Folk architecture

Main articles: Architecture of the Philippines, Nipa hut, Torogan, and Daru Jambangan

Folk architecture in the Philippines differ significantly per ethnic group, where the
structures can be made of bamboo, wood, rock, coral, rattan, grass, and other
materials. These abodes can range from the hut-style bahay kubo which utilizes
vernacular mediums in construction, the highland houses called bale that may have four
to eight sides, depending on the ethnic association, the coral houses of Batanes which
protects the natives from the harsh sandy winds of the area, the royal
house torogan which is engraved with intricately-made okir motif, and the palaces of
major kingdoms such as the Daru Jambangan or Palace of Flowers, which was the seat
of power and residence of the head of Sulu prior to colonization. Folk architecture also
includes religious buildings, generally called as spirit houses, which are shrines for the
protective spirits or gods. Most are house-like buildings made of native materials, and
are usually open-air. Some were originally pagoda-like, a style later continued by
natives converted into Islam, but have now become extremely rare. There are also
buildings that have connected indigenous and Hispanic motif, forming the bahay na
bato architecture, and its proto-types. Many of these bahay na bato buildings have been
declared as world heritage site, as part of Vigan. Folk structures include simple sacred
stick stands to indigenous castles or fortresses such as the idjang, to geologically-
altering works of art such as the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, locally
called payyo. Five rice terrace clusters have been declared as world heritage sites,
namely Nagacadan, Hungduan, central Mayoyao, Bangaan, and Batad.

Rice granaries from Ifugao, called bale

 

Bahay kubo-style Mabini House

 

Daru Jambangan (Palace of Flowers), the royal residence of the ruler of the

Tausug
 

Scaled-down replica of the torogan, inspired by the Kawayan Torogan,

a National Cultural Treasure in Lanao del Sur
 

Bahay na bato in Cebu
 
 

A simple bahay kubo house
 

Some bahay na bato houses
 

Casa Residencia in Dapitan

 
 

Dakay house, the oldest surviving coral houses in the Philippines still used
today (c. 1887)
 

Bahay kubo-style Felipe Agoncillo house

 

Bahay kubo-style Quezon Birth House

 
 

Bahay kubo-style Macapagal Library and Museum

 

Bahay kubo-style house in Camiguin

 

Traditional houses in Lagawe, Ifugao

 

A simple bahay kubo-style house in Palawan

 
 

Bahay na bato houses in Intramuros, Manila

 

Coral houses in Sabtang

 

Bahay na bato-style Yap-Sandiego House

 

Bahay na bato-style Juban Sorsogon House

 
 

Casa Redonda, one of the main structures at José Rizal Memorial Protected
Landscape in Dapitan
 

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, world heritage site and ,

a National Cultural Treasure
 

Batad Rice Terraces

 
 

Banaue Rice Terraces

 

Batad Rice Terraces in the Philippines

 

Hapao Rice Terraces

 
 

Bahay na bato houses in Vigan, world heritage site and part of a National

Cultural Treasure
 

Vega Ancestral House, built with the bahay na bato prototype style with

sculptures of Atlases
 

Tutuban Center Main Building

 


 Bahay na bato-style Lazi convent
 

Bahay na bato in Intramuros

 

Bahay na bato-style Museo de Loboc

 

Casa Manila
 
 

Bahay na bato-style Hizon-Ocampo House

 

Bahay na bato-style Henson-Hizon House

 

Bahay na bato-style Balay Negrense

 

Coral house in Batanes

 
 

Bahay na bato-style Archdiocesan Chancery

 

Bahay na bato-style Jose Laurel House

 

Bahay na bato-style Bahay na Pula

 
 

