H. Arlo Nimmo Papers - Songs, Kalangan Kalitan, Box 9

The papers of H. Arlo Nimmo document his field research among the Bajau (also known as Sama Dilaut) in Tawi-Tawi Province in the southern Philippines in 1963, 1965-1967, 1977, 1982, and 1997. The collection consists of correspondence, field journals, censuses, genealogies, kinship charts, transcripts of songs, unpublished manuscripts, card files, photographs, sound recordings, and maps. Nimmo's initial research focused on social change, but he collected data about other aspects of Bajau culture, including social organization, kinship, religion, fishing, boats, boat-building, art, and music. Help us transcribe the songs that Nimmo recorded and translated to make this material searchable and more accessible for researchers around the world. The kalangan kalitan, or "shark song," is sung almost exclusively by Bajau men, while fishing- alone or in pairs- for sharks in the open sea. While fishing, the men shake coconut shell-rattles in the water as they murmer these songs to attract the shark. The songs are meant to flatter the sharks to attract them to the hooks. Please note that this material may be in English and/or other languages of the Malayo-Polynesian language family.