“Sitsiritsit,” or “Sitsiritsit Butterfly,” is a Filipino folk song that is of unclear origins, but which may date back to Spanish colonial era of the 1800’s.
This “butterfly song” song likely refers to a flirtatious woman who tries to convince a shop owner that he is going to fall victim to ants if he doesn’t give her credit. Also, this Filipino folk song suggests ways the woman may exchange her child in the store for either a doll or a bagoóng, a Philippine food made of fermented fish. In the version we sing in class we forego the ants, dolls and fermented fish, but we do sing about butterflies and some of the other extraordinary bugs in the Philippines. This video offers a fantastic version.
