International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

Ethnomathematics: Phylogenetic Analysis versus

Image Processing Analysis in Determining Geometric
Patterns of Ikat weaving in Lake Sebu, Philippines
Ramil Arciosa1 & Rogie Tuando2
1
College of Teacher Education(CTE), Sultan Kudarat State University, Tacurong City, Philippines
2
DepEd- SHS LakeSebu, South Cotabato, Philippines
Email Id: mcmaril2017@gmail.com or ramilarciosa@sksu.edu.ph

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5727777

Abstract
Ikat weaving has long existed as among the customs and traditions of the ancient people known as T’boli in Lake Sebu,
South Cotabato. It still exists and utilizes the rich natural and vast resources of the land of Dreamweaver who are
considered as the major indigenous people in the island of Mindanao. T’nalak, as they call this ikat weaving, also exists in
some parts of South East Asian countries. This study combines descriptive and non-parametric statistics in determining the
presence of mathematics in one of their finest works, the hand-woven T’nalak, known as Bed Henda, and one of fifty (50)
designs of T’nalak. The coded images formed using the phylogenetic motif and computerized image process in analyzing
the Bed Henda geometric patterns have almost the same shape. Its inner shape there is a diamond or oblong type, while, its
outer shape is hexagonal or an elongated irregular shape.
Keywords: Ikat weaving, T’nalak, Bed Henda, Phylogenetic Analysis, Image processing Analysis

Introduction
Long ago, Ikat weaving symbolized the uniqueness of some ethnolinguistic groups all over the world. In the Philippines,
particularly on the Island of Mindanao, members of the T'boli tribe are known as Ikat weavers. The abundance of fiber resources
like abaca fashioned into fabric in the area where the T’boli live has become a source of livelihood for the people. The weaving
skills and technology were handed down through generations. (Mckenna, 2000), defined word “Ikat” comes from the Malay word
“ Mengikat” meaning “ to tie” or “ to bind’. Ikat weaving is, therefore, the technique in which the weaver weaves a set length of
yarn from abaca( by binding the yarn). The T'boli tribe came from the descendants of the Manobo tribe which means "river
people." According to Tionzon & Barrios(1994) that the Manobo belongs to the original stock of Proto-Philippine or Proto-
Austronesian people who came from South China thousands of years ago, earlier than the Ifugao and other terrace building people
of Northern Luzon. The migration of tribes from one place to another brought many things in common like the textile weaving of
Ifugao in Luzon down to the T’boli in Mindanao and eventually spread all over the Philippines. The preservation of Ikat weaving
is still very pronounced in the T'boli culture. They already produced a National Artist - Lang Dulay. T’nalak is weaved with the
use of a loom, while, the different and unique designs are based on a dream. Further Eglash (2000), elaborated that culture and
mathematics have something in common, in every geographical area, every human group, and every historical moment in the
world, hence, the subject of this study.
The Philippines is very rich in culture and arts among the Indigenous People (IPs) who believe that the first man and woman
arrived in these thousands of islands. These IPs are composed mostly of the people of the Philippines. Their Indigenous
Knowledge, Systems, and Practices (IKSPs) signified their true bloodedness as Filipinos from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
According to the study of Delas Peñas (2016), a mathematical analysis provides an anthropological perspective of funeral textile
of the indigenous communities of Northern Luzon. She noted that asymmetry analysis was performed based on principles of
group theory and transformation geometry on the various repeating patterns found in funeral garments and blankets. Further, she
concluded that particular Frieze groups and plane crystallographic groups were given favor due to their choice of motifs that
reflect cultural beliefs and funeral tradition as well as weaving style and methodology. Rubio (2016) found out that
ethnomathematics is not only in textile weaving daily practices like counting, ciphering, measuring, classifying, ordering,
inferring, and modeling patterns ( weaving called apugan) but also in customs and practices which signified the presence of
ethnoscience or ethnomath. Mindanao island, the second-largest island of the Philippines is composed of more than ten
Indigenous People groups,(IPs), and, most well known nationally and internationally are the IP group of T’boli of Lake Sebu,
South Cotabato. Their well-known Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) is the T’nalak weaving woven by their
artists called Dreamweavers. The most important of all the unpublished theses of Barroca (2010) of Mindanao State University is
that the T’nalak weaving has mathematical geometric figures, particularly in freeze and plane crystallographic patterns. In
Indonesia, where Pramudita & Rosnawati (2019) explored the ethnomathematics in Java, they found out that traditional houses,

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

called Joglo houses were related to lines, angles, triangles, rectangles, quadrilaterals, congruency, and Pythagorean theorems
Further they found out that Batik motifs ( Leveng, ceplok, and Jlamprang motifs) related to lines and angles, triangles,
quadrilaterals, circles and congruency and this Batik used for their clothes, but, this is not woven by their master weavers.
Another wonder found in Indonesia is their Bamboo crafts, particularly in the Muntuk community, as revealed by Maryati &
Prahmana (2019), which had woven motif which contain ethnomathematics that connected to Anyaman crafts.

