Pangalay (also known asDaling-Daling[1] orMengalai[2] inSabah)[3] is the traditional "fingernail" dance of theTausūg people of theSulu Archipelago[4] and eastern coastBajau of Sabah.[3][5][6]
The dance has a similarity to classicalBalinese andThai dances,[7][8] and involves the movements of the shoulders, elbows, and wrists[9]
ThePangalay is predominantly performed during weddings or other festive events.[4] The male equivalent of thePangalay is thePangasik and features more martial movements, while a pangalay that features both a male and female dancer is calledPangiluk.[10]
The original concept of thePangalay is based on the pre-Islamic andBuddhist[11] concept of male and female celestial angels (Sanskrit:Vidhyadhari,Tausug:Biddadari) common as characters in other Southeast Asian dances.[citation needed]
NeighbouringSama-Bajau peoples in the Philippines call this type of dance,Umaral orIgal, and they sometimes use bamboo castanets as substitutes for long fingernails.[9]
A variant of the dance calledPakiring is practiced by the people ofMindanao, Sulu and Sabah. The dance emphasizes the sideways swaying movement of the hips (kiring-kiring).[12]
A traditional song calledKiriring Pakiriring often accompanied the pakiring dance. The lyrics of the song are in theSama language and are thought to have originated fromSimunul, where the language is spoken.
A song based on the dance became widely popular nationwide in thePhilippines when it was released in 1998 by Filipinocover band Gaya Band under the titleDayang Dayang (literally "princess of the first degree") after the song's chorus. The track first appeared on their albumBest Of Tunog Hataw (Mega Dance Hits in Tagalog Version) and then as part of thecompilation album titledSayaw Pinoy released in 2000 throughDyna Records.[13][14] Before this, the identity of the singer, its authenticity as the original and the language it was sung in remained a matter of debate for almost two decades, with speculations claiming that the singer wasMalaysian orTausug, and that the lyrics were seemingly gibberish. But in 2024, thesinger-songwriter of the original version was finally identified as Nur-Ainun Pangilan, known by herstage name Hainun and is aSama Dilaut singer from the island municipality ofSitangkai inTawi-Tawi. She first recorded the song in 1996 for a Malaysian recording company inSabah. The lyrics are in her native Sama Dilaut language and were apparently made up on the spot. In her song, she describes the dance moves of her husband Al who was with her during the recording session, mentioned in the line "Lahawla ngigal ngigal si Al" ("Lahawla, Al is dancing"). The actual title of the song on the originalcassette tape wasDumba Dumba, and is apparently a Malaysian translation of Samakiring-kiring.[15][16]
Accompanied by the rhythm of music and dance of the Bajau ethnic group, which isigal-igal ormengalai dance.
This dance is not the traditional dance of theBajau community in the Semporna District, rather it is introduced by theSuluk people of theMindanao Islands. The growing interaction between Bajau and Suluk communities causing the dance also becoming the traditional dance for the Bajau community living in Semporna. The wordDaling-daling comes from the English word ofdarling which means lover. The dance becomes an entertainment at certain occasions with exchange of poem between male and female dancers.
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