Philippine Embassy in Tehran kicks off ASEAN month celebration
The Philippine Embassy in Tehran opened this year’s ASEAN month celebration with the “Move with Malong”dance workshopduring the ASEAN Ladies Circle’s (ALC) Coffee-Morning event at the Chancery lobby.
Participated in by 20 ALC members from the embassies in Tehran of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, the activity showcased a step-by-step guide to dancing the Muslim dance Kappa Malong Malong, while all donned with the malong cloth provided by the Philippine Embassy.
The name of the dance is coined from the tag ‘kappa’—a derivation of the prefix ‘ka’—which indicates that someone has the ‘ability to act’ or ‘manipulate’ the malong.
The embassy’s cultural officer Kathleen Salonga led the dance workshop, highlighting that the Kappa Malong Malong is a traditional folk dance that originated from the indigenous Filipino-Muslim tribe, the Maranaos.
“The name of the dance is coined from the tag ‘kappa’—a derivation of the prefix ‘ka’—which indicates that someone has the ‘ability to act’ or ‘manipulate’ the malong. Thus, the Kappa Malong Malong is a fitting dance to celebrate this year’s ASEAN month, given the theme, ‘Addressing Challenges Together.’ Like the tag kappa or the ‘ability to act,’ every person in the ASEAN has the ability to overcome challenges facing our region, especially when acting as one community,” Salonga.
As a Coffee-Morning tradition, the ALC held gift-giving for birthday celebrants, raffle draws, tribute to outgoing members, and introductions of new members.
Filipino dishes such as pancit (sauteed rice noodles), kaldereta (beef stew), puto (rice cake), biko (sticky rice with toasted desiccated coconut), and lumpia (spring roll), along with other ASEAN dishes, capped the celebration.
The Coffee-Morning is a regular activity of the ALC in Tehran, composed of the spouses of the ambassadors to Tehran of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as female officers and diplomatic staff of the ASEAN embassies in Tehran.
Tehran PE photo
www.tehranpe.dfa.gov.ph