11/7/19

Architecture in the Philippines:

Pre-colonial era
ARC 1422
is located. A roof is provided to protect the datag from rain. A cave may
M. Ticao
accommodate several family units that form a kin group with the place of each
family unit defined by the individual datag.

The Tau’t Batu also erect covered huts using light materials within larger caves.
Their fear of thunder is one of the main reasons why they retreat into caves,
and why a peal figures in Tau’t Batu folklore as a warning against mocking or
laughing at animals. The Tau’t Batu believe that their world is inhabited by a
vast population of forest, rock, and water spirits, with deities responsible for
the different aspects of nature.

There are other examples of caves and rock shelters in the Philippines that were
once inhabited by early Filipinos. The petroglpyphs (prehistoric drawings of
human figures engraved on the cave walls) in a rock shelter in Angono, Rizal
provides evidence of the ancient Filipino’s attempt to embellish his space and
invest its domain with symbolic values. The mountaintop citadels of Savidug,
Batanes, known as Idjang, is a testimony to the sophisticated defensive
engineering of the early Ivatan settlers, who carved the hard limestone formation
1 to create planes of vertical walls. The presence of clay shards from cooking
utensils attests to the existence of settlements on top of these structures. These
settlements could have been used as lookout points to monitor marine life for
food and guard against invading forces.

Nomadism and Ephemeral Portable Architecture

1.4 Idjang rock-hewn fortress
in the island of Batanes
Pre-colonial
1.5 Petroglyphs of Angono,
Rizal
Ephemeral architecture was one of the first artifacts created by human. Primitive
lifestyle was essentially nomadic, needing a form of temporary shelter that
utilized readily available materials with limited investment in time and energy.
As nomadism entails constant movement, being portable and demountable
assume important prerequisite in design and construction.

Rice Terraces – The Prehistoric Megastructure

Throughout the Asia-Pacific region mountainous terrain has been, over the
centuries, shaped into landscapes of terraced pond fields for the cultivation of
rice and other crops. These landscapes exist, both as archeological sites and as
living landscapes, which continue to be used and maintained by the people
who created them.

The technique of pond-field agriculture, which characterizes the rice culture of

the entire Asia-Pacific region, transforms and shapes the landscape. The
application of the technique to mountainous terrain has created a terraced
l a n dsc a p e . T hese t erra ces provi d e h a b i t a ts m o d ifie d by hum a nkin d .
Archaeological evidence indicates that the earliest terraces may have been used
for the cultivation of root crops such as taro, which continue to be important
staples for a part of the region.

The network of Rice Terraces in the Cordilleras is a testament to Philippine

premodern engineering. Included in the UNESC O ’s World Heritage List, it is a
living proof of man’s genius at turning a rugged and forbidding terrain into a
continuing source of sustenance. O riginally covered with woodland and
perpetually visited by tremors, the landscape had been altered by human hands.
The rice terraces may be found in high altitudes of anywhere from 500-1,600
meters, spanning the provinces of Cordillera’s mountain range, including Ifugao,
Mountain Province, Benguet, Apayao, Kalinga and areas of Abra. The walls
reach up to a height of 6 meters, and in some cases 16 meters, configured in a
range of shape and gradient. Every terrace construction in the Cordillera
Tabon Cave, Palawan
Highlands contains three basic elements: the terrace base, the embankment
and the soil body.

Cave Shelters,Tabon Cave, Palawan

Idjang rock-hewn fortress in the island of Petroglyphs of Angono, Rizal
BET WEE N T H E EART H A N D SKY 11
Batanes

Rice Terraces, Banaue BET WEE N T H E EART H A N D SKY 17

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Pre-colonial

Bawang, enclosed Pumpudungan, Banong, dike/pond-

pond-filed surface property marker filed rim
Topeng, stone
Inado, vegetable
retaining wall Lobong, water
mulch mounds
Tau, fish sump
guheng, spillway

Cross-sectional
components of a
luyo, worked pond-
typical rice
field soil
terraces in
Banaue
Haguntal, hard
earth fill
Gonad, foundation
stone
Aldoh, second- Adug, rough gravel
course walling Ahbubul, fill
stone submerged water
source
doplah, edrock/original Gangal, course
valley-flor earth Anul, drainage conduit
fill/small
stones