Bahay na bato-style houses inside Intramuros

Maritime transport
Main articles: Balangay, Bangka (boat), and Karakoa
Maritime transport in the Philippines includes boat houses, boat-making, and maritime
traditions. These structures, traditionally made of wood chosen by elders and
craftsfolks, were used as the main vehicles of the people, connecting one island to
another, where the seas and rivers became the people's roads. Although boats are
believed to have been used in the archipelago for thousands of years since the arrival of
humans through water, the earliest evidence of boat-making and the usage of boats in
the country continues to be dated as 320 AD through the carbon-dating of
the Butuan boats that are identified as remains of a gigantic balangay.
Aside from the balangay, there are various styles and types of indigenous sea vehicles
throughout the Philippines, such as the two-masted double-outrigger
boat armadahan, the trading ship avang, the dugout canoes awang, the large sailing
outrigger ship balación, the native and widely-available watercraft bangka the tiny
canoe bangka anak-anak,  the salambáw-lifting basnigan,[21] the small double-outrigger
sailboat bigiw,  the dugout canoe birau,[20] the dugout canoe buggoh, the flat-floored and
roofed casco, the single mast and pointed chinarem, the rough sea open-deck
boat Chinedkeran, the large double-outrigger plank boat djenging,  the pirate
warship garay, the large sailing outrigger ship guilalo, the open deck boat falua, the
canoe junkun, the small motorized boat junkung, the large outrigger
warship karakoa, the large outrigger warship lanong,[28] the houseboat lepa, the
raft ontang, the lake canoe owong, the open-deck fishing boat panineman, the double
outrigger sailboat paraw, the war canoe salisipan, the small fishing boat tataya, the
motorized boat tempel, the dinghy tiririt, and the outrigger boat vinta, among many
others. From 1565 to 1815, ships called the Manila galleons were also built by Filipino
artisans.


 A large karakoa outrigger warship, 1711
 

A balangay reconstruction
 

The Sama-Bajau's lepa house-boat with elaborate carvings

 

A modernized falua in Batanes
 

A large lanong outrigger warship, 1890

 

Filipino boat-builders in a Cavite shipyard (1899)

 

A paraw in Palawan
 

Garay warships of the Banguingui
 

An owong at Lake Sebu
 
 

An armadahan at Laguna de Bay (1968)
 

War canoe salisipan, 1890

 

Painting of a balación, 1847

 


 Some of the remains of the Butuan Balangay (320 AD), a National Cultural
Treasure
 

A Manila galleon visiting Micronesia, c. 1590s

 

A casco, 1906

Folk graphic and plastic arts

The fields under folk graphic and plastic arts are tattooing, folk writing, and folk drawing
and painting.
Folk writing (calligraphy)
Main articles: Suyat and Calligraphy
The Philippines has numerous indigenous scripts collectively called as suyat, each of
which has their own forms and styles of calligraphy. Various ethno-linguistic groups in
the Philippines prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century up to the independence
era in the 21st century have used the scripts with various mediums. By the end of
colonialism, only four of the suyat scripts survived and continue to be used by certain
communities in everyday life. These four scripts are hanunó'o/hanunoo of the
Hanuno'o Mangyan people, buhid/build of the Buhid Mangyan people, Tagbanwa
script of the Tagbanwa people, and palaw'an/pala'wan (ibalnan) of the Palaw'an people.
All four scripts were inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme, under
the name Philippine Paleographs (Hanunoo, Buid, Tagbanua and Pala’wan), in 1999.
Due to dissent from colonialism, many artists and cultural experts have revived the
usage of suyat scripts that went extinct due to Spanish persecution. These scripts being
revived include the kulitan script of the Kapampangan people, the badlit script of
various Visayan ethnic groups, the iniskaya script of the Eskaya people,
the baybayin script of the Tagalog people, the sambali script of the Sambal people,
the basahan script of the Bicolano people, the sulat pangasinan script of
the Pangasinense people, and the kur-itan or kurdita script of the Ilocano people,
among many others.[104][105][106][107][108] Aside from the native suyat calligraphies of the
Philippines, Spanish-derived calligraphy[112] and Arabic calligraphy of jawi and kirim are
also used by certain communities and art groups in the Philippines. In the last decade,
calligraphy based on the suyat scripts has met popularity surges and revival. Philippine
Braille is the script used by Filipinos with visual impairment.

One of the Monreal Stones of Ticao written in the baybayin script

 

Amami, a fragment of a prayer written in kur-itan or kurdita, the first to use the
krus-kudlit
 

Laguna Copperplate Inscription written in the kawi script, precursor to

baybayin (900 CE), a National Cultural Treasure
 
 

Basahan (surat bikol) script sample

 

Hanunó'o calligraphy written on bamboo

 

Cursive Latin calligraphy sample (upper part)

 
 

University of Santo Tomas Baybayin Documents written on paper (c.1613

and 1625), a National Cultural Treasure
 

Kulitan calligraphy sample
 

Tagbanwa calligraphy written on a musical instrument (tube zither)

 


