The arts of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse 

cultural influences
and traditions. The Malayan peoples had early contact with traders who
introduced Chinese and Indian influences. Islamic traditions were first
introduced to the Malays of the southern Philippine Islands in the 14th
century. Most modern aspects of Philippine cultural life evolved under the
foreign rule of Spain and, later, the United States. In the 16th century the
Spanish imposed a foreign culture based in Catholicism. While the lowland
peoples were acculturated through religious conversion, the Muslims and
some upland tribal groups maintained cultural independence. Among those
who were assimilated arose an educated elite who began to establish a
modern Filipino literary tradition. During the first half of the 20th century,
American influence made the Philippines one of the most Westernized
nations in Southeast Asia. The cultural movements of Europe and the United
States profoundly influenced Filipino artists, even after independence in
1946. While drawing on Western forms, however, the works of Filipino
painters, writers, and musicians are imbued with distinctly Philippine
themes. By expressing the cultural richness of the archipelago in all its
diversity, Filipino artists have helped to shape a sense of national identity.
Many Malay cultural traditions have survived despite centuries of foreign
rule. Muslims and upland tribal groups maintain distinct traditions in music,
dance, and sculpture. In addition, many Filipino artists incorporate
indigenous folk motifs into modern forms.
A. LITERATURE

The indigenous literature of the Philippines developed primarily in the

oral tradition in poetic and narrative forms. Epic poems, legends,
proverbs, songs, and riddles were passed from generation to
generation through oral recitation and incantation in the various
languages and dialects of the islands. The epics were the most
complex of these early literary forms. Most of the major tribal groups
developed an original epic that was chanted in episodic segments
during a variety of social rituals. One common theme of the epics is a
hero who is aided by benevolent spirits. The epics that have survived
are important records of the ancient customs of tribal society before
the arrival of Islam and Christianity. After the arrival of the Spanish,
Catholic missionaries employed indigenous peoples as translators,
creating a bilingual class known as ladinos. These individuals, notably
poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belen, produced
devotional poetry written in the Roman script, primarily in the Tagalog
language. Later, the Spanish ballad of chivalry, the corridor, provided
a model for secular (nonreligious) literature. Verse narratives, or
komedya, were performed in the regional languages for the illiterate
majority. They were also written in the Roman alphabet in the
principal languages and widely circulated. Francisco Balagtas Baltazar,
generally considered the first major Filipino poet, wrote poems in
Tagalog. His best-known work, Florante at Laura (Florante and Laura),
probably written between 1835 and 1842, is an epic poem that
subversively criticizes Spanish tyranny. This poem inspired a
generation of young Filipino writers of the new educated class, or
ilustrados, who used their literary talents to call for political and social
reform under the colonial system. These writers, most notably
Jose Rizal, produced a small but high-quality body of Philippine
literature in Spanish. Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not),
published in 1886, and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (The Subversive),
published in 1891, helped to shape a new, nationalist identity during
the last years of the 19th century.The transfer of the Philippines to
United States control in 1898 resulted in a dramatic increase in literacy
and, consequently, literary production. A variety of new literary
journals began to be published. English-language Filipino novels, short
stories, and poems were first published in book form in the 1920s.
Many Filipino authors have had distinguished writing careers. Their
works typically explore the Filipino cultural identity in the context of
social and political issues. Filipino authors often write in more than one
literary form and in more than one language. Major English-language
works include Winds of April (1940) and The Bamboo Dancers (1959)
by N. V. M. Gonzalez; Many Voices (1939) and Have Come, Am Here
(1942) by Jose Garcia Villa; You Lovely People (1955) and Scent
of Apples and Other Stories (1980) by Bienvenido N. Santos; The
Laughter of My Father (1944) and America Is in the Heart (1946) by
Carlos Bulosan; Bitter Country and Other Stories (1970) by Rosca
Ninotchka; The Woman Who Had Two Navels (1972) and A Question of
Heroes (1977) by Nick Joaquin; The God Stealer and Other Stories
(1968) and Tree (1978) by Francisco Sionil Jose A Question of Identity
(1973) by Carmen Guerrero Nakpil; and His Native Coast (1979) by
Edith L. Tiempo.

B. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

During most of the Spanish colonial period, the art and architecture of

the Philippines were strongly influenced by the patronage of
the Roman Catholic Church. Most art emphasized religious
iconography. The church commissioned local craftspeople, often skilled
Chinese artisans, to construct provincial stone churches with bas-relief
sculpture and to carve santos, or statues of saints, and other
devotional icons in wood and ivory. The edifices, statues, and paintings
of the period show Chinese and Malay modifications of Spanish
baroque, an elaborate and detailed style.Philippine painters began to
explore secular themes in the mid-1800s. The painters Juan Luna and
Felix Resurreccien Hidalgo produced works in the romantic and early
impressionist styles, achieving recognition in Europe. Painters of the
early 1900s-notably Fernando Amorsolo, Fabien de la Rosa, and Jorge
Pineda-produced romanticized landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits.
In the late 1920s Victorio Edades, an American-trained painter, infused
modernism into the Philippine art world. Many Philippine painters who
were influenced by American and European modernism also
experimented with it to reflect Philippine realities, such as Carlos
Francisco, Arturo Luz, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala, and
Hernando Ocampo. Lee Aguinaldo and Fernando Zobel de Ayala
achieved international recognition in the 1960s and 1970s.Sculpture
took on secular themes in the early 1900s. The major Filipino sculptor
of the American colonial period was Guillermo Tolentino, who trained
in classical sculpture in Rome. In the 1950s Napoleon Abueva
pioneered modernism in Philippine sculpture. Many talented sculptors
were active in the following decades, notably Eduardo Castrillo, whose
large welded-metal sculptures are displayed in Manila's Memorial Park;
Solomon Saprid, noted for his expressionist series of mythical figures
titled Tikbalang; and Abdulmari Imao, who produced contemporary
interpretations of traditional Muslim designs. More recently, sculptors
have tended to utilize ethnic artifacts and natural materials to produce
assemblages with social themes.In remote areas, tribal groups have
preserved traditional art forms such as woodcarving, textile weaving,
bamboo and rattan weaving, and metalsmithing. Artistic
body adornments such as bead jewelry, body tattoos, and headdresses
are important indications of social status. In the northern Philippines,
the Ifugao people are known for their sculptural wood carvings of bulul
figures, which represent guardian deities. The figures are ritually
placed in rice granaries to bring a plentiful harvest. The terraced rice
fields of the Ifugao are considered a major architectural feat. The
Ifugao built them over a period of centuries by carving terraces into
the mountainsides and reinforcing each level with stone walls.The
Muslim peoples in the south practice okir, a design tradition that shows
evidence of Indian and Islamic influences. Rendered in hardwood and
brass, the okir designs are mostly figurative, depicting animals, plants,
and mythical figures. The style is highly decorative, with long
curvilinear lines and secondary arabesques. The designs are based in
the ancient epics and serve as significant cultural symbols. An
important motif of the Maranaos is the sarimanok design, depicting a
bird holding a fish in its beak or talons. Many okir designs are used as
decorative elements in architecture. The Muslim peoples of the
Philippines are noted for their metalworking skills, producing weaponry
such as swords and decorative containers in brass and silver.
C. MUSIC AND DANCE