Pre-colonial: Geographical

Tree Houses
• Perched on forked
branches of trees, up to
60 feet above the ground
• Prevented attack by
animals and human
enemies

• By the Gaddang and

Kalinga of Luzon
• Manobo and Mandaya of
Mindanao
• Moros of Lake Lanao
• Negritos of Bukidnon
and North-central
Mindanao
• Bagobo of Davao
• Mandaya
• Bilaan
• Ilongot

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Pre-colonial
Lean-tos

• Windbreaks or
windscreens as the
first attempt at
building
• Served as shelters
during a hunting or
food-gathering
journey
• Made of light
branches and fronds,
but strong enough to
withstand a storm
• Negritos of
Zambales
• Agtas of Palanan,
Isabela

Pre-colonial

Bahay Kubo or Nipa Hut

• “Balai” and spanish

“cubo” or cube – cube-
shaped house from its
boxy appearance
• Primitive style of
A Moving the bahay kubo’s
dwelling probably
thatch roof through
started around 200 BC, communal cooperation
with the coming of iron called bayanihan
tools
2.4 Moving the bahay kubo’s
• Well-adapted to tropical thatch roof through communal
cooperation called bayanihan
climate
• Of wood, rattan, cane,
bamboo, palm leaves,
cogon and nipa

The building technology developed by the vernacular tradition is sustained

through independent evolution and the accumulation of local wisdom.
6 Vernacular architecture embodies the communal, symbolizes the cultural,
and concretizes the abstract. As a product of a material culture, the balai is
where the values and beliefs of its builders and users culminate.

All buildings exist in an environmental context, which is conditioned by the

ability of the land to sustain a given populace. Inevitably, the economy of
the culture affects the choice of the site for a vernacular structure. All
vernacular dwellings make use of readily available materials and those
obtained locally from the natural resource of the region. Climate and the
local environment (together with its macro and micro-climate) conjure an
e nviro n m e n t a l ly so u n d a n d resp o nsive stru c t ure . By a d dressi ng t h e
imperatives of nature, vernacular architecture shows great resilience against 3
physical constraints. In other words, vernacular architecture can address
the most common of structural problems with its simplicity and logical
arrangement of elements.

Communities still employ vernacular building methods today. M ass urban

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Pre-colonial

Sahig, flooring
Bamboo strips laid
perpendicular to the floor
Bubong, roof joists, either closely laid with
The steep thatch roof either ample spaces, allowing natural
bamboo cggon, grass, anahaw air to enter through the floor.
leaves, or nipa shingles as
protection and shade from the
sun and torrential rains

Dingding, wall
Finished walls assembled on
the ground and tightly
secured using rattan strips on
the bamboo wall studs. The
wall siding is either bamboo Patukaran, secondary beam
latticework (sala-sala), A whole bamboo laid over the
Yawi, main beam
interlaced bamboo (amakan), main beam (yawi) to carry the
A whole bamboo, horizontally
woven bamboo (sawali), or floor joist (soleras)
laid to define the perimeter of
woven coconut leaves the house and tied firmly on
(sulirap) each post with rattan strips. Haligi, post Soleras, floor joist

Pre-colonial

Atep,
roof Riyan, eaves

Rakuh, main
house

Rihas,
balustrade The kusina (kitchen)
has a rapuyan (stove),
tavuhen (elevated wall
for native jars), padagak
Ahbu, (built-in cabinet), and
dulang (low table) with
basement bangku (small chairs)

Ivatan House,
Batanes

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Pre-colonial
Ivatan House, Batanes Sapawan, rifge Yayis, batten
beam Nidkel, reed matt
Reklan, Rosay
binding rafter

tarugo, collar beam

.
Pakaw, rafter

Salumpad, gable wall

Bunghalo, cantilever suppor

Pangañivucan, roof beam

Tapi, floor board

Gada-gada, masonry wall

Macu, exterior lintel Panagatan, floor joist

tirante, girder
Suyid, wall footing

Pre-colonial
Panabfongan, ridge beam
Binayon/ Ati-atig, horizontal
Finaryon roof support

