“Love Song of Igorots”
“Love Song of Igorots:
‘Layad nan Likatan’ Tells the Story of Two Lovers”
By AUS, ca. late ‘60s
(see related article by Anatalia Magkachi Saboy, Ed.D here)
TABUK, Kalinga-Apayao. Jan 23 (PNS) – A song inspired by a true-to-life story of two Bontoc Igorot sweethearts has become the most popular hit in the Mountain Provinces.
Entitled “Layad Nan Likhatan,” the song literally means, “The Love We Have Suffered.”
Almost every owner of a portable radio-phonograph has a record of the song – young and old women, school children and students have learned the song by heart. Even the unlettered highlander riding on a bus or singing a lullaby to a child who is carried piggy-back at home hums or sings the song.
Singer and Composer
The song has been popularized by Pedro L. Chinalpan, its singer and composer. [Note: Recent research attributes the authorship of the song to Timothy D. Chaokas, also a Bontoc Igorot. - sms]
Chinalpan is a 35-year old Bontoc balladeer, and a Dangwa truck driver.
Actually, Chinalpan has been singing the song long before he recorded it on wax.
Chinalpan, who is well-loved by passengers riding in his Dangwa Tranco bus along the mountain highways, said he used to sing love songs while driving “to keep himself awake.”
The truck driver’s good singing voice earned him the distinction of being the “land-pilot-singing Igorot,” a name still given him today.
His fame spread shortly after a talent scout from a movie company in Manila who was aboard his bus discovered him.
At the Recording Studio
In June 1963, he was invited to Manila for a recording of his voice.
After some difficulty adjusting to the demands of the recording studio artists, Chinalpan finally got “Layad Nan Likatan” into the platters.
Sang in the Bontoc dialect, “Layad Nan Likatan” tells the story of a man who won the love of a girl after he had bested his rivals, and later married her. During their early years together, the wife became unfaithful, and was estranged from her husband. They were later reunited through their daughter who, too, became a singer.
Chinalpan hopes to record more Igorot songs which he had composed during the past years.
Philanthropist needed
He also hopes that some philanthropist would help him underwrite his recording expenses. Chinalpan is optimistic that he would be able to put out better records with his other songs.
Chinalpan, who is blessed with a beautiful baritone, is a teetotaler. He neither smokes nor drinks.
When with his charming wife, the former Cecilia Sumeg-ang, and their six children, he sings his unrecorded Igorot songs.
Chinalpan now drives a Dangwa bus on the Kalinga-Apayao road.
The Igorot driver-song artist says that since his song, “Layad Nan Likatan” became popular, he has had difficulty keeping away from young boys and girls who ask him to sing songs before them, especially on bus stops along his route.
i love the song “nan layad nan likhatan” so much! more power to the composer!.>>..
same here. my mom taught us the song early in our childhood, and i’m making sure that my kids will be able to sing it by heart long after i’m gone…! thanks for the comment
even if i’m not a kankana-ey, i really really love this song. i always request my friend who is from Mt. Province to sing this for me. i always get teary eyed when i hear this song (i don’t know why). Anyway i just hope that our singers here in the cordillera will continue singing and composing such beautiful songs.
i hope so too. and it’s heartening to watch the music videos of some of our contemporary “kinnoboyan” songs composed by fairly young kankanaeys. i expect that all the other tribal groups in the cordillera will come up with their own music productions in the years ahead. salamat iti panagbisitam kabsat!
is mr. chinalpan really the composer? i have read a blog which states that a certain mr. oakes composed it. it said that mr. oakes feel inlove with a bontoc maiden but then the relationship did not prosper because the lady married a mr. claver.
hi desiree, as i noted above, Dr. Anatalia Saboy in the article linked to this post attributed the composition of “Layad” to the late Timothy Chaokas. However, others like Mrs. Mary Peckley Irving (a relative of Mrs. Saboy), believe that it was Mr. Oakes who composed it. It is clear though that the late Pedro Chinalpan only popularized the song, and was not the one who wrote it. Those of us in Tabuk who enjoyed listening to “uncle” Pedro when we were kids will always remember him for this… thanks for your interest in this article. I’ll be posting the notations soon!
