GEOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF WARAY TRIBAL TATTOO THROUGH

CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC GROUP CLASSIFICATION

Carl James H. Bandonill

Aerovin Matthew P. Victoria
John Carlo A. Cagaoan
Sandra Bernise C. Agaceta
Aryanna Zoey P. Capistrano
Charles Adiel Cariño

Maricor V. Santos
Research Adviser
 I. INTRODUCTION

A common perception among many individuals is that mathematics is often

seen as a subject that is far from reality and culture in everyday life. In comes of

geometry and patterns, Crystallography is a branch of science that deals with

discerning the arrangement and bonding of atoms in crystalline solids and with the

geometric structure of crystal lattices. This happens when crystals like diamonds,

gems, rubies, etc. are exposed to an X-ray beam or strong light and show distinct

points, shapes, and patterns. This can be applied when creating patterns and shapes

to make designs for traditional tattoos. Therefore, this study seeks to explore a

mathematical concept of geometric analysis in the Traditional Tattoo design.

Traditional tattoos based on their designs and patterns are examples of

ethnomathematics.

Ethnomathematics is broadly defined as the study of the relationship between

culture and mathematics. It is used to describe how mathematics is practiced among

similar and dissimilar cultural groups. The term “ethnic” in ethnomathematics

represents as the elements that make up a group’s cultural identity (i.e., race,

language, vocabulary, values, beliefs, norms, physical traits, symbols, etc.).

Mathematics, in this context, refers to different aspects of thought and culture that

lead to different mathematical structures, opinions, understandings, and explanations

within concepts such as counting, measurement, sorting, organization, deduction, and

modeling (Ethnomathematics in Mathematics Education. n.d.).

A long before the world knew about apo wang od, in the late 1500s, the world

knew about the Visayan pintados. Painted visayan reflects painted Filipinos and its

tattoos consist of different zigzags and lines. The Visayan tattooing vanished and it is

sustained in Luzon by Piper Abas (2020). In the past, the Philippines had one of the

most people who used traditional tattoos to show bravery, beauty, and social or wealth

status. A tribe in the provinces of Samar and Leyte in the Philippines still produces

traditional tattoos. This indigenous Filipino tribe has developed its unique tattoo

practices that serve as a significant form of expression and cultural heritage. The

Filipino tribe is called the Waray tribe which has its tattoo tradition. Art in ancient

Waray society is most visible in the yunal, body tattoos that were either used as

charms or worn as symbols for status and rite of passage. The male body served as
the broadcloth for the tattooing of exquisite designs, which ran from the groins to the

ankles, and from the waist to the chest. The design on the chest looked like a

breastplate, but the more daring had their necks, temples, and foreheads tattooed

with rays and lines that gave them a fierce countenance. The women had their hands

and wrists tattooed with flowers and knots, an embellishment that enhanced the

sheen of their gold rings and bracelets.

Every part of a design in a Waray traditional tattoo represents a frieze pattern

and a symmetry group. A frieze pattern is a repeating pattern with translation

symmetry in an endless direction left and right. The repeating patterns may have

rotational, reflectional, or glide reflectional symmetry. Frieze Patterns have different

Symmetry Groups. It’s a figure of repetition symmetry patterns through tattoos. The

goal of this research is to determine the crystallographic group types of the traditional

tattoos from the Waray tribe. This research is important to explore geometric patterns

related to ethnomathematics in Waray that can be used for identifying symmetry

groups.

Research Questions :
 Figure 1. Illustration of Frieze Pattern and Its Symmetry Group

Frieze patterns has its different symmetry groups such as mm, 1m, mg, 1g, 12, m1,

and 11.

Table 1.
Symmetry Group Definition

Mm - related to mirror reference symmetry it

has reflection with vertical axis and
1m reflection with horizontal axis.

- is a reflection with horizontal axis. 1

represents translation. Translation
Mg duplicates a shape left or right but does
not rotate.

- is a reflection with vertical axis then a

1g rotation.

- is a glide reflection which means moves

in translation and ends in reflection.
12 -
is what you call a Rotation which
means two fold rotation and it has no
reflection and glide reflection.

M1 -
is a reflection with vertical axis. Its just
like Symmetry group 1m but it is
reflected with vertical axis.
11 -
the pure Translation pattern. Which
means moves a pattern left or right and
up or down. The translated pattern look
exactly the same size as the original
pattern. They just have been shifted in
one or more directions.
 II. REVIEW OF RALATED LITERATURES

According to Oklahoma State University, they use a classification system that

they use in their class to classify border patterns is by using a two letter/number code
to label its type. There are the seven possible labels or codes based on their symmetry
properties.

Figure 1. This table shows the seven border types

Figure 2. This table shows the seven border types

According to Fevi Rahmawati Suwanto, Dinda Kartika, & Debi Yandra Niska. (2022),

they discovered that Ulos weaving process has its formula and thread count for each

motif. The motifs formed cannot be separated from the modification of the patterns

generated through rotation, reflection, translation, and glide reflection related to the

symmetry group in mathematical concepts. This paper reviews the relationship

between the concepts of symmetry groups especially for seven types of frieze pattern

and seventeen types of crystallography patterns from 21 types of Ulos (Suwanto. et al.

2022).
III. FRAMEWORK
 Conceptual Framwork

Identify the pattern vertically

Figure 1. Identifying what type of symmetry group of a waray tattoo

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