Paratok, upper column Fatangan, tie beam

Okong, upper floor wall Pispis, sill and roof beam

boards

Tatagon, floor
(mat) Soling, girder

Chosar, fixed Funchis, beam

wooden floor
.
Fot-ang, Chingching,
floor joist lower floor boards

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Pre-colonial

Bontoc, Afung

Li-lim, eating area

The most spacious in the house since it
contains only an elevated stick rack
(patyay) suspended on the wall, and the
water jar (panannom) in one corner. Falig, granary
Stored in patyay are the following:

Khyag (rattan plates)

Palato (enamel plates)
Ungot (coconut shells or wooden bowls)
Tasa (enamel cups) Soklut, cooking area
Mallakong (enamel bowls)
Fanilag (rattan trays) .
Fanga (pots)

Tap-an, pounding area Ang-an, sleeping area

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Pre-colonial
Ifugao House, Cordillera Region

Halipan, cylindrical disk Punchapalan,

fireplace

Palan, attic Nu-ulya, female side

Patyie, shelf Panto, door

Nundatu, male side

Teteh, ladder

Silong, basement

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Pre-colonial

Atop, roof

Gaob, wallboard

Tukud, post

Parts of trees with truncated roots

are also used as posts and placed
above stone boulders

The thick and heavy roof of a bale/fale house covers its wall and exposes only the supporting posts.
The roof and the floor of a bale/fale house are never supported by the same posts.

13

Pre-colonial

2.10 A Tausug dwelling whose

rectangular living space is sus-
pended by a pile foundation
anchored on the sea floor

A Tausug dwelling whose

rectangular living space is
suspended by a pile
foundation anchored on the
sea floor

14 ancestors, a physical embodiment of group identities, a cosmological model

of the universe, and an expression of rank and social status.

This basic stilt architecture has been subject to elaborate refinements in

many parts of the Austronesian region and is immediately linked to culture
nourished by a tropical aquatic environment. Excluding the stylistic variation,
the houses on stilts can be found generally in the Western Pacific in a region
of more than 6,000 km across the Equator from M elanesia and Indonesia 7
to Japan.

M orphologically, the house is constructed using a wo o den structural

 cogon minimized the use of nails in the woodwork because the latter proved
to be less durable because of eventual corrosion.
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Cordillera Houses
William H enry Scott (1966), classified houses in the mountain ranges of
the Cordilleras in Luzon into the northern strain and the southern strain.
According to Scott, the northern strain consists of houses made by the Isneg
and Kalinga. The southern strain, on the other hand, were houses con-
Pre-colonial
structed by Ifugao, Bontoc, Ibaloi and Kankanay.

The northern strain is characterized by houses with a rectangular plan 2.21 The Isneg binuron
covered by a high gable roof. The roof framing is independent of the floor one-room abode with a l
concave-shaped roof m
framework that the floor and all of its legs can be removed, leaving the roof up of heavy layers of bam
f orm e d t o rese m b l e a n
still upright, or vice versa. An example is the Isneg house, with its floor and verted boat.

roof supported by completely different sets of posts. The squarish house

elongates into a rectangle with a roof that is bowed into the shape of a
Gothic arch or a boat turned upside down. The Kalinga construct octagonal
houses having three divided floorings, the center being the lowest.
The Isneg binuron
The houses of the southern strain have square plans with either a pyramidal
is a one-room abode with a
large concave-shaped roof
ormade up of heavy layers of
conical roof resting on the top of the walls of the house. The house is a
box supported by posts, reaching no higher than the floor joists. An example
bamboo formed to resemble
isan inverted boat
the windowless Ifugao house, with its low walls and roofs which keep the
inhabitants warm. The floors are however raised 0.9 m above the ground.
Isneg
Inhabiting the wide mountains of Apayao at the northern tip of the Cordillera
15 Although houses in theranges,Cthe
ordilleras varyhouses
Isneg build their in size
in closeand shape,
proximity to one they allforming
another, have
common functions. Primary
a hamlet oris clusters
the provision of shelter
of hamlet mainly from the
for protection. cold.consists
A hamlet H ousesof
four to eight houses, granaries, and an enclosing bamboo fence where
also give enough protection from dampness and humidity, which may destroy
residents cultivate coconut, betel nut, and other crops in a grove or orchard
the grains stored inside thewith
covered houseweedsor andalang
bushes.(granary). The structures must
also offer defense against hostile tribesmen, wild animals, and vermin. To
The Isneg house distinguishes itself from the typical Cordillera house because
avoid landslides, these
of homes
the former’smust be designed
boat-like appearance. inThe
relation to the terrain
Isneg one-room abode, theof
Pre-colonial
the mountains. binuron, with its large concave-shaped roof resembles an inverted traditional
Isneg boat. The adoption of boat architecture to the design of the house
may be attributed to the fact that Apayao is the only region in the Cordillera
with a navigable river, and among the mountain people of the north, only
the Isneg Isneg possesses a boat-building tradition. The boat, known as
barana’y or bank’l , is made up of three planks, a bottom plank which get
thinner at both ends, and two planks on both sides, carved and shaped to
fit alongside the bottom plank.

