List of Filipino inventions and discoveries

A barong Tagalogplaced against the light, showing the translucency of the fabric

 The barong Tagalog (or simply baro, but commonly incorrectly called barong), an
embroidered formal garment of the Philippines. It is very lightweight and worn
untucked (similar to a coat/dress shirt), over an undershirt. It is usually worn by men
during weddings, banquets, and other such formal events. Women wearing the barong
Tagalog is uncommon, but not unheard of. The term "barong Tagalog" literally means
"a Tagalog dress" in the Tagalog language. The baro was popularized as formal wear
by Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay, who wore it to most official and personal
affairs, including his inauguration as president.

 The Baro’t saya (also known as Filipiniana) is an embroidered dress and is worn by
women. The name is a contraction of the
Tagalog words barò at saya, meaning "dress (blouse) and skirt".

 Bahag is a loincloth that was commonly used throughout the Philippines before the
arrival of European colonizers, and which is used by some indigenous tribes of the
Philippines today - most notably the Cordillerans in Northern Luzon.

 The Hudhud consists of narrative chants performed mainly by elder Ifugao women
usually during the rice sowing season, at harvest time and at funeral wakes and rituals.

 Pabása is a Catholic devotion in the Philippines popular during Holy Week involving the
uninterrupted chanting of the Pasyón, an early 16th-century epic poem narrating the
life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.The verses are based on the bible
and practiced every holy week.
Panabas is a curved-blade weapon.

 The panabas is a large, forward-curved sword, used by certain ethnic groups in the
southern Philippines. Its length varied from two to four feet, and was either wielded
with one hand or with both. It was used as a combat weapon, as an execution tool, and
as a display of power. Occasional use as an agricultural and butchering tool has also
been noted. The sword's name is a shortening of the word "pang-tabas", which means
"chopping tool". As such, its etymological origins are the root word tabas ("to chop
off").

Balisong

 The Balisong (a type of butterfly knife or fan knife) is a folding pocket knife with two
handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed
within grooves in the handles. It is sometimes called a Batangas knife, after the Tagalog
province of Batangas, where it is traditionally made. In the hands of a trained user, the
knife blade can be brought to bear quickly using one hand. Manipulations, called
"flipping" or "fanning", are performed for art or amusement.
 The barong or barung, is a short sword with a leaf-shaped blade, widely used in the
island of Mindanao.
 The gunong or punyál (also known as puñal de kris or kris knife) is a knife from
Mindanao. It is essentially a diminutive form of the larger kalis or kris. The gunong
serves both as a utility knife and as a thrusting weapon used for close quarter fighting –
usually as a last defense. It is most often associated with the ethnic Maranao, among
whom the gunong was traditionally carried by both sexes. The weapon is generally
tucked into the back of a waist sash.
A kampilan hilt is sometimes wrapped with rattan to improve the grip. The two holes on
the crossguard are where the metal "staples" (C- or U-shaped) go, as additional protection
for the wielder's hand.

 The kampilan is a type of single-edged long sword, used on the islands of Mindanao,
Visayas, and Luzon. The kampilan has a distinct profile, with the tapered blade being
much broader and thinner at the point than at its base, sometimes with a protruding
spikelet along the flat side of the tip and a bifurcated hilt which is believed to represent
a mythical creature's open mouth. A notable wielder of the kampilan was Lapu-
Lapu (the king of Mactan) and his warriors, who defeated the Spaniards and killed
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan at the Battle of Mactan in 1521. The mention
of the kampilan in ancient Filipino epics originating from other non-Muslim areas such
as the Hiligaynon Hinilawod and the Ilocano Biag ni Lam-Ang is possible evidence for
the sword's widespread usage throughout the archipelago during pre-Hispanic times
 The kalis is a type of double-edged Filipino sword, often with a "wavy" section, similar
to a keris. Just like the keris, the Kalis's double-edged blade can be used for both cutting
and thrusting; except that the Kalis is much larger than most Kerises, making it a sword
rather than a dagger. The wavy portion of the kalis is said to be meant to facilitate
easier slashing in battle - since a straight edge tends to get stuck in the opponent's
bones, the wavy portion allows the kalis' bearer to more easily pull the weapon out of
his opponent's body.

Two lantakas

 The lantaka (also known as kanyon in Tagalog) were a type of bronze swivel
gun mounted on merchant vessels travelling the waterways of Malay Archipelago. Its
use was greatest in precolonial South East Asia especially in Malaysia, the Philippines,
and Indonesia. The guns were used to defend against pirates demanding tribute for the
 local chief, or potentate. Although most lantaka weighed under two hundred pounds,
and many only a few pounds, the largest ones exceeded a thousand pounds, and some
weighed over a ton. Many of these guns were mounted on swivels and were known
as swivel guns. The smaller ones could be mounted almost anywhere including in
the rigging. Medium-sized cannon were frequently used in reinforced sockets on the
vessel's rails and were sometimes referred to as rail guns. The heaviest swivel guns
were mounted on modified gun carriages to make them more portable.High quality
metal casting, artillery, and other metal works had been traditions throughout the
ancient Philippines. The metal smith, or panday piray of Pampanga was skilled at
making weapons, and many individuals with the surnames Viray and Piray are said to
be descendants of people who were once members of the guild of smiths who followed
the tradition of the panday pira.Ancient peoples used small arquebuses, or portable
cannons made up of bronze. Larger cannons, on the other hand, were made of iron and
resembling culverins provided heavier firepower. The iron cannon at Rajah Sulaiman
III's house was about 17 feet long and was made from clay and wax moulds.

