Tattoo Nights At The Stadium
By Tony Alabastro

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei's International Tattoo, a military_ entertainment of music, marches, parades, troop exercises in the evening amid floodlights, fills up the 30,000-seat Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium for four nights, and leaves a tale to be retold for generations.

Thirteen foreign and home bands perform under shades of colourful lights in an evening pyrotechnics light up to celebrate His Majesty's 60th birthday.

Marching to a matching tune played by the General Headquarters Band of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy present a silent drill exhibition that makes one proud to be among them.

The company commander aligns the PMA Maragtas Class 2007 company, makes a series of manual of arms that ends with present arms, and salutes the audience. Maragtas is an ancient Filipino legendary hero endowed with exceptional strength and power.

"To all the people present here, this heart is for you," says the narrator, as the 74 men and three women PMA cadets form a heart. They put down their white caps on the ground in the shape of a heart, and the backdrop shows the figure of a heart illuminated by flood lights.

In the backdrop flashes I love you alongside the heart figure. "Deep inside the seemingly impenetrable emotional armour of a cadet is a vulnerable heart that yearns to love and be loved in return It has been said many times, in many occasions, and in may ways, but it still goes down to this - I love you. Though mere words are not enough to relay the intensity of our sentiments, still we shall say that we will always love you." That's the message of the heart formation.

"We want you to know how close you are to our hearts," says the narrator.

To the tune of Planting Rice, the company forms concentric circles, a "display of perfection defining the heart and soul of each cadet."

The cadets move outward to show the planting of rifles. They raise their rifles high enough for planting, just in time for the next cadet to pick it up.

The cadets march to the other side, prepare their rifles for planting, keep their pace, move and turn outwards. They pass the rifles to symbolise sharing and helping. They move further out to show the throwing of rifles. This exhibition coordinates the cadets' ability to be attentive in various activities.

The cadets form a figure 60, His Majesty's age this year. The 74 Filipino cadets, including three women, who make up the Silent Drill Company, were picked from 290 candidates who qualified for the rigid screening out of over 8,000 applicants last April 1, 2003, says Defence Attache Col. Teodoro Cirilo Torralba of the Philippine Embassy.

"Silent drill training is rigorous and lasts for several months. Members must maintain above average academic standing," says Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Virginia H. Benavidez, who later hosts the over, 100-strong Philippine contingent to a homecooked dinner in Ang Bahay, her official residence in Rimba. "They have presented a remarkable show that everyone enjoyed."

The General Headquarters Band of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who first performed in Brunei during the silver jubilee of His Majesty's ascension to the throne in 1992, entices the crowd to boogie by playing In The Mood, popularised by American big band leader Glenn Miller in the 1940s.

The audience flashing yellow, green and light illumination rods in the dark, sing Abba's Dancing Queen, which the GHQ Band play.

The soldiers hit it with Pinoy Ako (I Am a Filipino), the Orange and Lemon theme song of Pinoy Big Brother.

After the Happy Birthday tune, the eightminute musical performance ends with the classic Dahil Sa Iyo (Because of You).

The baton-throwing exhibition of the combined bands, pipes and drums of the home contingent, as they play Spanish Gypsy Dance and Tequila, keep the crowd cheering every successful catch.

The Combined Indonesian Armed Forces Academy Drum Band throws jumbo drums playfully. It makes pyramids wherein the players dive through. It performs Colonel Bogey, one of the most successful marches ever published.

Many falsely refer to the Colonel Bogey March as The Bridge on the River Kwai March, after it was used in the 1957 dramatic film of the same title by British Director David Lean. British prisoners of war in Thailand whistled the Colonel Bogey March as they built a railroad to link a route from Bangkok to Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar) to support the Japanese occupation of Burma.

The Light Cavalry Band of the United Kingdom reprises Colonel Bogey March, written in 1914 by Lieutenant F. J. Ricketts (1881-1945), a military bandmaster who was Director of Music for the Royal Marines at Plymouth.

Laurence of Arabia, another David Lean movie theme, is in the repertoire of the home contingent.

The Royal Australian Navy Band cheer His Majesty thrice, and play Waltzing Matilda, the most recognised national song of Australia. It is the marching tune of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment based in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. Waltzing Matilda is also the official march of the (US) Marine Division, commemorating the time it spent in Australia during World War II.

Waltzing Matilda's lyrics relate the story of a swagman (a romanticised hobo travelling for work) who steals a sheep and drowns himself when law enforcement arrives.

To waltz comes from the German term auf der walz meaning to travel as craftsman and learn new traders from masters. Matilda is a_ swagman's bundle. Waltzing matilda means to travel with a - swag or one's own belongings on one's back, wrapped in a blanket.

The Military Band of the People's Liberation Army of China makes a five-petal flower and a Happy 60 formation. Chinese acrobats in red suits somersault, run around with red banners and wave long sticks. Women in pink wave red fans, and cross silver swords as the band plays.

Like ephemeral multicoloured jelly fishes floating in the inky sky, a shower of fireworks blesses the grand finale by 13 participating contingents, conducted by four different music maestros. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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