Basketry and Weaving
Basketry and Weaving
Basketry and Weaving
AND WEAVING
GEC-ICC: Indigenous Creative Crafts
◦ Aside from weaving cloth, the Philippines has a strong tradition of weaving
leaves and vines into baskets and mats, known as rara or lala. Plants that
grow wild and abundant such as tikug, nito, bamboo, rattan, coconut, pandan,
buri, anahaw, abaca, seagrass, and water hyacinth are used for making baskets.
Multiple Uses
◦ Bamboo and rattan are the most commonly used materials in making baskets
that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on use. Notably, each
basket type has its own specific local name and use, according to locality.
◦ In a house, clothes and blankets are stored in a rectangular basket with a lid
(tampipi). Small bags are for tobacco or for betel nut chewing. For sleeping,
there are mats and for a baby, a cradle (duyan).
Multiple Uses
◦ In the kitchen, there is a basket of rice for cooking, a woven sieve (bistay), or
even spoons. A bilao or kararaw is for cleaning the rice before cooking. Salt is
stored in a basket. Some baskets are tightly woven and waterproof for
storing water, tuba, or rice wine. Under the house, woven chicken coops are
hung to keep them safe.
Multiple Uses
◦ Basket containers are used mostly with rice such as holding seedlings while
harvested rice is stored in baskets inside or under the house. Tambobong is a
Tagalog word for large bamboo containers for storing rice.
◦ Palay or corn is dried under the sun in sawali or amakan, woven split bamboo
mats. They are also used as walls or ceilings of a house.
Multiple Uses
◦ Baskets (kaing) serve as containers of crops (rice, corn, sweet potatoes, fruits,
and vegetables) from the fields to the houses and markets and generally carried
on the head, back, arms, and shoulders.
◦ For protection against the elements, there are hats and raincoats. In Batanes,
vakul is a raincoat for women as well as slippers made of abaca, both
waterproof.
Multiple Uses
◦ In Ifugao, tupil is a lunchbox for carrying cooked rice in the field. There are
special baskets for pork meat after a hunt, or for locusts; another basket called
agawen is worn at the hip, for collecting snails in the rice paddies. A popular
Cordillera bamboo-and-rattan backpack, pasiking, is a practical container for
almost anything.
Multiple Uses
◦ Fish traps (bubo) made of split bamboo, with narrow openings and a one-way
trap door, are also made, based on traditional knowledge. Their size and shape
depends on the type of marine animal (fish, shrimp, crab, eel) to catch as well
as its environment, such as water depth, current, and underwater features.
Multiple Uses
◦ In the Ilocos region, the barekbek is a cylindrical bamboo fish trap usually set
in rivers. Another one is called pamurakan one of the largest shaped like a
hammock, and almost three meters in length. It is submerged open side up in
brackish water and filled with twigs and leaves where fish would shelter and
hauled out after a month or two.
Recognition and challenges
◦ The weaving culture in the Philippines dates back to the 13th century. The
tradition makes use of raw materials like local cotton, abaca, fibers, and
pineapples. Many Filipinos are very spiritual people; in fact, our traditions are
rooted in beliefs that were passed on by our ancestors. Handloom weaving is
no different, it is believed that this cultural practice is associated with the
indigenous peoples' bridge to spirits who will help them attract good
health and protection in the Earthly realm.
Symbols
◦ Indigenous tribes also associate colors with different events. Brown or earthy
hues are usually reserved for matters related to death and mourning;
meanwhile, red is the color of power used by the Pinatubo Negrito for their
healers.
Binanniya
◦ https://verafiles.org/articles/philippine-basketry-life
-leaves-and-vines
◦ https://www.tatlerasia.com/style/fashion/meanings-
of-indigenous-filipino-textiles