PRE-HISPANIC CULTURE

• Before the Spaniards came into the Philippines there were existing culture of the Filipinos which were not distinguished by most of the filipinos especially for the new born filipino citizens. The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other group.
• The People’s Commandments. Pre-college Filipino textbooks teach that the only written laws of pre-colonial Philippines that have survived are the Maragtas Code and the Code of Kalantiaw, both prepared in Panay. Some historians believe that the Maragtas Code was written by Datu Sumakwel, one of the chieftains from Borneo who settled there.
• Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or any emergency. The position of datu was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his barangay. In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him fight for the barangay in case of war. In the old days, a datu had a council of elders to advise him, especially whenever he wanted a law to be enacted. The law was written and announced to the whole barangay by a town crier, called the umalohokan.

Clothing and Ornaments

Before the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines the natives already wore clothes and personal ornaments. The men wore short-sleeved and collarless jackets, whose length reached slightly below the waist. The color of the jacket appeared to indicate the position of the wearer in society, e.g., red for the chief, and blue or black for those below him, depending on the societal class.Tthey wore a bahag for the lower part, a strip of cloth wrapped around the waist, passing between the thighs.

A piece of cloth wrapped around the head, called a putong, served as a head gear. The kind of putong one wore was important. For example, a red putong meant the wearer had killed a man in war while one who had killed at least seven people signified so by wearing an embroidered putong. They also wore necklaces, armlets or kalombiga, earrings, rings, and anklets, usually made of gold and precious stones. The women’s upper garment was a sleeved jacket, called a baro. Over their skirts (saya or patadyong) was wrapped a strip of cloth called tapis. They also wore gem-studded bracelets, necklaces, rings, and gold earrings.

Bahay Kubo

The traditional bahay kubo follows the centuries old Southeast Asian rural archetype of the single room dwelling where all family activities happen in one space. Mats are rolled up in the morning, the same space is given over to daytime activities that sometimes spill outdoors to the shaded areas underneath the house after sleeping. A native Filipino dwelling house which is usually made from bamboos for structure and nipa leaves for roofing.

Vernacular architecture goes beyond the bahay kubo. The bahay kubo is very airy and provides a cool shelter even under the hot climate. From its origin as a rural bamboo and nipa house, it evolved into the urban bahay na bato during the Spanish colonial era.The house is very simple. Usually a square or rectangular structure built of bamboo, wood and roofed with thatch that encloses a single room that could be small enough to shelter just a man and wife, on the other hand, it could be large enough to sleep the patriarch and matriarch of an extended family that includes their children and children’s family.

Bamboo Ladder

Our bamboo ladder is both solid and decorative. The fine craftsmanship results in tight joints which are pinned in place with bamboo pins. No hardware or glues are used. The ladder is 19 inches wide at the bottom and 12 inches at the top. It is 90 inches tall so will fit inside as well.

This is the same bamboo ladder used for hundred of years in China and Japan. Strong, yet delicate in appearance. Use them as your imagination desires, bathroom towel rack, work ladder, decorative and more.

Bahag

Mangyan tribesmen (possibly Hanunoo) wear traditional dress (above) — a bahag (loincloth), a bayong (bag for knife, comb, and so forth), and a panyo (head-band for long hair). Hill and his friends traded buns for the watermelon carried by the man on the right. Fred Hill (third from left, below) enjoys a picnic lunch with an unidentified soldier; Clara Cohen, a Red Cross Nurse; and Charles Ehrman, a soldier with the 49th Fighter Group.

Barong Tagalog

"The Barong Tagalog exhibits the loose, long lines of its Chinese sources, the airy tropical appearance of Indo-Malay costume, the elongated effect of Hindu dressing, and the ornamental restraint of European men's clothing.

The barong appears to have retained its essential look since it was first worn. Through the years, almost imperceptibly, the barong's round neck, straight long sleeves and mid-thigh hemline were ingeniously modified with collar, cuffs and side slits." In the Philippines a modern, westernized style of dressing is common everywhere. In the urban areas as well as in the rural areas. For a long time already. Happily, it doesn't mean that it is impossible to see typical Filipino dress.

Patadyong

It is like a malong but in checkered design. It has a variety of uses. Primarily, women used it as a tucked-in skirt topped by a kimona. It was used as a mobile, personalized bathroom because in the olden days, women take a bath and wash their clothes in the river. With either one hand or their teeth holding a piece of the patadyong, they soap and clean their body with another hand, assured of “protection” from malicious eyes. With the change in lifestyle, demand for the patadyong is only for special occasions. Many of the children of weavers would rather work as factory workers or domestic helpers rather than spend time in front of the old spinning wheel.