The Aligando and Galikin: Local Christmastime musical traditions

Here's an abstract of the research done by Dr. Rosabella Austria Mendez of PSU-Bayambang:

Aligando: A Pangasinan Oral Tradition

"Oral history was used by conducting several interviews with tradition bearers in different towns of Pangasinan and several books and unpublished works on Pangasinan culture were utilized to document the little-known oral tradition called aligando. There had been studies on Pangasinan oral traditions particularly the "cancionan" or verbal joust but very little is mentioned of "aligando," a 143-stanza song commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, the visit of the Three Magi until the sojourn of the Holy Family to Egypt. [Aligando is a corruption of the Spanish word aguinaldo, meaning gift.] The "manag-aligando" or tradition-bearers would usually go house to house, from January 6 (Feast of the Epiphany) to February 2 (Feast of Purification). The song is its modern sense is like a "carolling" but it has a deeper religious significance to the singers or tradition bearers as well as to the Pangasinenses. The study looked into the background of the "manag-aligando," how they learned it and the reasons why they learned the song. The song, which is sung in an hour or two, is laden with good values which is why it is of utmost importance that it must be preserved. Published copies of this song used to be available, but nowadays a copy of it is hard to find. With the incursion and wide-ranging influence of the internet, its demise is likely imminent. This could contribute to the weakening of the cultural-linguistic identity of Pangasinan. "

Source: 1st International Conference on Pangasinan Studies, Center for Pangasinan Studies, Oct. 25-27, 2017, Sison Auditorium, Capitol Complex, Lingayen, Pangasinan

Note: A shorter version of aligando is called galikin.