Filipino classical musical compositions in many ways epitomize the

blending of multicultural influences. The compositions often embody
indigenous themes and rhythms in Western forms, such as
symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Several composers and
conductors in classical music have achieved international recognition,
including Antonio Molina, Felipe Padilla de Leon, and Eliseo Pajaro.
Jose Maceda is considered the first Filipino avant-garde composer,
liberating Philippine classical music from the traditional constructs of
Western forms. Traditional types of music are played on wind, string,
and percussion instruments made from local materials. These include
the kulibit, a zither with bamboo strings and tubular bamboo
resonators; wooden lutes and guitars; and the git-git, a wooden three-
string bowed instrument. The Muslim peoples use these and other
instruments to play complex musical compositions that have been
passed by memory from generation to generation. Most Filipino
communities remember the tunes and lyrics of traditional folk songs.
Tagalogs, for example, have more than a dozen folk songs for various
occasions, including the uyayi or hele, a lullaby; the talindaw, a
seafaring song; the kumintang, a warrior song; the kundiman, a love
song; and the panambitan, a courtship song. Some songs are
accompanied by a specific folk dance.Formal training in classical dance
has been available in the Philippines since the 1930s. The first noted
Filipino choreographers in classical ballet were Leonor Orosa-
Goquingco, Remedios Totoy de Oteyza, and Rosalia Merino-Santos.
Orosa-Goquingco is most noted for her staging of Filipinescas:
Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance, which toured the world in
the 1960s. Merino-Santos later turned to modern dance and founded
the Far Eastern University Modern Experimental Dance Troupe. Other
dance companies include Ballet Philippines (formerly the Modern
Dance Company), Hariraya Ballet Company, Dance Theater Philippines,
and Pamana Ballet (formerly the Anita Kane Ballet Company). Several
Filipino ballet dancers have achieved international fame, including
Maribel Aboitiz, Eddie Elejar, Lisa Macuja, and Anna
Villadolid.Choreographer Francisca Reyes-Aquino is recognized for
pioneering research in the documentation of Philippine folk dances and
founding the Philippine Folk Dance Society. She codified the folk
dances into steps, directions, and musical arrangements that are
taught in physical education classes in most schools. Among other folk
dance troupes, the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company (formerly the
Bayanihan Folk Arts Center) and the Far Eastern University Folk Dance
Group perform stylized adaptations of folk dances in local and
international tours. Informal folk dancing is performed for a variety of
occasions, such as harvests, weddings, and religious celebrations. The
Manila Symphony Orchestra accompanies many dance performances.
The Philippine Cultural Center in Manila provides an important venue
for the performing and applied arts.

D. LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

In addition to the university libraries, the major libraries of the country

are the Manila City Library, the National Library, and the library of the
Science and Technology Information Institute, all in Manila. The Lopez
Memorial Museum and Library, in Pasay, has collections of paintings by
major Filipino artists, as well as the letters and manuscripts of Jose
Rizal. The Santo Tomas Museum, in Manila, has major archaeological
and natural-history collections, illustrating the history of the islands.
The National Museum, in Manila, has divisions of anthropology,
botany, geology, and zoology, along with art collections and a
planetarium.

Culture and Arts

The arts of the Philippines reflect a society with diverse cultural

influences and traditions. The Malayan peoples had early contact with
traders who introduced Chinese and Indian influences. Islamic
traditions were first introduced to the Malays of the southern Philippine
Islands in the 14th century. Most modern aspects of Philippine cultural
life evolved under the foreign rule of Spain and, later, the United
States.

In the 16th century the Spanish imposed a foreign culture based in

Catholicism. While the lowland peoples were acculturated through
religious conversion, the Muslims and some upland tribal groups
maintained cultural independence. Among those who were assimilated
arose an educated elite who began to establish a modern Filipino
literary tradition.

During the first half of the 20th century, American influence made the
Philippines one of the most Westernized nations in Southeast Asia. The
cultural movements of Europe and the United States profoundly
influenced Filipino artists, even after independence in 1946. While
drawing on Western forms, however, the works of Filipino painters,
writers, and musicians are imbued with distinctly Philippine themes. By
expressing the cultural richness of the archipelago in all its diversity,
Filipino artists have helped to shape a sense of national identity.
Many Malay cultural traditions have survived despite centuries of
foreign rule. Muslims and upland tribal groups maintain distinct
traditions in music, dance, and sculpture. In addition, many Filipino
artists incorporate indigenous folk motifs into modern forms.

A. LITERATURE

The indigenous literature of the Philippines developed primarily in the

oral tradition in poetic and narrative forms. Epic poems, legends,
proverbs, songs, and riddles were passed from generation to
generation through oral recitation and incantation in the various
languages and dialects of the islands. The epics were the most
complex of these early literary forms. Most of the major tribal groups
developed an original epic that was chanted in episodic segments
during a variety of social rituals. One common theme of the epics is a
hero who is aided by benevolent spirits. The epics that have survived
are important records of the ancient customs of tribal society before
the arrival of Islam and Christianity.

After the arrival of the Spanish, Catholic missionaries employed

indigenous peoples as translators, creating a bilingual class known as
ladinos. These individuals, notably poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de
Belen, produced devotional poetry written in the Roman script,
primarily in the Tagalog language. Later, the Spanish ballad of
chivalry, the corridor, provided a model for secular (nonreligious)
literature. Verse narratives, or komedya, were performed in the
regional languages for the illiterate majority. They were also written in
the Roman alphabet in the principal languages and widely circulated.