“nan layad nan likatan, tet-eway sikhab, hmm hmm hmm…” the classic song goes that way. i heard it from tito jeff abul. he sang it in one of his records.
the peculiar thing in this song is that it stays and keeps on playing in you. i guess its because it reflects man’s most throbbing emotions: love and sadness.
next time, when i’m bound for kalinga. i’ll make sure i’ll ride on a dangwa bus and let mr. Chinalpan sing for me. haha!
cho san! (good morning in chinese) just stumbled upon your site….very nice…. NAN LAYAD… is very popular here in Hong Kong every time we have celebrations here we always sing this classic song whether those in our company are from Benguet or any other parts of the cordillera. I even composed a liturgical song (Ps 23) to the tune of NAN LAYAD….more power to your site……
xiexie ni, tongzhi! usto-usto a, i read your post as i was listening to wong ka kui’s “zhende ai ni” (beyond). back in the mainland a few years ago, layad was also our favorite song in our all-igorot gatherings
i think it would be good to listen in to an all-igoy rendition of your adaptation of layad. ganbei!
You like Chinese song, I like Filipino song. “Anak” …I love this song very much.
Freddie Aguilar is one of the Filipino singers/composers I truly admire. I have known “Anak” by heart since childhood, but it was only when I had a family of my own that I got to fully appreciate it. I guess one reason I like “Zhende Ai Ni” so much is that it touches on the sensibility of a parent and that of a child who doesn’t fail to remember his mother with fondness . I wonder if there is a Chinese version of “Anak” — tried searching for one in YouTube but couldn’t find it.
You have always shown a deep appreciation of our culture, Pascale. Thank you.
cho san again, apay neighbor ta Apo Scott. Wad-ay ak pay sina Hong Kong. How about coming here in your spare time. Umalim ilan nan kaka iliam ay Ifontok. Since 2004, we celebrate Bontoc Day every September.. And also we just had the launching of the Mountain Province Day last June 1, 2008. This coming March 15, 2009. You are invited to come, umali ka ta sika nan Guest speaker mi………be reading your words…bye…….time to clean the house…….
nensubliak et ya manang. Baguio nan kawad-ak, inesus-oloak edwani ed UP habang enmasmasterate met lang. kanan ngarud Pascale (Yuen Yuet Chun — principal isnan isang ay school sisa for 20 years ngem inmali sna for her masterate ed SLU) ay bumisita kami kanu sisa. mailanto manang no waday kabalinan na ay makabisita kami sisa next year.
it is always a joy to know that our “Igorotness” is alive and well out there. ay bengga siguro nan makiget-together sisa aya? 
thanks for the invite…
btw, si Jet Ateo-an ay kasinsin ko waday pay laeng somewhere in the mainland still doing ESL along with other fellow Ifontoks. ingatz!
at least adi…….no makaskasmek kayo ay bumisita sina Hong Kong, let us know……i’ll tell nan kakailian to visit your site,nan ammo mi angkay ya nan website nan Mountain Province.. kag-awis nan site mo….maybe your wondering no sino initz…. sak-en si Luz Afidchao…….ingatz….sa susunod
thanks manang. wen mailanto hehe. ay am-ammoyo mangngen si Pablo Afidchao? kasisinsin ko. (article on auntie Chuma here). ingatz!
khawis ay afternoon mo,pangyao,adik ya ammo si Pablo Afidchao,away ammo na sak-en. I’m getting younger ya so nga adik et malagip nan relatives,hi,hi,hi….I’m sure relative siya… HELLO…. relative ta ngarud,ah…..HI!……Mention ko nan cousins sinan father side siguro you know them….Valiant Fang-asan is one…nan younger brother daddy si Uncle Richard Afidchao…..mmm? silip ak to bukas….GBU……
hello luz,
ay kasinsin uppay valiant sika? sak-en nan asawan valiant. it is good to know you are in hong kong ta no umey kami men pasyar issa ya wada kib-a ay umey ilaen.
