BAGOBO WARRIOR

The Bagobos are one of the non-Muslim ethnic minority

groups in Mindanao originally inhabiting the west coast
of Davao. Similar to Muslim society, the Bagobos of old
were divided into datus or the chieftains, freemen, and
slaves. They however worshipped spirits called
“gimokods” whose knowledge lives in their elders called
“mabalians.”

BAGOBO WOMEN CLOTHES

Their distinct ceremonial attire made of ikat textiles is
likely to be referred to as either costume or dress. For the
Bagóbo, however, whichever word is used made a
difference. For example, they tend to use kóstyom
(costume) when speaking to non-Bagóbo; amongst
themselves, they use ompák (garment or clothing).
Kóstyom is not just “costume” pronounced with a local
accent, it referred to something more exact. For the
Bagóbo, the implementation of these clothes took on
multiple meanings that delineated the many modes of
being a modern Bagóbo. Textiles continue to profoundly
connect to ideas of the self in relation to the group,
especially with regard to shared ideals of spiritual
understanding and belonging. Bagóbo specialize
weaving abacca cloths of earth-toned hues, as well as,
basket-making trimmed with beads, fibers and horse
hair.

MANDAYA WOMEN CLOTHES also

distinguished themselves from their less
affluent neighbors. Those of higher stature
wore red cotton blouses with black
sleeves, while “common women” wear
brown or black abaca blouses. The
Mandaya cloth, Dagmay, is made from
abaca fiber and its colors from barks,
seeds, fruits, and other natural
dyes. Every Mandaya family that weaves
the cloth has a unique design and is used
as a token of peace when tribesmen try to
resolve problems among communities.
 MANSAKA’S WOMENS
Portraits of an elder Mansaka woman and Bia Sheena Onlos – a young Mansaka leader
from Tagum City. There are a number of visual differences in the attire worn by the
different generations of Mansaka. In general, Mansaka fashion tends to use a lot of lines
in their dress with shapes such as diamonds and squares versus the use of circles. When
looking at old photos of Mansaka women you will notice that most had very prominent
bangs showing (this can also be seen in the photo above with the older Mansaka woman).
Their bangs are part of their fashion which again use the straight line theme. Large
earplugs (barikog) in their earlobes, shell and wood bracelets, and circular silver
breastplates (paratina) are also common elements of Mansaka dress which are becoming
harder and harder to find. The headdress that Sheena is wearing above is a common
piece being adapted by the younger generation. Likewise, the panahiyan is the eloquent
stitching on the shoulders and is an important part of Mansaka dress (you can clearly see
the redish panahiyan in Sheena’s dress above).

T’NALAK CLOTH
T’nalak is a sacred cloth woven by the T'boli
people in communities around Lake Sebu,
Mindanao island. Traditionally made by women
of royal blood, thousands of patterns that
reference folklore and stories are known to the
T’boli women by memory. Fu Dalu, a spiritual
guardian, guides t’nalak weaving, a process
that is enriched with taboo and ritual.
T'nalak cloth are woven from abacá fibers. The
traditional female weavers are known as dream
weavers, because the pattern of
the t'nalak cloth are inspired by their dreams.
 A chordophone is a musical instrument that makes sound by way
of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points. It is one
of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-
Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification.

A kouxian, a plucked idiophone

Idiophone is any musical instrument that creates sound

primarily by the instrument as a whole vibrating—without the
use of strings or membranes. It is the first of the four main
divisions in the original Hornbostel–Sachs scheme of musical
instrument classification (see List of idiophones by
Hornbostel–Sachs number). The most common are struck
idiophones, or concussion idiophones, which are made to
vibrate by being struck, either directly with a stick or hand (like
the wood block, singing bowl, steel tongue
drum, triangle or marimba).

aero phone (/ˈɛəroʊfoʊn/) is a musical

instrument that produces sound primarily
by causing a body of air to
vibrate,[1] without the use of strings or
membranes, and without the vibration of
the instrument itself adding considerably
to the sound
Flutes are aerophones.

Membranophone, any of a class of musical

instruments in which a stretched membrane vibrates
to produce sound. Besides drums, the basic types
include the mirliton, or kazoo, and the friction
drum (sounded by friction produced by drawing a stick
back and forth through a hole in the membrane).