A Pangalay performance at the 2015 Merrie Monarch Ho’ike.Pangalay is the traditional “fi

A Pangalay performance at the 2015 Merrie Monarch Ho’ike.

Pangalay is the traditional “fingernail” dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu ArchipelagoandSabah (in the Southern Philippines). Pangalay dancers must have great dexterity and flexibility in the shoulders, elbows, and wrists in particular. Scholars agree that Pangalay, which imitates of the movements of birds and fishes, either originated from the neighboring Samal or was a legacy of the Balinese.