Main article: Architecture of the Philippines

The model of a Torogan

 The Igorots built forts made of stone walls that averaged several meters in width and
about two to three times the width in height around 2000 BC.

 The Idjang is triangular hil-to citadel of the Ivatan people of the northern islands of
Batanes, these idjangs are built fortifications to protect themselves during times of war.
They built their so-called idjangs on hills and elevated areas.These fortifications were
likened to European castles because of their purpose. Usually, the only entrance to the
castles would be via a rope ladder that would only be lowered for the villagers and
could be kept away when invaders arrived.

 Torogan was a symbol of high social status. Such a residence was once a home to
a Lakan , Rajah's sultan or Datu in the Philippine archipelago a Torogan is elevated
above the ground by its columns cut from trees of huge girth. Its walls are covered with
plywood sticks and the roof thatched with dried coconut leaves. There is no interior
partition, so it appears as a huge hall. Apart from the basic elements of this structure, it
 is intricately engraved with the flowing geometries of the Maranaw design system
called okir. A Torogan will never be complete without the legendary
bird, Sarimanok being displayed inside. Furniture is also common among Maranaws.
one of the example was the Kawayan Torogan, built by Sultan sa Kawayan Makaantal in
Bubung Malanding, Marantao, Lanao del Sur, the last remaining habitable Torogan, was
declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines in
2008

A lute or Kutiyapi from Mindanao bearing Ukkil motifs

A five-key bamboo version regularly used in performances by Kontra-Gapi, a modern ethnic music ensemble
from the Philippines

 OPM include musical performance arts in the Philippines or by Filipinos composed in

various genres and styles. The compositions are often a mixture of different
Asian, Spanish, Latin American, American, and indigenous influences.

 The Kudyapi is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed

instrument among the people of Visayas and Mindanao, and one of several among other
groups such as the Maranao and Manobo. It is four to six feet long with nine frets made
of hardened beeswax. The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as that from
the jackfruittree. The kudyapi has been found among groups such as
the Visayans whose prevalence just like the kubing and other musical instruments are
and/or were found in other parts of the Philippines.
 Palendag, also
called Pulalu (Manoboand Mansaka), Palandag (Bagobo),Pulala (Bukidnon)
and Lumundeg (Banuwaen) is a type of Philippine bamboo flute, the largest one used by
 the Maguindanaon. A smaller type of this instrument is called the Hulakteb
(Bukidnon). A lip-valley flute, it is considered the toughest of the three bamboo flutes
(the others being the tumpong and the suling) to use because of the way one must
shape one's lips against its tip to make a sound.The construction of the mouthpiece is
such that the lower end is cut diagonally to accommodate the lower lip and the second
diagonal cut is make for the blowing edge. Among the Bukidnon, a similar instrument
with the same construction except that it is three-fourths the length of the palendag, is
called the hulakteb.

 gambang, properly called a gambang kayu ('wooden gambang') is a xylophone-like

instrument used among peoples of Indonesia and the southern Philippines
in gamelan and kulintang, with wooden bars as opposed to the metallic ones of the
more typical metallophones in a gamelan. A largely obsolete instrument, the gambang
gangsa, is a similar instrument made with metal bars.

 gandingan is a Philippine set of four large, hanging gongs used by the Maguindanao as
part of their kulintang ensemble. When integrated into the ensemble, it functions as a
secondary melodic instrument after the main melodic instrument, the kulintang. When
played solo, the gandingan allows fellow Maguindanao to communicate with each other,
allowing them to send messages or warnings via long distances. This ability to imitate
tones of the Maguindanao language using this instrument has given the gandingan
connotation: the “talking gongs

 The Karakoa was an ancient warship in the Philippines by

the Visayan and Kapampangan people built out of plank fastened with stakes, fitted
with accoutrements necessary for searading (mangayaw), slaves and occasional
bride.Pedro Chirino, a Spanish friar and a historian, said on his book Relacion de las
Islas Filipinas that Karakoa was three times faster than a Spanish Galleon, in the
book detailed how friar Francisco Alcina a keen shipwright admired the efficiency of
the vessels crafted by the native Visayans, There were 2,000 Kapampangan
belligerents in the Battle of Bangkusay who boarded on 40 Karakoas