Baleling is a Filipino traditional song of Sama Dilaut and/or Tausug origin.[1][2] The composer of the song is not credited and unknown.[3] The tune was passed by mouth from province to province and the original lyrics of the song was altered. Versions of Filipino artists have made the song popular both in Visayan and Tagalog languages.[4]
Leleng or Ling Ling was the original title of the song[5] which means Darling, Sweetheart, my lady or my dear in Sama Dilaut language.[6] In Philippine languages such as Visayan and Tagalog, the enclitic "ba" is used as a question marker.[7] Example: (Tagalog) Aalis ka na ba? (English) ɑre you leaving now? Since the song was passed from generations to generations, the lyrics was wrongly interpreted as Baleleng.[1]
The song is about a man bidding goodbye to a lady called Leleng as he is going to war. Like other Sama Dilaut songs, it is sung with the accompaniment of a string instrument like gitgit and biula, gabbang and the kulintangan.[8][9]
^ abL. Gonzales, Forma (2012-03-23). "Leleng". largerthanagaze.blogspot.com. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
^Reyes- Alivio, Elvinia; D. Naquira, Junefe; M. Lendio, Josephine (2017). Selected Ongkah-Ongkah of Sama Dilaut in the Province of Tawi-Tawi: Their Forms and Styles of Expression. International Conference on Education. College of Education, Mindanao State University-Tawi-TUNO College of Technology and Oceanography. pp. 234–246. doi:10.17501/icedu.2017.3125. S2CID62820528.
^Alivio, Elvinia Reyes; Naquira, Junefe D.; Lendio, Josephine M (2017). Selected Ongkah-Ongkah of Sama Dilaut in the Province of Tawi-Tawi: Their Forms and Styles of Expression. International Conference on Education. pp. 234–246. doi:10.17501/icedu.2017.3125. S2CID62820528.
^Kimpo-Tan, Eva (June 4, 2014). "On the wings of song". IAG. Institute for Autonomy and Governance. Retrieved 6 August 2019.