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HOUSE TYPE IBANAG

Environmental Situation: Lowland of Isabela

Brief history

➢The Ibanag derive their name from the word "I" which means“ people"
and the word "Bannag" which means "river."as they lived along the banks
of the Cagayan River. The people here has their own unique language
called “ybanag”.

➢They often identify each other by the color of their elbows, noting that
their elbows tend to be darker than other Filipinos. The primary source of
living of these ibanags are through planting tobacco, fishing and farming.

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• 1. Plan – The house was built elevated about a

meter or more from the ground. It was planned
with the following areas:

➢ Living room which was converted into a bedroom

at night
Architectural
➢An altar room
Analysis:
➢Storage room for rice, corn and tobacco, and
➢Batalag porches located at the front and at the rear.
The one in front was used by the family for
relaxation; the other at the rear was used as an
open-air bathroom and as washing and laundry
area.

2. Structural Elements
➢The house was supported by posts of
sturdy wood; the wall was made of split
Architectural bamboo.
Analysis:
3. Protective Elements
➢Roof covering was usually made of cogon or
nipa. The batalag porches were not roofed.

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HOUSE TYPE IFUGAO

Environmental Situation: Mountain area of the Cordillera

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Architectural Analysis:
1. Plan
➢ Generally, the Ifugao bale house was an enclosed structure which
was square in plan. It rested 2.00 m. high on four tree trunks as
columns.
➢ A single-room house having an area of 4.00 m. x 6.00 m., the
interior space was used for cooking and sleeping.
➢ The fireplace was located at the far-right hand corner of the house
and was on a lower level with a layer of earth spread over it.

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Architectural Analysis:

➢ Three stones were used to support cooking pots.

➢ Shelves above the fireplace were provided for the storage of palay
and firewood.

➢ The floor, about 1.50 to 2.00 meters above the ground, was made
of wooden planks resting on solid floor joists which overhung the
floor girders at .30 m.

2. Structural Elements

➢The four-house post, with a cross-section area of .25 x .25 m. , were

made from the trunks of the amugawan tree. The post were buried
into a hole dug about half meter into the ground and were further
secured by means of stones placed on each hole.

➢The walls, waist or chest high, usually slanted outward the top. The
lower part of the wallboards were mortised into the floor joists
while the upper part were rabbeted above into a transverse beam

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3. Protective Elements
➢ The roof is pyramidal in shape covered with reed and grass. It ran
steeply from the top downwards extending a little bit beyond the
floor level thus concealing the walls entirely.
➢ Roof framing was made up of rafters resting on the brace above
and which in turn was supported by a kingpost. The lower end of
the rafter was attached to one another by means of studs. There
was no ridgepole as commonly found in other house types.
➢ At the apex of the roof, the grass covering was made loose in order
to allow the escape of smoke emanating from the kitchen area.

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4. Circulatory Elements

➢ Two doors, having the same width as the wallboards, were

provided on both sides of the house for access.

➢ The ladder was provided at the main door. The ladder was
drawn at night for security and protection

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5. Decorative Elements and Furnishings

➢The following items were used symbolically rather than decoratively:

Carabaos’ skulls and pig jams were used as an indication of
status and keeping peace with the gods while an Ambubulan figure
form placed on top of the roof was used as a protection against evil
spirits and lightning and as a sign of asking a favor from the god
Kabunyan.
➢ These symbolic items rather than the size of his house were used as
indications of Ifugao’s wealth.

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HOUSE TYPE ISNEG or

APAYAO
Environmental Situation: Mountain of Apayao at the
Northern end of the Cordillera

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3. House type: ISNEG or APAYAO

(Northern Strain)

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Architectural Analysis:
1. Plan
➢ Elevated at approximately 1.50 m. above the ground, the binuron
house of the Isneg with an area of 5.00 m. x 7.20 m. was a single-
room rectangular structure designed with three levels.

The lowest level called datag or xassaran was located at the center of
the room; in the immediate level were the platforms called tamuyon
that occupied three sides of the floor proper (the lowest level); and,
the highest level located on the remaining side of the house was an
extension called tarakip.

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➢ At the rear corner of the datag was the hearth with a stove
consisting of three stones. Hanging from the rafters above the
hearth was a three-shelf sideboard.

➢ The house flooring was a removable reed mat made of solid

rattan stems or bamboo grass tied together with rattan strips
placed atop the floor joists which in turn were supported by
girders.

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2. Structural Elements
Fifteen posts of heavy hardwood were used as supports to the house. The posts were
distributed in the following manner:

➢ Sinit posts – six of these supported the datag and two supported the
tarakip;
➢ Adixi posts – six of these supported the roof;
➢ Atobtobo – a single post supported the ridgepole.

The wall, slanting outwards toward the top, was made of 1.05 m. x .20 m. x ½”
wooden panel boards that were rabbeted to the upper and lower walls beams.
This system of construction allowed walls to be removed on certain occasions.

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3. Protective Elements
The gable roof, which covered the main house and the lean-to roof, which covered the
tarakip, was made of bamboo and cogon grass thatching.

The roof framing, which was a separate framework from the floor,
consisted of six posts rising from the ground but placed outside the
floor posts; two longitudinal beams attached to the posts; three
crossbeams which, together with the longitudinal beams, carried the
kingposts and the queen posts; arched rafters which allowed the roof
to look like an ogival arch outside; and the purlins made of closely
knit canes to which layers of cogon grass were attached

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4. Circulatory Elements - Approach to the house is through a

wooden stair, usually located on one end of the side wall, which
leads to a door.