Francisco Balagtas Baltazar, generally considered the first major

Filipino poet, wrote poems in Tagalog. His best-known work, Florante
at Laura (Florante and Laura), probably written between 1835 and
1842, is an epic poem that subversively criticizes Spanish tyranny.
This poem inspired a generation of young Filipino writers of the new
educated class, or ilustrados, who used their literary talents to call for
political and social reform under the colonial system. These writers,
most notably Jose Rizal, produced a small but high-quality body of
Philippine literature in Spanish. Rizal's novel Noli Me Tangere (Touch
Me Not), published in 1886, and its sequel, El Filibusterismo (The
Subversive), published in 1891, helped to shape a new, nationalist
identity during the last years of the 19th century.

The transfer of the Philippines to United States control in 1898 resulted

in a dramatic increase in literacy and, consequently, literary
production. A variety of new literary journals began to be published.
English-language Filipino novels, short stories, and poems were first
published in book form in the 1920s. Many Filipino authors have had
distinguished writing careers. Their works typically explore the Filipino
cultural identity in the context of social and political issues. Filipino
authors often write in more than one literary form and in more than
one language. Major English-language works include Winds of April
(1940) and The Bamboo Dancers (1959) by N. V. M. Gonzalez; Many
Voices (1939) and Have Come, Am Here (1942) by Jose Garcia Villa;
You Lovely People (1955) and Scent of Apples and Other Stories
(1980) by Bienvenido N. Santos; The Laughter of My Father (1944)
and America Is in the Heart (1946) by Carlos Bulosan; Bitter Country
and Other Stories (1970) by Rosca Ninotchka; The Woman Who Had
Two Navels (1972) and A Question of Heroes (1977) by Nick Joaquin;
The God Stealer and Other Stories (1968) and Tree (1978) by
Francisco Sionil Jose A Question of Identity (1973) by Carmen
Guerrero Nakpil; and His Native Coast (1979) by Edith L. Tiempo.

B. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

During most of the Spanish colonial period, the art and architecture of
the Philippines were strongly influenced by the patronage of the
Roman Catholic Church. Most art emphasized religious iconography.
The church commissioned local craftspeople, often skilled Chinese
artisans, to construct provincial stone churches with bas-relief
sculpture and to carve santos, or statues of saints, and other
devotional icons in wood and ivory. The edifices, statues, and paintings
of the period show Chinese and Malay modifications of Spanish
baroque, an elaborate and detailed style.

Philippine painters began to explore secular themes in the mid-1800s.

The painters Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccien Hidalgo produced works
in the romantic and early impressionist styles, achieving recognition in
Europe. Painters of the early 1900s-notably Fernando Amorsolo,
Fabian de la Rosa, and Jorge Pineda-produced romanticized
landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits. In the late 1920s Victorio
Edades, an American-trained painter, infused modernism into the
Philippine art world. Many Philippine painters who were influenced by
American and European modernism also experimented with it to reflect
Philippine realities, such as Carlos Francisco, Arturo Luz, Anita
Magsaysay-Ho, Vicente Manansala, and Hernando Ocampo. Lee
Aguinaldo and Fernando Zobel de Ayala achieved international
recognition in the 1960s and 1970s.
Sculpture took on secular themes in the early 1900s. The major
Filipino sculptor of the American colonial period was Guillermo
Tolentino, who trained in classical sculpture in Rome. In the 1950s
Napoleon Abueva pioneered modernism in Philippine sculpture. Many
talented sculptors were active in the following decades, notably
Eduardo Castrillo, whose large welded-metal sculptures are displayed
in Manila Memorial Park; Solomon Saprid, noted for his expressionist
series of mythical figures titled Tikbalang; and Abdulmari Imao, who
produced contemporary interpretations of traditional Muslim designs.
More recently, sculptors have tended to utilize ethnic artifacts and
natural materials to produce assemblages with social themes.

