Ancient Report 1

POTTERY
 Pottery stands among one of the most ancient arts.

 The Manunggul jar, excavated in Palawan circa eighth century BC, shows the high artistic level
that the art attained in ancient times.
 Manunggul Jar is a secondary ancestral burial jar. According to the National Museum of the
Philippines, the top cover or lid of the jar depicts a boat with two human figures signifying two
souls on their way to the afterlife. It is unmistakable proof that precolonial Filipinos believed in
an afterlife for departed souls.
 Extant examples of early Philippine pottery display a wide variety of shapes and decorative
techniques, including incision, stippling, appliqué, openwork, and impression by rope and mat.
 A significant earthenware from the Late Neolithic period are the Maitum burial jars found in
Sarangani Province in Mindanao featuring anthropomorphic designs of individualized faces.
 Sorsogon and Samar also have burial jars (Briones 1977, 205-9). Luzon and Visayas uncovered
smaller old fragments (Solheim 1977, 121-25). One of the better-documented sites is
Calatagan, Batangas, where diggers unearthed a variety of ceramic patterns and forms: ring-
footed bowls, stemmed and wide-bottomed cups, turtle, breast, and gourd jars.
 Some sites in Batangas have also yielded small stone human ngures called licha.
 In contemporary times, pottery would become more and more associated with objects for
daily use, such as the palayok (clay pot) for cooking, and the banga (clay jar) and tapayan
(liquid container) for storing liquids.
 The materials for these pots are clay and sand previously mixed by carabao feet trudging
round and round for about six hours. The mixture is prepared for the potter's wheel and there
shaped into pieces, which are excellent studies in form.
 Of the existing pottery traditions, that of the Kalinga of northern Luzon is unique for its overall
stamped-in designs on the jars that are used for storing grains.
 In Vigan, Ilocos Sur, a tradition of high-temperature pottery, called burnay, persists in
response to the continued demand for all kinds of containers: the palayok for cooking; the
banga for storing drinking water; the asinan (salt container) for storing salt; and the tapayan
for fermenting basi (sugarcane wine) or curing bagoong (fish or shrimp fry preserved in brine).
CARVING
Carving
 Wood carving in the Cordilleras features stylized human figures, such as the male and female
bulol and tat-tagu.
 Many centuries ago in northern Luzon, the Ifugao built their magnificent stone-walled rice
terraces. These terraces make way for water from the mountaintop to irrigate the tiered fields
and the valley below.
 Central to the Ifugao rice culture is the bulol, a stylized sculpture representation of a human
figure in Wood, used in rituals associated with the many stages of rice planting, healing,
 and the resolution of intertribal feuds.
 Human and animal motits are also carved into the posts of Cordillera houses and into household
objects like bowls, forks, and spoons.
 In the traditional house, the same carved human figure appears and is referred to as
kinabagat.
 Geometric designs are often carved or gouged onto the outside walls.
 The hagabi, a huge wooden bench with a slightly arched midsection, is a symbol of economic
and political power. The owner must hold a ritual feast in every village the hagabi passes
while being brought from the carving location to his home.
 This repertoire of carved forms is referred to as okir in Maranao or ukkil in Tausug, meaning
"carved

 The principal okir designs are the sarimanok, the naga, and the pako rabong.
 The sarimanok, which is carved in wood, simply varnished or painted in many
colors.
 The naga has the form of an elaborate mythical serpent or dragon with a vigorous
S-curve and numerous curvilinear motifs to suggest its scales.
 The pako rabong is a stylized growing fern with a broad base gracefully tapering
upward.
 The kris, encased in a mother-of-pearl-decked scabbard, used to be a dress imperative for the
Tausug male.
 Tagbanwa of Palawan produce animal sculptures for rituals, interior design, and etc.
 The wooden sculptures are blackened and incised with geometric designs that bring out the
original light tone of the material. Contemporary art works experiment with a
 variety of designs.
 In Bulacan, bamboo is the primary material used in the construction of singkaban through the
process of carving, whittling, and installation in public spaces.
 The Hanunoo Mangyan of Mindoro carve their ancient syllabary, surat mangyan, on bamboo
vessels and strips.
 The letters are those of the ambahan, a poem that expresses personal feelings and thoughts.
WEAVING
 Philippines' ethnic textile tradition is as ancient and shows cultural kinship with Southeast
Asia. Many nations in the area use decorative weaving methods like the Yakan extra weave.
Ikat is a regional heritage among various Philippine groups, such the Tboli in their abaca tnalak
weave and the Bagobo in their dagmay.
 Maranao cylinder skirts called malong, Bontok rectangular skirts called tapis, and Ilonggo
checkered or striped skirts called patadyong are popular, and so are different kinds of
headgear such as the pis and the tubao.
 Santa Maria, Santiago, and Vigan in Ilocos Sur; Sarrat and Paoay in Ilocos Norte; and Bangar in
La Union are major weaving towns.
 Santiago, Vigan, and Sarrat have been producing blankets with intricate designs called binacol
and pinilian.
 Binodbodan tied, a remarkable technique of embedding a design on the thread, is done by
dyeing the tied threads in a vat with colors derived from natural Sources.
 Once untied, the design appears on the finished cloth. This method is used for weaving blankets,
G-strings, and tapis.
 The ikat procedure is also used by the highland groups of eastern Mindanao such as Tboli,
Bagobo, Tagakaolo, Mandaya, Blaan, Ubo, and Kalagan of eastern Mindanao.
 Figurative patterns like frogs, birds, lizards, and humans showcase the complexity of ikat.
 Another method is the tritik tie-and-dye technique used on the cloth of the Bagobo male
headdress. The pattern is sewn into the fabric to avoid fading.
 The pis syabit and the kandit are outstanding examples of Tausug weaving. The pis is a square
headdress for the male, with complex multicolored geometric designs. The kandit or sash is a
silk waistband in bold.
 Teofilo Garcia of Abra won the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2012 for his gourd-made
kattokong nga tabungaw.
 Among the Tagbanwa of Palawan, a highly attractive basket, called basag, with a conical cover
stands out.
 In Romblon, wedding couples dance on a white buri mat with lacelike edging. Both relatives
compete to pin the most money on the couple's garments while they dance.
 Sama mats are created on the limestone and coral-based island of Laminusa in Tawi-Tawi.
 Haja Amina Appi of Tawi-Tawi won the Manlilikha ng Bayan Award in 2004.

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POTTERY

 Pottery stands among one of the most ancient arts.

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