Ang harana o serenata[1] ay ang awit o tugtugin na isinasagawa isang gabi mula sa

labas ng tahanan ng taong pinararangalan o nililigawan. Karaniwan itong ginagampanan ng

isang lalaking manliligaw sa may ibaba ng bintana ng bahay ng kaniyang babaeng
nililigawan. Iniaalay niya ang tugtugin at awit para sa kaniyang sinisinta, nang sa gayon
mapagwagian niya ang puso ng sinusuyo at iniibig. Karaniwan itong nagaganap sa
mga lalawigan. Madalas ding sinasaliwan ng tugtugin mula sa isang gitara ang
kumakantang tinigng lalaking mangingibig.

Harana is an old Filipino courtship tradition of serenading women. It is mostly

practiced in rural areas and small towns. The man, usually accompanied by his close friends,
goes to the house of the woman he is courting and plays music and sings love songs to her.

TRADITIONAL HARANA SONG

Variation

A variation of the harana is called tapat, which is practiced in small towns in Ilocos.
This variant involves the usual serenading by the man, but the lady also answers in song. The
reply usually hints that the man has to court her for a long time. The man counters with an
even more passionate song, and the exchange continues until the pair come to an
understanding. Similar to this is the Maranao tubad-tubad, where the repartee is in verse
rather than in song.

TRADITIONAL HARANA SONG

Although any song can be used for a harana, there are some that are popular for the
specific purpose of serenading. Examples of these songs are "Walay Angay", "Ay Kalisud",
"No Duaduaem Pay", "Silayan", "Alaala Kita", Bituing Marikit", and "O Ilaw".

ORIGIN

The harana shows strong Spanish influences, as the rhythm of the songs usually
performed for the serenade are derived from the Spanish tango or habanera, albeit the tempo
for harana songs are much slower.
Isang lalaking nanghaharana bagaman mataas pa ang araw. Sinusuyo niya ang isang
babaeng ibig maging kasintahan, habang kapiling ang mga kaibigang kababaihan ng
binibini……

The traditional dalagang Pilipina (Filipina maiden) is shy and secretive about her real
feelings for a suitor and denies it even though she is really in love with the man.

TUKSUHAN

Tuksuhan lang (just teasing) is the usual term associated with pairing off potential couples in
Filipino culture. This is common among teenagers and young adults. It is a way of matching
people who may have mutual admiration or affection for each other. It may end up in a
romance or avoidance of each other if the situation becomes embarrassing for both
individuals.

Tuksuhan (teasing--and a girl's reaction to it) is a means for 'feeling out' a woman's attitude
about an admirer or suitor. If the denial is vehement and the girl starts avoiding the boy, then
he gets the message that his desire to pursue her is hopeless. The advantage of this is that he
does not get embarrassed because he has not started courting the girl in earnest. As in most
Asian cultures, Filipinos avoid losing face. Basted (from English busted) is the Tagalog slang
for someone who fails to reach 'first base' in courting a girl because she does not have any
feelings for him to begin with.

However, if the girl 'encourages' her suitor (either by being nice to him or not getting angry
with the 'teasers'), then the man can court in earnest and the tuksuhan eventually ends. The
courtship then has entered a 'serious' stage, and the romance begins.

A man who is unable to express his affection to a woman (who may have the same feelings
for him) is called a torpe (stupid), dungo (extremely shy), or simply duwag (coward). To
call a man torpe means he does not know how to court a girl, is playing innocent, or does not
know she also has an affection for him.

If a man is torpe, he needs a tulay (bridge)--anyone who is a mutual friend of him and the
girl he loves--who then conveys to the girl his affection for her. It is also a way of 'testing
the waters' so to speak. If the boy realizes that the girl does not have feelings for him, he will
then not push through with the courtship, thus saving face.

Some guys are afraid of their love being turned down by the girl. In Tagalog, a guy whose
love has been turned down by the girl is called sawi (romantically sad), basted (busted), or
simply labless (loveless). ..

LIGAWAN

Panliligaw or ligawan are the Tagalog terms for courtship, which in some parts of the
Tagalog-speaking regions is synonymous with pandidiga or digahan (from Spanish diga, 'to
say, express'). Manliligaw is the one who courts a girl; nililigawan is the one who is being
courted.