Buhid script sample
 

An undecipherable script written on the Butuan Silver Paleograph, a National

Cultural Treasure
 

Jawi script, used in the Sulu archipelago

 

The Koran of Bayang, written in the kirim script on paper, a National Cultural
Treasure; kirim is used in mainland Muslim Mindanao
 
 

Eskaya script sample

 

Mosaic mural with baybayin at Baclaran Church

 

Pages of the Doctrina Christiana, an early Christian book in Spanish, Tagalog

in Latin script and in Baybayin (1593)
 

Butuan Ivory Seal, the earliest known ivory craft in the Philippines
 
 

One of the Monreal Stones

 

Indigenous script in the country's passport

 

Tagbanwa calligraphy on bamboo

Folk drawing and painting
Folk drawings have been known for thousands of years in the archipelago. The oldest
folk drawing is the rock drawings and engravings which include the petroglyphs
in Angono (Rizal), which was created during the Neolithic age of the Philippines,
corresponding to 6000 BC to 2000 BC. The drawings have been interpreted as religious
in nature, with infant drawings made to relieve the sickness of children. Another known
petroglyph is in Alab (Bontoc), which is dated to be not later than 1500 BC, and
represents symbols of fertility such as the pudenda. In contrast, ancient folk drawings as
petrographs can be found in specific sites in the country as well. The petrographs
of Peñablanca in Cagayan compose charcoal drawings. The petrographs
of Singnapan in southern Palawan are also drawn with charcoal. The petrograhs
in Anda (Bohol) comppose drawings made with red hematite. Recently discovered
petrographs in Monreal (Ticao) include drawings of monkeys, human faces, worms or
snakes, plants, dragonflies, and birds.
Folk paintings, like folk drawings, are works of art that usually include depictions of folk
culture. Evidences suggest that the people of the archipelago have been painting and
glazing their potteries for thousands of years. Pigments used in paintings range from
gold, yellow, reddish purple, green, white, blue-green, to blue. Statues and other
creations have also been painted on by various ethnic groups, using a variety of colors.
Paintings on skin with elaborate designs is also a known folk art which continue to be
practiced in the Philippines, especially among the Yakan people.
Tattooing was introduced by Austronesian ancestors thousands of years ago, where it
developed into cultural symbols in a variety of ethnic groups. Although the practice has
been in place for thousands of years, its documentation was first put on paper in the
16th century, where the bravest Pintados (people of central and eastern Visayas) were
the most tattooed. Similar tattooed peoples were documented among the Bicolanos
of Camarines and Tagalogs of Marinduque.  Tattooed people in Mindanao include
the Manobo, where their tattoo tradition is called pang-o-túb. The T'boli also tattoo their
skin, believing that the tattoos glow after death, guiding the soul in its journey into the
afterlife.[131] But perhaps the most popular tattooed people in the Philippines are the
highland peoples of Luzon collectively called the Igorot, where they are traditionally
tattooed prior to colonization. Presently, only the small village of Tinglayan in Kalinga
province has traditional tattoo artists crafting the batok, headed by master tattooist and
Kalinga matriarch Whang-od.[132][133] In the last decade, the many traditional tattoo arts of
the Philippines has experienced a revival after centuries of decline. [134] Body folk
drawing adornment through scarification also exist among certain ethnic groups in the
Philippines.[135]

A portion of the Angono Petroglyphs (6000-2000 BC), a National Cultural

Treasure
 
 

Yakan couple with traditional facial paintings called tanyak tanyak

 

Painting made with the Waray people’s kut-kut technique, developed in

Samar
 

Painted buraq wood sculpture from Muslims of Bangsamoro

 
 Painted ivory statue of St. Joseph (17th century)
 

Pintados recorded in the Boxer Codex (c. 1590)

 

Whang-od crafting a tattoo (21st century)

 

Some recorded Igorot tattoos (c. 1896)

 
 

