Philippine Indigenous Arts

Prepared By: Ms. Rosalia C. Rosario

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 eisted at that time, from
the Asian mainland.
!he net "nown inhabitation is when the #egrito or Aeta arrived
in the islands. $owever, they were driven bac" by several waves
of immigrants from Indonesia, only to be followed by the maritime
peoples of the %alayan islands.
!here is much written on the Austronesian peoples of the
Southeast Asia area and their descendants. !hese peoples were
the seafaring people who traveled to distant parts of the world
during this period of history. Some historians believe that these
peoples settled in the southern regions of the Philippines and
eastern regions of Indonesia. &hat is "nown, about this period, is
that blade stone technology, dating bac" to around '((( )*E
reached the northern portions +,u-on area. of the Philippines.
!here are several postulates concerning migration and maritime
trade during this time period.
It is "nown that there were many warring peoples in the
Philippines as early as /((( )*E. &ithin the past /( years,
remnants of stone walls have been found in the province of Ifugao.
)ased on dating techni0ues of the tools and artifacts found in the
same area of these walls, it has been shown that they were build
during this period, /((( )*E. It is theori-ed that these stone wall
outlines were the traces of an ancient fortress. !his was
thousands of years before any Spanish influences.
How does Philippine folk
(indigenous) art reflect nature
and the life of the common folk?

Philippine folk (indigenous) art reflects

nature and the life of the common folk
through various media techniques and
processes based on the factors of time,
climate, resources, ideas and historical
and cultural context
Philippine Indigenous Arts

Carving

Pottery

Weaving

Physical ornaments
Sculpture
Sculpture is threedimensional artwork created b!
shaping or combining hard materials, t!picall!
stone such as marble, metal, glass, or wood, or
plastic materials such as cla!, textiles, pol!mers
and softer metals"
*arving is one of the techni0ues used in
sculpture.
)ul-ul are carved Anito
figures of the Ifugaos:
these represent their
ancestral spirit and
granary gods.
SEATED IFUGAO
"BULUL" AT THE
CONCLUSION OF
THE ANNUAL IFUGAO
HARVEST RITUAL
"BULULS" PLACED IN
RICE GRANARIES ARE
CONSIDERED
GUARDIANS OF
THE HARVEST
#fugao sculpture
Sarimano"
Shown above are the most well-"nown of the old designs, the sarimanok. !he
figure represents a fowl with wings, feathered tail, and a head decorated with
ornaments of scrolled and painted motif of leaves, spirals, and feather-li"e
forms. It usually stands on a fish and another one hangs from its bea". !he
wooden figure, usually perched atop a bamboo pole, stands among
decorative flags during weddings and other festive occasions.
Ang $agabi ay isang upuang "ahoy ng mga Ifugao na sumisimbolo
sa panlipunang "atayuan ng isang mamamayan. Ito ay nagpapa"ita
ng yaman at "apangyarihan ng may-ari nito na "adalasan ay isang
1adanagyan o isang taong nabibilang sa mataas na antas sa
lipunan. Ito ay sa "adahilanang tanging ang mga mayayaman
lamang ang may "a"ayahang mag pagawa nito "asama na ang
ritwal na ipinagdiriwang sa oras na matapos ang pagbubuo nito.
$ng hagabi a! isang upuang kaho! na gawa sa narra o ipil" $ng orihinal
na an!o nito a! tinatawag na ginulgulding na ang ibig sabihin a! %kaga!a
ng kambing%, sapagkat sa dalawang dulo ng upuan a! ma!roong nakaukit
na animo&! ulo ng kambing" 'a kasaluku!an ang hagabi a! ma! iba&t iba
nang an!o ang isang dulo nito na tinatawag na ngiwi a! kaga!a na ng
ulo ng isang ha!op na ma! mahabang ilong at dalawang malalaking
tainga"
(orogan, the ancestral home of the
)aranao 'ultan or *atu"
+ne of the richest
survivors of Philippine
pre'panish art is
)aranao decorative art,
described b! critics as
graceful and
rh!thmical"(he
floorbeams of the
houses pro,ect be!ond
the walls, and the ends
or panolong, such as
the decorative figure,
are carved and
multicolored"
!he Panolong is a carved end
beam of the !orogon.
Pottery are ob,ects that are first shaped of wet
cla!, then hardened b! baking" Potter! includes
both decorative and practical items such as
bowls, vases, dishes, and lamps
Potter! in the Philippines varies in forms and
functions" (he forms of the pots are directl!
influenced b! the functions of the pots and the
tradition of the communit!-local area"
Pala!ok
)anunggul .ar
Ang !apayan sa %anunggul ay isang banga na ginamit sa paglilibing ng
mga sinaunang tao sa Palawan noong 23(-45( )1. Ang banga ay u"ol sa
se"ondaryang paglilibing "aya mga buto lamang ng yumao ang laman nito.
Itinuturing itong Pambansang 1ayamanan ng Pilipinas at ma"i"ita rin sa
li"od ng 5((( libo na salapi.
,eta-leta cave archaeology
,eta-leta *ave, ,angen Island, El #ido, Palawan was ecavated in 536'
by 7r. 8obert 9o. ,eta-leta *ave is an important burial site belonging
to the ,ate #eolithic Period where an assemblage of stone and shell
artifacts associated with sophisticated pottery and nephrite ad-es and
aes were recovered. :ther materials include stone ornaments and
shell beads"
)anunggul .ar