Regarded as the largest and among the most substantially constructed

houses in the Cordilleras, the typical Isneg binuron stands 4.6 m x 7.9 m
illiam H enry Scott’s rectangular form several post systems with a prominent gothic-like roof that
t i o n o f C ord i l l era assumes the silhouette of an upturned boat. Fifteen wooden piles carry
d their typical cross- different parts of house: eight support the 1.2 - 1.5 m elevated floor; six
nd representative sil- support the roof frame; and a slim one supports one end of the 6.4 m ridge-
pole.

The walls of the binuron slant and taper downward. It has a gable roof,
William Henry Scott’s classification of Cordillera houses and
unlike most Cordillera dwellings which have pyramidal or conical roofs. A
their typical cross-sections and representative silhouettes
tarakip , an extension structure,
P H I L I P PisI N
built
E V EatR one
N A Cend
U L Aof
R the
ARChouse.
H I T E CItTisU as
R Ewide
41
as the house itself, with a slightly higher floor, but a lower roof. Some houses
feature a tarakip at both ends. The Isneg use wood for the posts, girders,
joists and walls, and thatch or bamboo for the roof.

42 ARKIT EK T URA N G FILIPI N O

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beside the bed are the taritib canopy and the curtains respectively. The roof
of the mala-a-walai is made of thick cogon thatch secured on bamboo frames
by rattan chord or occasionally of bamboo spliced into two halves ( rangeb ).
N otched bamboo poles are placed at the front and back of the house to
Pre-colonial serve as ladder.

Maranao torogan.

The torogan, which literally

means “a place for sleeping,”
is the ornately decorated
ancestral residence of the
datu or chief and his
extended family

17

Pre-colonial

3.23 Maranao torogan . The

torogan , which literally means
“a place for sleeping,” is the
ornately decorated ancestral
residence of the datu or chief
and his extended family.

3 . 24 C r o ss-se c t i o n o f a
torogan .

M USLI M SPA C E 91

The Tausug
house
is distinguished by
carved wooden finials,
the tadjuk pasung,
placed on one or both
ends of the ridge of the
gable hipped roof.
3.26 The Tausug house is dis-
tinguished by carved wooden corners, the shoulder ( agaba ); that on the southwestern corner, the other
f i n i a ls, t h e t a d j u k p asung , hip; that on the northeastern corner, the other shoulder; that on the west
placed on one or both ends of
the ridge of the gable or hipped of the navel, the rib ( gusuk ); that on the east, the other rib; that on the
roof. north of the navel, the neck ( liug ); and that on the south of the navel, the
groin ( hita ). Adherence to this sequence of post erection will guarantee the
18 durability of the house and the safety of its inhabitants.

The eight non-center perimeter posts rise to the roof level. The central navel
post rises only to the floor level. Connected to the post are floor and roof
beams. Wooden floor beams are mortised to the side and corner posts and
to the navel post. When the beams are made of bamboo, they are placed
on brackets nailed or bolted to the wooden post. Bamboo beams are held
to the post by lashing. Bamboo or wood joist set on the beams support the
floor made of bamboo strips.