Tattooed Bontoc
 

Aeta man with body scarification

Weaving
Main articles: T'nalak and Piña
Weaving is an ancient art form that continue in the Philippines today, with each ethnic
group having their distinct weaving techniques. [36] The weaving arts are composed of
basket weaving, back-strap loom weaving, headgear weaving, fishnet weaving, and
other forms of weaving.
Cloth and mat weaving
Expensive textiles are made through the intricate and difficult process called back-strap
looming. Fibers such as Cotton, abaca, banana fiber, grass, and palm fiber are used in
the Filipino weaving arts. There are many types of weaved cloths in the Philippines.
Pinilian is an Ilocano cotton cloth weaved using a pangablan, where weaving styles of
binakul, binetwagan, or tinumballitan are inputted. Bontoc weave revolves on the
concept of centeredness, a key cultural motif among the Bontoc people. In its weave,
the process starts with the sides called langkit until it journeys into the pa-ikid (side
panels), fatawil (warp bands), and shukyong (arrows). Afterwards, the sinamaki weaving
commences, where the tinagtakho (human figure), minatmata (diamond), and tinitiko
(zigzag) are incorporated. The last is center, pa-khawa, which features the kan-ay
(supplementary weft). Kalinga textiles are embedded into the geometry, where motifs
include continuous lozenge pattern locally called inata-ata, and mother-of-pearl platelets
called pawekan, among many others. The piña fabric is considered the finest
indigenous Filipino-origin textile. Those made by the Aklanon are the most prized, and
are utilized in the national costumes of the country, such as barong Tagalog. Hablon is
the fine textiles of the Karay-a and Hiligaynon people, which have been known from the
epics of the people. The textile is usually used for Visayan patadyong and panuelo. The
saputangan tapestry weave of the Yakan people is a highly skilled weaving utilizing the
bunga-sama supplementary weft weave, the siniluan warp-floating pattern, the inalaman
supplementary-weft technique, and the pinantupan weft band pattern. Mabal tabih of the
Blaan people depicts crocodiles and curls. Weavers of the art can only be women, as
the art is dedicated and taught by Furalo, goddess of weaving. Bagobo inabal utilizes
abaca into creating two tube skirts, namely sinukla and bandira. Dagmay is the weaving
art of the Mandaya, who use the mud-dye technique in their craft. Meranaw textile is
used for the creation of the malong, among many other Maranao clothing. These crafts
are imbibed with okir designs including potiok (bud), dapal or raon (leaf), pako (fern),
pako rabong (growing fern) and katorai (flower). The pis syabit weave of the Tausug
utilizes the free imagination of the weaver, as having no preset pattern for the weave is
the cultural standard for making the high art. T'nalak is a fine textile of the Tboli crafted
by the dream-weavers who are provided the designs and patterns through dreams by
Fu Dalu, the deity of the abaca used in weaving. The oldest known warp ikat textile in
Southeast Asia is the Banton cloth of Banton, Romblon, dated at 13th to 14th century.
Unlike cloth weaving, mat weaving does not utilize a loom or similar equipment and
instead relies on the craftsfolk's attention in hand-weaving. The difficult art form is
known throughout the Philippines, with those made in Sulu, Basilan, and Samar being
the most prized. In general traditions throughout the Philippines, mat-weaving is only
done in shaded and cool placed as to preserve the integrity of the mats and their fibers.
An example is the banig of Basey, where the weavers usually work inside a cave.
Fibers used vary from banana, grass, palm, and many others.

Binakol
 
 Itneg shaman blanket
  

T'nalak
 

A double ikat mat from Sulu

 

Rayon Malong
 
 Silk Pis siyabit
 
 Silk Patadyong
 

Banton cloth, the oldest surviving ikat textile in Southeast Asia (13th-14th

century), a National Cultural Treasure
 

Filipino shirt made of piña (1850's)

 

Mat from Leyte

 
 

Handkerchief made of piña and cotton (1800's)

 

Panel made of silk, piña, and metallic threads (1800's)

 

Silk and piña scarf (1770)

 
 

Cotton and piña textile (1800's)

 

Textile made of pure piña (1800's)

 

Yardage for binakol

 


 Kalinga testile used in skirt
 
 Northern Luzon textile used in skirt
 
 Bagobo textile used in skirt
 

Binakol
 

Filipino clothing exhibited at the Philippine Textiles Gallery

 
 

Filipino clothing exhibited at the Philippine Textiles Gallery

 

Filipino clothing exhibited at the Philippine Textiles Gallery

 

Filipino clothing exhibited at the Philippine Textiles Gallery

 
 

Filipino clothing exhibited at the Philippine Textiles Gallery

 

Terno (1920's)
 

Skirt
 
 

Various Filipino textiles at the National Museum

 

Sash
 

Mestiza dress (1930's)