorated or the latest "news". Initially, it was a narrative sung in a repetitive melody. Later, adapting and responding to the changing situations and needs of a developing Ilonggo-Bisaya society, it expanded into a non-narrative content.
Among the popular subjects or themes of komposo during the Spanish period were municipal ordinances, town life as opposed to life in the hinterlands, the virtues of Catholicism, the brutalities of the Moro invasions, and the heroism of folk legendary heroes. A good example of the last genre is the komposo on Montor, the folk hero of the Iloilo phase of the Philippine Revolution.
The American occupation of the Philippines ushered in a new era which considerably transformed the Ilonggo-Bisaya society and way of life. The exploits of local leaders were still a popular subject, as in the case of the komposo on Quintin Salas, hero of the Filipino-American War. But, certainly, new themes brought about by a new Western culture and a new morality reflected conflicts between the old and the young. In this regard, according to a paper written by Alicia Tan-Gonzales (1990), the manugkomposo became the legitimate speakers for the old culture and values.
The Japanese interlude, on its part, brought more komposo. The war gathered together the poor and the rich in the hills for protection and safety. This abnormal situation made the komposo very popular as a free means of entertainment. During peaceful nights when everyone was assured of being free from the threats of Japanese presence or raids, komposos would flow lyrically from the manugkomposo's lips. Other than the entertaining ones, horrifying komposos of massacres, pillage and atrocities came out in this period of terror and deprivation.
Interestingly, the end of the Japanese occupation up to about the eighties witnessed a resumption of the Ilonggo-Bisaya folk's resistance to the new morality brought about by the earlier Americanization process. Thus, among the subjects taken in the komposo were the youth's insubordination, the changing attitudes of young women, western fashion, and the idealization of rural women because of their embodiment of valued tradition (Gonzales 1990).
The period 1950s to the 1960s was further characterized by the proliferation of komposos bearing political contents. Election campaign strategists discovered one effective way of communicating with the electorate by using the komposo. This was the case, for example, of a very popular komposo for the candidacy of the late Pres. Ramon Magsaysay.
The seventies up to the eighties, on the other hand, brought to the surface propaganda komposos, especially pertaining to the many programs of the Martial Law regime. The nineties and beyond speak of love, violence, death, infidelity, the plight of overseas workers, the changes in the cultural landscape, as well as the human need for justice.
It can be said, therefore, that whatever the subject or theme is, the komposo has always reflected historical and cultural realities and changes through time. Significantly, the Ilonggo-Bisaya manugkomposo, regardless of what he/she sings, is often amicable and non-confrontational. Maybe, this is a reflection of his or her reputation as an endearing person, cautious of the feelings of other people. This will perhaps explain why he/she always asks for "dispensasyon" for himself/herself at the end of the komposo.