hi Luz,
ha ha ha when i read your chat w/ scott I immediately texted manong Richard ur tito and said nakabasa ako chika kaanakam sa HK. Manong Richard is our friend here in Nueva Vizcaya. Do you know what happened to ur insan na anak nya na nagkasakit? kaya ko naopen tong blog dahil naghahanap ako ng song nanlayad nan likatan dahil when i was in high school sikat sina Lourdes at Elmer. akala ko noon na sila ang me love story ng kantang ito. their beautiful voices must be given merit too!
hi. i want to buy an album of igorot songs. can you tell me where i can get one?… especially your songs. thanks. im in love with an igorot right now. this one is for better or worst.
i want to surprise my love who is a kankana-ey… i hope i can give him an album of his native songs..
Sumampitaw-ak kad.. ibesao-ak. Wada nan hapon ay nin-bisita sina Cordi ket kanan sa en folk song ad Japan nan tune nan ‘Nan Layad…’ If you think about it, at one time of this life, Mr. Chaokas visited Japan. It seems that he provided the tune. There must be some connection here and it may be good to trace the links.
my mom believes that the tune is an adaptation of an old American folk song, “There is Beauty All Around.” but you sure have provided an angle of the Layad story worth looking into. salamat etad!
jeanette, if you are in Baguio go to “Ayuyang” (near Baden Powell & Dagupan Bus terminal along Governor Pack Road). you can buy Lourdes Fangki’s albums there and you might even get the chance of seeing her in person — a friend told me she sang there last Friday night. say hi to lucky guy hehe
Hi Scott… when I went home 2 years ago, I saw some of the late Timothy’s literary compositions and a copy of the “Layad….” was in the same folder I was going through. I don’t want to claim that he did in fact pen the song before I do my homework again, but what got me thinking was, why not have the Chaokas and the Oakes clan do a recording of the song anyway both clans have good singing voices? Thoughts?
uy, that’s a wonderful idea kabsat! sige man, pose the challenge to them and let’s see what comes out of it. btw, should any of the Chaokas and Oakes family wish to entrust historical docs, esp manuscripts, UP Baguio’s Cordillera Studies Center Archives would be delighted to store it for future researches. On my part, I intend to turn over what remained of my father’s photo collections (spanning nearly half a century) and other docs to the UPB archives for safe-keeping. thanks for the post etd, layad kayet!
Some (if not all) of the documents/writings/compositions of the late Timothy are with his daughter in law Mrs. Florence Chaokas. She wrote on the writings of the late Timothy. I believe copies of the book are avaliable in Bontoc.
I did post the challenge with the Chaokas family and some are for it and others still need to be contacted. I have yet to post the challenge with the Oakes clan.
thanks for the info kabsat. i hope to get a copy when i visit bontoc again.
Hi scott saboy…
i just wanna ask the specific dialect of that song… is it kankana-ey? coz im doing a report this coming wednesday and i chose this song… by the way, are you from UPB? because i studied there last 2007 and im currently in UPD. Please reply! thank you…
Bontoc language, kapatid. yup, sa CAC ako. thanks Iris for the visit and good luck to your presentation…
hello scott,
will digress from your discussion thread. do you still want a copy of the Stories of Alapu Mountain Province edition? We are selling the extra copies to raise funds again for the second printing. I was going to tell you but i lost the CP number you gave me. I just chanced upon your blogsite this idle rainy afternoon. Interesting discussion on Layad Nan Likhatan. Lulu Fang-asan
Ay wen adi manang. Kanak adi no talaga ay adi yo layden ay lumako ak hehehe. So do I have to go to BSU to get it manang? Thanks for keeping in touch…
salamat ng marami… =)
I know that song since i was still very young, but I have a very different knowledge as to why the song was born and who is the composer..