(he %anunggul ;ar is a /ational (reasure of

the Philippines" $ secondar! burial ,ar, it is
designated item 01)+21 in the /ational
)useum of the Philippines, )anila" (he ,ar was
found in 3hamber $ of the (abon 3ave, one of
the )anunggul caves in Palawan" (he ,ar is
dated from about 4566 !ears before the present"
#t was found b! 7obert 8ox and )iguel 'antiago"

%'econdar! burial was fairl! common in the

Philippines, and the rest of 'outheast $sia until
quite recentl! """% p" 16, 9ilhelm :" 'olheim ##,
The People and Art of the Philippines

#n secondar! burial, onl! bones were placed in

the ,ar, and the ,ar itself is not buried"
)anobo burial ,ars
(his figure is a fragment of the
cover of a Philippine
secondar! funerar! burial ,ar"
'econdar! funerar! ,ars were
used to hold the exhumed
remains of the )anobo people
of the ;ulaman plateau who
flourished at around <66$*"
(hese ritual containers would
comprise of the ,ar, and the
cover or lid" (he face on the
figure is achieved through
shallow incisions to
schematicall! represent
anthropomorphic forms, deep
gouges for the e!es, a mere
suggestion of a nose, a
seemingl! halfopen mouth"
&eaving means to make cloth and other
ob,ects" (hreads or strands of material
are passed under and over each other"
9eaving in the Philippines has different forms, functions
and materials" (he! also var! in design and techniques
used" )ost of the common forms of weaving in the
Philippines are in the form of hats, mats, bags, baskets
and textiles (clothes and blankets)"
&eaving
$ malong bearing okir designs"
!he %aranaos call their ornamental design o"ir, a
general term for both the scroll and the geometric form.
+kir *esign

!he scroll is the dominant feature in the men<s wor"

composed of various spiral forms. In contrasts, the
-ig-ag and angular forms are the dominating motifs in
women<s geometric art.
!he most popular of all the malong styles is the landap. &hich is
either dominantly red, yellow, green, blue, or violet. 8ed is the
favorite color along with yellow= these colors stand for royalty or
aristocracy. :ften, men wear the red landap and the women, the
yellow.
Ph!sical +rnaments
BONTOC IFUAGO AND !ALINGA TRIBAL TE"TILES
#ITH A VARIET$ OF SILVER AND BRASS
"LINGLINGO" FERTILIT$ CHAR%S
BONTOC #ARRIOR&S RITUAL "BOA$A" HEAD HUNTING NEC!LACE' SHELL
BOAR TUS! RATTAN FIBERAND BONE
Physical ornamentation can be categori-ed to three areas specifically
the use of traditional costumes +tetile., >ewelries and tattoos. !he
designs vary depending on the location, users and function of the
ornaments.
8ilipino bawisak earrings
(raditional #fugao tribe
(/orthern =u>on,
Philippines) bead and
shell bawisak earrings"
(he bottom shell designs
have been described as
either representing
butterflies
or a certain item of male
generative anatom!"
IFUGAO' #ARRIOR&S
SILVER "LINGLINGO"
EARRING PAIR AND PENDANTS
!raditional 9ilipino !attoo
!he Philippine !ribal *ostumes
!he )?laan are one of the indigenous peoples of Southern %indanao in
!he Philippines.
!hey are famous for their brasswor"s, beadwor" and t?nala" weave.
!he people of these tribes wear colorful embroidered native costumes
and beadwor" accessories.
1A,I#@A
!he 1alinga are called the
Apeacoc"s of the northB
because of their attention to
appearance and dressing.
1alinga is a landloc"ed
province of northern
*ordillera, Philippines.
A1alingaB means enemy, a
name that the bordering
inhabitants
called this tribe because of
their headhunting attac"s.
!he name stuc" and became
accepted by the natives
themselves.
!?):,I
!he !?boli distinguish
themselves from other
!ribal @roups
by their colorful
clothes, bracelets and
earrings,
this tribe is famous for
their complicated
beadwor",
wonderful woven
fabrics and beautiful
brass ornaments.
!he )agobo are proud people with proto %alayan features.
!hey have ornate traditions in weaponry and other metal arts.
!hey are noted for their s"ill in producing brass articles through the ancient lost-
wa process.
!hese people also weave abacca cloths of earth tones and ma"e bas"ets
that are trimmed with beads, fibers and horse?s hair.