In remote areas, tribal groups have preserved traditional art forms

such as woodcarving, textile weaving, bamboo and rattan weaving,
and metalsmithing. Artistic body adornments such as bead jewelry,
body tattoos, and headdresses are important indications of social
status. In the northern Philippines, the Ifugao people are known for
their sculptural wood carvings of bulul figures, which represent
guardian deities. The figures are ritually placed in rice granaries to
bring a plentiful harvest. The terraced rice fields of the Ifugao are
considered a major architectural feat. The Ifugao built them over a
period of centuries by carving terraces into the mountainsides and
reinforcing each level with stone walls.

The Muslim peoples in the south practice okir, a design tradition that
shows evidence of Indian and Islamic influences. Rendered in
hardwood and brass, the okir designs are mostly figurative, depicting
animals, plants, and mythical figures. The style is highly decorative,
with long curvilinear lines and secondary arabesques. The designs are
based in the ancient epics and serve as significant cultural symbols. An
important motif of the Maranaos is the sarimanok design, depicting a
bird holding a fish in its beak or talons. Many okir designs are used as
decorative elements in architecture. The Muslim peoples of the
Philippines are noted for their metalworking skills, producing weaponry
such as swords and decorative containers in brass and silver.

C. MUSIC DANCE

Filipino classical musical compositions in many ways epitomize the

blending of multicultural influences. The compositions often embody
indigenous themes and rhythms in Western forms, such as
symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Several composers and
conductors in classical music have achieved international recognition,
including Antonio Molina, Felipe Padilla de Leon, and Eliseo P Jaro. Jose
Maceda is considered the first Filipino avant-garde composer,
liberating Philippine classical music from the traditional constructs of
Western forms.

Traditional types of music are played on wind, string, and percussion

instruments made from local materials. These include the kulibit, a
zither with bamboo strings and tubular bamboo resonators; wooden
lutes and guitars; and the git-git, a wooden three-string bowed
instrument. The Muslim peoples use these and other instruments to
play complex musical compositions that have been passed by memory
from generation to generation.

Most Filipino communities remember the tunes and lyrics of traditional

folk songs. Tagalogs, for example, have more than a dozen folk songs
for various occasions, including the uyayi or hele, a lullaby; the
talindaw, a seafaring song; the kumintang, a warrior song; the
kundiman, a love song; and the panambitan, a courtship song. Some
songs are accompanied by a specific folk dance.

Formal training in classical dance has been available in the Philippines

since the 1930s. The first noted Filipino choreographers in classical
ballet were Leonor Orosa-Goquingco, Remedios Totoy de Oteyza, and
Rosalia Merino-Santos. Orosa-Goquingco is most noted for her staging
of Filipinescas: Philippine Life, Legend and Lore in Dance, which toured
the world in the 1960s. Merino-Santos later turned to modern dance
and founded the Far Eastern University Modern Experimental Dance
Troupe. Other dance companies include Ballet Philippines (formerly the
Modern Dance Company), Hariraya Ballet Company, Dance Theater
Philippines, and Pamana Ballet (formerly the Anita Kane Ballet
Company). Several Filipino ballet dancers have achieved international
fame, including Maribel Aboitiz, Eddie Elejar, Lisa Macuja, and Anna
Villadolid.

Choreographer Francisca Reyes-Aquino is recognized for pioneering

research in the documentation of Philippine folk dances and founding
the Philippine Folk Dance Society. She codified the folk dances into
steps, directions, and musical arrangements that are taught in physical
education classes in most schools. Among other folk dance troupes,
the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company (formerly the Bayanihan Folk
Arts Center) and the Far Eastern University Folk Dance Group perform
stylized adaptations of folk dances in local and international tours.
Informal folk dancing is performed for a variety of occasions, such as
harvests, weddings, and religious celebrations.
The Manila Symphony Orchestra accompanies many dance
performances. The Philippine Cultural Center in Manila provides an
important venue for the performing and applied arts.

D. LIBRARIES MUSEUMS

In addition to the university libraries, the major libraries of the country

are the Manila City Library, the National Library, and the library of the
Science and Technology Information Institute, all in Manila. The Lopez
Memorial Museum and Library, in Pasay, has collections of paintings by
major Filipino artists, as well as the letters and manuscripts of Jose
Rizal. The Santo Toms Museum, in Manila, has major archaeological
and natural-history collections, illustrating the history of the islands.
The National Museum, in Manila, has divisions of anthropology,
botany, geology, and zoology, along with art collections and a
planetarium.
Unity and diversity in art and culture can be seen in the folk arts of Asia where
the works of Filipino artists look like the work of folk artists in nearby
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and China.

