MODULE 6:

INDIGENOUS CRAFTS

Competencies:

At the end of this module, the student should be able to:

1. be familiarized with the indigenous arts and crafts in the Philippines;

2. design a craft using indigenous materials;
3. instill the value of giving importance of the environment through the use of recyclable or
indigenous materials.

Introduction

Art was embedded in our culture since the beginning of time up to the present, it’s a
part and play a central role in the indigenous people’s life. It is one thing that can never be lost
in a culture no matter what it goes through. The Philippines, having a rich culture, also has its
own share of art that is discovered and practiced, and applied in the day-to-day living.

Indigenous craft are the products manually created by ethnic or tribal groups on the
Philippines. These are arts that are purposive in nature as they reflect the way of life during
early times. Indigenous crafts can be identified as life per se as it describes a person and a
community. An art that is a product of soul, mind, heart and hand, they are like pieces of
scripts that makes the story whole crafted from the creativity that is critically made for multiple
purposes. An identity to be considered, tribes and ethnic groups introduces Filipino as an
original and authentic treasure of the world that are lasting and incomparable to other
wonders. Tangible and intangible as it may seem, their crafts create a different flavor touch
with mystery and faith to the one above and serve as the starting point of manual innovation
that has lasting meaning and functions to the society.

Ancient and pre-Spanish Era

It is believed that the first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived over many thousands
of years ago, it is commonly thought that they migrated over a land bridge, which existed at
that time, from the Asian mainland.
The next known inhabitation is when the Negrito or Aeta arrived in the islands however,
they were driven back by several waves of immigrants from Indonesia, only to be followed by
the maritime peoples of the Malayan islands.

Philippine Indigenous Arts and Craft

▪ Weaving

Weaving in the Philippines has different forms, functions and materials. They also
vary in design and techniques used. Most common forms of weaving in the Philippines are
in the form of hats, bags, baskets, and textiles (clothes and blankets).

e.g., Cloth Weaving

One of the most living traditions that are still kept and
preserved until today is weaving, it makes use of local cotton,
fibers, abaca and pineapple as raw material.
Pinya Cloth of Antique, a fragile and superb hand-woven
cloth made of fibers that can be extracted from the leaves of
pineapple plant. Having its organic and airy textile, it is becoming
more popular around the world such as the Philippine national
costume for men which is the Barong Tagalog, is a famous
product out of Pineapple Cloth.

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 This traditional cloth weaves are made with abaca-
woven fiber, and the practice is widely recognized for its age-
old method involving ikat process, where natural dyes and
threads from indigenous plants are used

Basket Weaving

Mainly used in the daily lives of the people in Cordillera,

baskets are used for their occupation where they keep and store
their foods as they go to the mountain terraces to cultivate
lands. Baskets for them give a lot of uses: they use it for carrying
grains, while fishing in the streams, or during animal hunting.
Baskets made of bamboo become their fish traps where the
shape and size of the baskets depend on the kind of fish they
want to catch.

▪ Physical Ornaments
Physical ornamentation can be categorized to three areas specifically the use of
traditional costumes (textile), jewelries and tattoos. The designs vary depending on the
location, users and function of the ornaments.

▪ Textile
Gaddang costumes are typically well-woven and
colorful, Gaddang people were involved in headhunting at least
until the 1940’s. Gaddang clothes’ sets with lan-ma (upper body
jacket), a cape (tapet), a narrow loincloth (dinega or abag), a
necktie and a bark cloth fibre head wrap.

▪ Jewelry
“BOAYA,” a head hunting necklace made of shell, boar
tusk, rattan, fiber and bone. This is a rare item which contains
12 human figures and has a fine plait-work. Between each
human figure there are small (unknown) teeth, which give the
impression that the figures have arms.

Ifugao : Warrior’s silver

“Linglingo” earing pair
and pendants

Filipino bawisak
earrings -traditional Ifugao tribe (Northern Luzon, Philippines)
bead and shell bawisak earrings. The bottom shell designs
have been described as either representing butterflies or a
certain item of male generative anatomy.

Aside from the mentioned crafts, Philippine jewelry also made

of indigenous materials where Philippines is abundant like coco heishi, coco pukalet,
bamboo tube, lumbang kukui, Capiz shells, white rose shell, puka shells, wood beads and
other natural materials. Finished product made out of these materials are earrings,
bracelets, necklaces and so forth. It is handcrafted by Filipino expert and made for export
quality product worldwide.

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 ▪ Tattoos

Traditional Filipino Tattoo

One of the art forms engraved in our culture is the

traditional method of tattooing or “Pambabatok” that is native
to the Cordillera Region. Luzon, being the largest island of the
Philippines, is inhabited by a number of indigenous groups.
Pagbabatok is practiced by hand-tapping the ink into the skin
using a thorn attached to one end of a stick. Within the tribal
culture, the tattoo symbolizes feminine beauty. Also, tattoos
were seen as a source of accomplishment and rank, men bore
ink on their chests and heads as signs of their strength as
warriors. Most tattoos were earned through the passage of
rites ceremonies, or for accomplishing tasks, the styles varied depending on the region and
tribe that the people came from. But nowadays, the Kalinga tattoos are no longer made
according to tradition.

102-year-old tattooist Whang-Od Oggay the

oldest mambabatok in Kalinga Province

▪ Pottery
Pots in the Philippines varies in forms; sizes, shapes, designs and functions.
The form of the pots is directly influenced by the functions of the pots and the tradition of
the community/local area. Their designs are usually
geometric with stylized nature motifs. Pottery became
more functional as the time pass by. Pottery are objects
that are first shaped of wet clay, then hardened by baking.
It’s includes both decorative and practical items such as
bowls, vases, dishes and lamps.