In Philippine culture, courtship is far more subdued and indirect unlike in some Western
societies. A man who is interested in courting a woman has to be discreet and friendly at
first, in order not to be seen as too presko or mayabang (aggressive or too presumptuous).
Friendly dates are often the starting point, often with a group of other friends. Later, couples
may go out on their own, but this is still to be done discreetly. If the couple has decided to
come out in the open about their romance, they will tell their family and friends as well.

In the Philippines, if a man wants to be taken seriously by a woman, he has to visit the latter's
family and introduce himself formally to the parents of the girl. It is rather inappropriate to
court a woman and formalize the relationship without informing the parents of the girl. It is
always expected that the guy must show his face to the girl's family. And if a guy wants to be
acceptable to the girl's family, he has to give pasalubong (gifts) every time he drops by her
family's house. It is said that in the Philippines, courting a Filipina means courting her
family as well.

In courting a Filipina, the metaphor often used is that of playing baseball. The man is said to
reach 'first base' if the girl accepts his proposal to go out on a date for the first time.
Thereafter, going out on several dates is like reaching the second and third bases. A 'home-
run' is one where the girl formally accepts the man's love, and they
become magkasintahan(from sinta, love), a term for boyfriend-girlfriend.

During the old times and in the rural areas of the Philippines, Filipino men would
make harana (serenade) the women at night and sing songs of love and affection. This is
basically a Spanish influence. The man is usually accompanied by his close friends who
provide moral support for the guy, apart from singing with him.

Filipino women are expected to be pakipot (playing hard to get) because it is seen as an
appropriate behavior in a courtship dance. By being pakipot, the girl tells the man that he
has to work hard to win her love. It is also one way by which the Filipina will be able to
measure the sincerity of her admirer. Some courtships could last years before the woman
accepts the man's love.

A traditional dalagang Pilipina (Filipinpa maiden) is someone who is mahinhin (modest,

shy, with good upbringing, well-mannered) and does not show her admirer that she is also in
love with him immediately. She is also not supposed to go out on a date with several men.
The opposite of mahinhin is malandi (flirt), which is taboo in Filipino culture as far as
courtship is concerned.

After a long courtship, if the couple later decide to get married, there is the Filipino tradition
of pamamanhikan (from panik, to go up the stairs of the house), where the man and his
parents visit the woman's family and ask for her parents blessings to marry their daughter. It
is also an occasion for the parents of the woman to get to know the parents of the man.

During pamamanhikan, the man and his parents bring some pasalubong (gifts). It is also at
this time that the wedding date is formally set, and the couple become engaged to get
married.

TAMPUHAN

The Tagalog term tampo has no English equivalent. Magtampo is usually translated as 'to
sulk', but it does not quite mean that. 'Sulk' seems to have a negative meaning which is not
expressed in magtampo. It is a way of withdrawing, of expressing hurt feelings in a culture
where outright expression of anger is discouraged. For example, if a child who feels hurt or
neglected may show tampo by withdrawing from the group, refusing to eat, and resisting
expressions of affection such as touching or kissing by the members of the family. A woman
may also show tampo if she feels jealous or neglected by her beloved. Tampuhan is
basically a lovers' quarrel, often manifested in total silent treatment or not speaking to each
other.

The person who is nagtatampo expects to be aamuin or cajoled out of the feeling of being
unhappy or left out. Parents usually let a child give way to tampo before he/she is cajoled to
stop feeling hurt.

Usually, tampo in Filipino culture is manifested in non-verbal ways, such as not talking to
other people, keeping to one's self, being unusually quiet, not joining friends in group
activities, not joining family outing, or simply locking one's self in his or her room.
SOME LEARNINGS:

"Mahal kita, mahal kita, hindi ito bola."

The line literally means "I love you, I love you, I am not joking." Bola
means ball, as in basketball. To "make bola," a patent and peculiar English
Tagalog statement, derives from Tagalog: e.g. Binobola mo lang ako,
which implies saying untruths but in such a charming manner that what
the speaker says appear to be true. It's related to "binibilog ang ulo,"
literally making a head round -- bola (ball) and bilog (circle) have the
same shape round. It remotely recalls "drawing circles" around someone.
Affection and the lightness of language -- for she, if Pinoy, too, knows he
can just be saying it but not truly meaning it, so he enjoins her at the end
of the line plaintively: do believe me, hindi ito bola, seriously, peks
man, cross my heart and hope to die.