That song as to what I know is based on a true story of a man and woman from mountain province who are on their way to get married but then the girl due to her parents influence decided to marry another man just the time their marraige was already fully prepared…… The guy who is a teacher in star school in baguio, depressed about what happened, WROTE THE SONG.
….. well, that is to what I know….base on what my old bontoc neighbors story.
aye gawis nan comunication u asna ah kega chating gedan..heheh
ay wen met a. usto ta join ka met hehe
‘nan layad’ a pride of bontoc!!!!!!!
hi i like igorot songs eventhough im in far away place i always search and play igorot songs,it makes m feel im in my native land,anaway’s composed more igorot songs ….
yup, when we are away from our, music bridges the distance between us and our beloved ili. may you continue to be blessed…
can somebody translate the song for me . .. I’m planning to create my own video and post it on youtube, but my problem is i can’t understand even a single word of it. .
Taga Buguias ak gamin ket han ko maawatan saun ti bontoc. .
thanks in advance. .
mayat nga rabii kada kayo amin…………
i really love to hear the song “Nan Layad Nanlikatan”.the intro sound dug my heart into deeper emotion.still its the best song i ever heard because it contains message of challenge and inspiration..thanks guys!!at this moment i miss that song.
i’m from kibungan, Benguet
i’m proud to be from bontoc..matago-tago nan layad tako ay inmey tako inlikhatan yah matago-tago nan ili tako…
Nalikat nan layad, nan chono, ya nan umadchayo. long live kaigolotan. I missed my family friends, the schools i attended, the churches,the playground the chico river, the festivals,the igorot ways and most of all the “LOVE AT HOME”!!!!!!!!!!!! more power…..and more love!!!!!!!!!!
…good evening! I’m so glad I found this site for it helped me a lot especially in my research works. Thank you very much and God bless and I hope too that you continue posting updates. But this time sir, I would like to ask if you know something about the history of the “IGOROTAK” t-shirts and others and how those came to existence. It is because sir, I need a background about this for my feature article. I hope you’ll reply soon. Thank you, thank you very much! God bless:-)
Hi Ivy, I haven’t looked into that yet though I think it will be quite an intriguing subject of study. If you are in Baguio, I think it would be good for you to interview the owner of the shops at SM selling those shirts. I’ll try to get some info on this and will share it with you as soon as I get them. cheers!
…good evening!…thank you very much for that suggestion and I’m looking forward sir for some information. Thank you and God bless:-)
Hi Scott. I got wind of this song through my boyfriend who hails from Sadlan Samoki Bontoc. I havent heard it but I am really interested to hear it and eventually learn to sing the song. Thanks for the info about the song through this blog. More power!
Good day Caree, Lourdes Fangki’s version of the song used to be on YouTube but it was pulled out. anyways, Ms. Fangki’s song collection on CD are available in the market if you’re interested. I hope someone in Bontoc will soon upload a choral rendition of the song. in the meantime, here’s a modernized version by the Pe’tune Band.
Hello Scott. Thanks for the link however for some reason I can’t go through. I hope I will be lucky in finding one that I can upload on my iPod and listen to it all day. My boyfriend promised to sing the song for me. Thanks a lot again and keep on posting more interesting info about Bontoc. I would love to visit next year. I’m looking forward to witnessing the Lang-ay Festival. =)
I hope Ms. Fangki’s CDs are available here in Manila and I’d definitely purchase one. My mother would like to hear the song too and she happens to be a fan of folk songs. There’s also one song titled “Samoki” composed by Loy Fanged that I’d love to hear.
hi, can someone will really upload the version of lourdes gomeyak fangki of the song layad nan likatan, i like her version very much so please so that i can add it on my music playlist on my friendster, thanks