An example of this is the 'palayok', which is

used for cooking. 'Banga' and 'tapayan' are used for
storing liquids. There is also the clay-made stove or
'kalan'. Manunggul jar is a Secondary burial jar, it is designated item 64-MO-74 in the
National Museum of the Philippines, Manila. The jar dated from about 2800 years before
the present, the two prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey
of the soul to the afterlife.

Tapayan Manunggul

Kalan & Palayok

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 ▪ Sculpture/ Carving

Carving is one of the techniques used in sculpture, Philippine sculpture is the most
familiar art form among Filipinos. Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping
or combining hard materials typically stone such as marble, metal, glass, wood, or plastic
materials such as clay, textiles, polymers and softer metals. The most popular woodcarvings
are those of the anitos (nature gods), santos (saints), and statues of Christ and Blessed
Mother.

Bulul are carved Anito figures of the Ifugaos: these

represent their ancestral spirit and granary gods. It is placed in
a rice granary which they considered as the guardians of the
harvest.

Sarimanok is the most well-

known of the old designs

Hagabi is a wooden chair of Ifugao that is made of Narra or Ipil,

it’s signifies royalty and power.

Indigenous Materials in the Philippines

Filipino owns a lot of handicraft products such as baskets, pots, furniture, cloth or
any many more that comes from the raw materials like trees, grass and so forth. These raw
materials are also known as indigenous materials, it is therefore a material that are naturally
and locally found in a specific place or area that are used creatively in crafts. Philippines is a
country rich in rainforests and natural resources and have an abundant variety and number of
indigenous materials present around it.

The following are indigenous materials commonly found in the Philippines:

o Abaca- known worldwide as Manila Hemp, considered

as the strongest among natural fibers. The length of
the fiber varies from 3 to 9 ft. or more depending on
the height of the plant and the age of the leafsheat and
its fiber’s color ranges from ivory white to light and
dark brown

o Rattan – it is similar to bamboo, but distinct in

that the stems are solid, rather than hollow, and
also in their need for some sort of support. It is one
of the fastest growing natural materials and it is
flexible that can be weaved into many different
things, including furniture.

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 o Bamboo – is actually a grass from the plant family
known as Poecea, the stems of bamboo plants are
stronger and flexible, it grows in all parts of the
country- in plains, forests, hills and mountains.
Among the variety of bamboo are the spiny bamboo,
kawayan China, kawayan killing, bikal and buho.

o Coconut shells – coconut trees are abundant in the

Philippines. Coconut shells vary in thickness and color
depending on the age of the nut, they are used for fuel
and for manufacturing articles such as buttons, pins,
coin banks, lamp shades and many more.

o Fibers – they come from plants where fibers or

threadlike substances are extracted. Fibers from
coconut husks, buri, maguey, pineapple, abaca and
banana are used in making mattresses, carpet and seat
pads.

o Buri – it is a palm from which three kinds of fibers,

namely buri, raffia and buntal are obtained. The buri
palm has large fan-shaped leaves with stout petioles
ranging from 2 to 3 m in length.

Some benefits of using indigenous material are:

• Renewable and abundant, coming from diverse natural sources and whose production
has low impact on the environment;
• Naturally nonpolluting, emitting no harmful vapors, particles or toxins into the
environment;
• Energy efficient, using low energy in production, transport, and use, and generally
coming from the local region and endorses local businesses;
• Low waste and capable of being reused and recycled
• Enhances the region’s unique sense of place

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 Enrichment Activities:

Module 6. Activity 1.

• Choose at least one indigenous craft from your home and reflect on how significant it is
in our daily lives. Take a picture of it and attach it in your output.
Module 6. Task 1.

• Create and design a simple craft utilizing locally available indigenous materials. Video
your performance or make a documentation of the process and compile them in an e-
portfolio.

Rubric

1 2 4 5
- The student
- The piece shows no - The piece shows - The student work work
Creativity evidence of original little evidence of demonstrates demonstrates a
thought. original thought. originality. unique level of _____
originality.
- The student
- The student - The student
- The student did completed the
finished the gave effort far
not finish the work project in an above
Effort project, but it beyond the
in a satisfactory average manner,
lacks finishing requirements of
manner. yet more could _____
touches. project.
have been done.
- The student - The artwork is
- The student
- The student showed showed above outstanding
showed average
poor craftsmanship average and was
Skills craftsmanship
or lack of craftsmanship finished with a
and
understanding. and great deal of _____
understanding.
understanding. patience.
Total _____

References:

https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-lifestyle/2016/06/30/1598122/indigenous-philippine-
arts-and-crafts
https://www.our7107islands.com/top-5-indigenous-pinoy-arts-and-crafts/
https://www.vigattintourism.com/tourism/articles/Indigenous-Arts-and-Crafts
https://philippinesjewelry.com/
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/3304418/
https://www.manilatimes.net/2014/07/02/lifestyle-entertainment/life-times/weaving-the-
philippines-local-textures-and-fabrics/108502
https://www.michaelbackmanltd.com/archived_objects/gaddang-mans-clothing-set-luxon-
philippines/
https://medium.com/@alaynepeanopongpong/pagbabatok-a-dying-art-cca9d14b8f9a
https://www.slideshare.net/babaylan1111/philippine-indigenous-art
https://www.scribd.com/doc/56447681

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