5. Decorative Elements and Furnishings - Forming as ornaments in

the interior are the ancestral weapons, porcelain jars and plates
belonging to the Ming or Sung dynasty.

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HOUSE TYPE IVATAN

Environmental Situation: Slope of cliffs and villages built along
the sides and tops of rocky hills of Batanes Island

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Architectural Analysis:
1. Plan
➢ Ivatan houses stood directly on the ground to withstand strong winds or
typhoons.
➢ The dwelling was made up of two areas – the rakuh (big houses) which
consisted of the living room and the sleeping quarters, and the kusina (kitchen)

2. Structural Elements
➢ The walls, made of lime and stone, was sometimes embedded with wooden
reinforcements in order to resist the effect of a strong earthquake.

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Architectural Analysis:

3. Protective Elements

➢ The gable roof was covered with thick thatch roof of cogon. The cogon thatch
was heavily fastened to the rafters by means of several layers of clipped reeds
and rattan. As additional protection to the roof, a net made of strong rope was
placed over the whole roof area. The net was fastened to strong pegs on large
stones which were half-buried in the ground all around the house.

4. Circulatory Elements

➢ Doors and windows were provided in the rakuh house but the wall facing the
direction of the strongest winds were left solidly closed.

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HOUSE TYPE
MARANAW
Environmental Situation: Hills along the river, road or
lakeshore of Mindanao

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Architectural Analysis:
1. Plan

➢ The Maranao walay house, built from 0.30 to 2.20 meters above the
ground, was a single-room structure without partitions.

➢ It consisted of a fenced porch located at the front, sleeping areas and a

kitchen, built half meter lower than the main house, located at the back.

➢ It contained stone stoves, pots and pans, water containers, and a tapaan
made of plaited bamboo used for smoking fish and meat.

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➢ Underneath the kitchen was the kodal or the carabao corral while the
space underneath the main house was used as a storage space for grain,
palay box, plow, mortar and other farming and fishing tools.

➢ Enclosed by a wall made of split bamboo, it was also used as a place for
mat weaving.

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Architectural Analysis:

The torogan, the Maranao royal house, was an ancestral house for datu
and his family.

➢ This was used for social and political ceremonies by the datu.

➢ This multi-family dwelling did not have partitions.

➢ Areas allotted for each family were used as sleeping areas during the
night and as living areas during the day.

➢ This was also used as eating and weaving area.

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Architectural Analysis:
➢ Rooms not exposed to visitors were the gibon or paga,

➢ The room used as hiding place for datu’s daughter, and bilik, an
emergency hideout located behind the headboard of the sultan’s bed.

➢ Sometimes, there was a lamin which is atower atop the torogan where
the princess and her ladies in waiting hid during occasions.

➢ It was usually located near the sultan’s bed.

The walay house’s floor is made of split bamboo lashed with rattan while that of the torogan is made
of barimbingan wood.

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2. Structural Elements
The walay house was elevated from the ground by nine to twelve huge posts of bamboo or
wooden materials.
➢ The torogan house was constructed by first putting up the center post
called tapuwilih followed by four corner posts called tukud. House posts
were made from bunga wood and placed on top of large stones for
protection against the devastating effect of earthquakes.

➢ the floor beams were supported by 25 thick posts made of tree trunks,
five floor beams protruded from the wall with its ends curving upward in
the form of a boat’s prow. These end beams were called panolong and
were ornately carved with piako (fern-like) or naga (dragon-like) motifs.

➢ Walls were made of gisuk wooden panels carved with ornate okir design.

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3. Protective Elements

➢ Both the walay and the torogan roof, covered with thick cogon grass
lashed with rattan on bamboo framing, was steep pitched and shaped in
the form of a carabao’s horns.

4. Circulatory Elements

➢ In the walay house, stairs made of bamboo poles with notches for steps
were provided at the porch and kitchen.

➢ Sliding doors and windows were made of split bamboo. Windows were
provided at the front and at the right side of the house.

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5. Decorative Elements and Furnishings

➢ The sleeping areas of the walay house was identified by the presence of
carved chests and dividers or headboards made of woven split rattan
sapiyay or mosquito screen.

➢ The bed mattress was made of bundles of rice stalks covered with riyara
woven mat. Long pillows with libot applique were placed at the head and
foot of the bed.

➢ Over the bed was the taritib canopy and on the sides were ornately
decorated mamandiyang curtains. Other decorative items were brass tray
cuspidors.

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➢ The central beam that supported the roof's kingpost was heavily carved
and polychromed for the torogan.

➢ The datu's ceremonial bed, known as panggao, was elevated nearly 0.60
meters from the floor, with its frame and legs carved with okir designs. A
richly woven canopy envelops it.

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HOUSE TYPE: SAMAL

Environmental Situation: Coastal waters of Jolo

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Architectural Analysis:
1. Plan

➢ In eastern Sulu, Samal houses consisting of one or more small rooms and
a kitchen were built partially above the ground and water on wooden
posts. While in western Sulu, individual houses, built on stilts above tidal
mud flats, were connected to one another by catwalks made of timber
and bamboo. House flooring might be made of bamboo.

2. Structural Elements

➢ Stilts were usually made of bamboo poles while walls were made of
wooden boards or sawali.

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Architectural Analysis:

3. Protective Elements

➢ On both sides of a gable roof project underneath, it were lower lean-to

roofs. Roof thatching was held securely by placing flattened bamboo
spaced far apart over it.

4. Circulatory Elements

➢ Stairs were not provided in each individual house since catwalks served as
an approach to each house. Door and windows with sliding sashes could
be found in Samal houses.

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END

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