Some tourist said,

 "It is surprising that their work also look like the work of folk artists in Mexico,
Nepal, Alaska and other distant lands."

The works of folk artist are alike everywhere in the world. Without seeing,
speaking or knowing each other, folk artists make cloth, baskets, pots and mats
that look alike.

Some folk arts in the world, you may compare and note similarities and
differences in their art forms. This will give you a chance to explore indigenous
motifs of some countries. The elegant motifs of ethnic arts and crafts will be
given emphasis, recognition and appreciation.

According to National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA) ,

"Cultural Identity is essential to every society. The art and culture of a people
represent the sum total of a nation's history and civilization. A nation is only
great as its culture, while its true image and soul is reflected in its art."
(Traditional Loom Weaving)

Some expert say the woven textiles of Southeast Asia are generically known as
ikat from the Malay word for "to tie" or "to bind". This refers to the technique of
binding the threads together before dyeing. Older traditional ikat comes in
subtle variety of colours from natural dyes made from flowers, tree roots,
berries and even insects. Ikats may be made of natural fibers such as cotton,
linen or silk or synthetic yarn and each may take months to complete.
(T'nalak cloth comes from T'boli, Cotabato, Philippines. It is an example of Ikat
weave.)
(Igorot Cloth is narrow, just half an arm wide. One strip pf Igorot cloth makes a
G-string.)
(Malong. Marano women wear the malong. It is a long wrap around skirt.
Malong is also a blanket,  a hammock, a baby's sling and even a "dressing
room".)
(Baskets . Every Igorot home and farm must have baskets. Baskets help make
their work easier,)
(Pottery. Laiya )
(Wanno Ifugao Loincloth)
(Dinapat-Itneg Blanket)

(Handmade Broom)
(Kalo or Sumbrero)
(Seagrass Slippers)
(Banig)
Arts in the Philippines refer to the various forms of the arts that have developed and accumulated
in the Philippines from the beginning of civilization in the country up to the present era. They reflect
the range of artistic influences on the country's culture, including indigenous forms of the arts, and
how these influences have honed the country's arts. These arts are divided into two distinct
branches, namely, traditional arts[1] and non-traditional arts.[2] Each branch is further divided into
various categories with subcategories.
Tapayan or tempayan (also known as balanga, belanga, or banga) are large wide-
mouthed earthenware or stoneware jars found in various Austronesian cultures in island Southeast
Asia. Their various functions include fermenting rice (tapai), fermenting vinegar or alcoholic
beverages, storing food and water, cooking, and burial of the deceased.
The term tapayan also include the imported martaban stoneware (Dutch: martavanen), originally
from kilns in Southern China and Indochina. These were used primarily as storage jars for foodstuffs
and valuable trade goods during ship voyages, but were highly valued as trade goods themselves.
They became heirlooms and symbols of wealth and status among various indigenous cultures in the
islands of Southeast Asia.[1]
Tapayan jars range in size from 30 cm (12 in) to larger than 100 cm (3.3 ft). They typically have
bulbous "shoulders" and flat unadorned bases. Horizontal (lug) or vertical handles may be present,
to a maximum of eight. The mouth of the jars were typically wide, but jars used for storing wine can
have relatively smaller mouths and were tightly covered to prevent the alcohol from evaporating.
[1]
 Early native tapayan were mostly unglazed, while later tapayan and
imported martaban were glazed (usually on the outside) and were thus more suited for storing
liquids.[7]

Philippines[edit]
Igorot pottery makers (c. 1910)

Tapayan in the Philippines are most commonly used for water storage, fermentation, and
cooking. Tapayan was distinguished from the much smaller cooking clay pot
(palayok or kulon). Tapayan are also known as kalamba or angang in Tagalog and Itawis.[8][9][10][11][5]
Tapayan used exclusively for storing water are sometimes called banga or balanga, to distinguish
them from other tapayan. Banga were an essential part of traditional Filipino kitchens and were
normally kept in the banggera, the kitchen counter made of slatted bamboo that extends from the
outer walls of the house. Specialized tapayan used for fermenting food products, with thicker walls
and an airtight cover, are also distinguished as burnay in Ilocano.[12][8][9]