The roof is given form by the ridge beam and is made from sari , nipa, sago 9
palm, or niug (coconut palms). Aside from a gable roof, roof forms in-
clude: the hipped roof with triangular vents ( sungan ), which is well venti-
lated by a hole formed by having only two (out of four) slopes meeting at
the apex; and the pyramidal ( libut ), whose tip is cut off to provide a vent
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Pre-colonial

3.28 The Yakan house, called

lumah , is a rectangular, ridge-
roofed, single-room, pile struc-
ture raised several meters

3.29 The steep pitch roof or

sapiaw of a Yakan lumah is
concave and is thatched with
either cogon or nipa. A Yakan
house has no ceiling. Windows
are limited for there is there
belief among the Yakans that
bad spirits could easily enter
the house through these open-
The Yakan
ings.

house,
called lumah, is a
rectangiular ridge-
roofed, single room,
pile structure raised
several meters

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Pre-colonial

3.30 A Samal village. Indi-

vidual Samal dwellings are in-
terconnected by network of
c a twa l ks t h a t lin ks t o t h e
shore.
Walls are made of either the horizontally positioned wooden planks, or the
air-penetrable sawali (plaited bamboo or reeds). For the floor, the material
of choice is either split bamboo poles (with the convex sides upwards) or
The Samal timber, for the main room. For the kitchen, the floor is usually made of
village, bamboo, used for practical reasons since waste can easily be thrown through
its gap. Even the kitchen walls are plaited so that smoke can easily escape.
Individual Samal
If a wooden floor is used for the main house, a small piece of bamboo is
dwellings are inserted, or a hole is punctured onto the floor, for spiting chewed betel nut.
interconnected by
network of The lumah has three parts: the kokan or tindakan (main house), the kosina
catwalks that links (kitchen), and the pantan or simpey (porch). Territorial spaces in the struc-
to the shore tures are achieved by placing a 0.25 m x 0.25 m patung (wooden flitch) at
the middle of the one-room structure. The patung separates the kokan
(sleeping area) from
walks and bridges. Thesethe tindakan
houses may(multi-purpose
be built closeliving room),
together orwhich serves
loosely ar-
as place for entertaining intimate guests, weaving, dining, as well as for the
ranged. The height of the dwelling is based on the maximum elevation tide
holding of a magtimbang (ritual). The tindukan is also the setting for wed-
level in the area; a height sufficient enough to provide enough space for
20 their outrigger fishing boats, which are moored underneath the
M U S house
L I M S P A Cwhen
E 97
not in use. At the façade of some houses are racks where boats are some-
times laid to keep them above water.

Traditional Samal houses may be as large as 24 m x 12 m, with the roof

ridge 9 m above the floor, some of which have two stories, with balconies
and elaborate carvings. In the past, these houses tended to be large, be- 10
cause a typical household was an extended family ranging from 2 to 15
nuclear families. H owever, this type of house and familial set-up has be-
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Pre-colonial
3.32 A n a t o my o f a B a d j a o
houseboat called lepa .

The Badjao house,

Living a nomadic lifestyle,
Badjaos build their
dwellings on stilts or boat Anatomy of a Badjao
houses on shallow waters houseboat called lepa

living area and a sleeping place, and the front is used for fishing and storing
21 fishing paraphernalia. Between the front outriggers there is a small plat-
form for harpooning large fish and catching smaller ones through nets. The
boats vary in length and, depending on economic status of the owner, may
be lavishly carved, front and back. At low water the boat can me moved by
stick, while for longer navigation a small sail is used. When all the children
have left, the old man of the house is expected to marry again or attempt to
join another boat; adoption is also widely practiced to keep the boat func-
tional. The death of the family head, transforms the boat into a coffin,
making it a symbolic mortuary piece to transport the dead into another
plane of existence.

The Badjaos have two kinds of boats, the structure of which are made of
single tree trunks: the dapang or vinta , used for short fishing trips, and the
palaw , which may either be a permanent dwelling place or temporary lodg-
ing during fishing trips. The vinta is a swift and smooth sailing boat with
bamboo outriggers and a sail attached to a bamboo mast arranged in tri-
pod.

The palaw is of two types: the lighter and speedier lepa , and the bigger and
heavier jengning . N ot having outriggers, the lepa differs strikingly from the
other two boats. The hull of the lepa is a log that is hollowed out, about 20

M USLI M SPA C E 101

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