(a) (b)
Figure 1: (a) Oshima(2011) defined Bed Henda as weaved by Yab man. Bed means ‘knot’ and Henda means anything that stands
“upright”. This pattern is characterized by upright figures, rather like the posts of a fence, or troops standing at attention. (b) The
researcher and Yab Man of Klubi, the master weaver (holding of Bed Henda).
The proponents try to link the creative sides of the IPs design, particularly in the T’nalak weaving patterns into the mathematics
side, where the geometric designs will automatically standardize its quality and productivity. This study creates a bridge
between the social and science-based in terms of the mathematical analysis used in this study, Finally, the computer image
analysis determines its perfections and used an international standard called phylogenetic analysis. Correlations exist between
the two image analyses.

Computer phylogenetic
Image Congruency analysis (b)
Analysis (a) of image

Figure 2: Framework of the study

The framework of the study focuses on the qualitative point of analysis, particularly in using tracing images by a tool used in
determining the shape formed in the Bed Henda versus the quantitative side which used a computer image analysis. The
similarities of the results given the fact that the methodology is opposite to each other.

Research Objectives
This research determines the image patterns formed in the Tnalak weaving like Bed Henda of T’boli tribe of Lake Sebu,
Philippines
Specifically, this study answers the following questions:
1. How does computer image analysis determine the shape patterns of Bed Henda?
2. What are the features used by phylogenetic analysis in determining the image patterns of Bed Henda?
3. Is there an image difference between the computer image analysis and phylogenetic analysis?

Methodology
This study combines quantitative and qualitative data that determine the congruency of the geometric patterns of Bed Henda as
one of the Ikat weaving known as T’nalak, the authentic Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) of Indigenous
Culture Communities(ICCs) of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato known as T’boli. In quantitative, the image of Bed Henda weaved
patterns were converted into digitized form as bitmap file image with Paint tool. These bitmap file images are processed with
SHAPE v.1.3d an image processing software used in the study of Iwata & Ukai (2002). Further, this software contains programs

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

for image processing, contour recording, derivation of Elliptic Fourier descriptors (EFDs), principal component analysis of
Elliptic Fourier descriptors (EFDs), and visualization of shape variations estimated by the principal components. The proponents
can easily analyze shapes on a personal computer without special knowledge about the procedures related to the method. The
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) scores obtained by the procedures can be used directly as observed values of shape
characteristics for the subsequent analyses. Aside from the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the weaving images are
calculated and analyzed using Elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA). According to Dunteman (1989), Principal Component Analysis
(PCA) is a statistical technique that linearly transforms an original set of variables into a substantially smaller set of uncorrelated
variables that represent most of the information in the original set of variables. In the study of Andrada et al.(2008), the geometric
shapes of an object will determine its Elliptical Fourier Analysis (EFA) and passed on (Paleontological Statistics (PAST) to get
the statistical data of certain geometric patterns. Phylogenetic analysis is used in qualitative data, using a tracing method in
determining the code of the geometric patterns of Bed Henda. The instrument used in qualitative analysis in determining the
geometric patterns of Bed Henda is the Phylogenetic analysis of Buckley (2012) in Warp Ikat weaving in Southeast Asian
tradition.

Results and Discussion

A. Image Processing Analysis

Image processing analysis used non-parametric statistics, where the main purpose is to find shapes different from other series of
shapes, as Bed Henda or other T’nalak/Ikat weaving. There is a series of shapes formed in woven warp cloths. This process tells
the exactness of the shape formed that the particular woven cloth. FIGURE 2 shown below is the product of computerized image
processing software called SHAPE v.1.3d.
A.1. Inner and outer shapes of Bed Henda.

Figure 3.a. Inner shapes of Bed Henda Figure 3. b. Outer shapes of Bed Henda

Figure 3. (a) Image processing analysis of Bed Henda’s inner shapes with 4 PCA(Principal Component Analysis) (b)
Computerized image processing analysis of Bed Henda’s outer shapes with 2 PCA(Principal Component Analysis)

Table 1:The description of the principal components by their overall shape variation and percentage
variance of the inner shapes of Bed Henda.

PCA %Variance -2StD +2StD

PCA1 54.25 In the negative extreme, inverted uniform The positive extreme
produced which has a broader shape and manifests greater constriction
twisted four times on its interior of the upper and an almost half elongated
portion. shape.

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

PCA2 15.55 It forms constriction and linear shape and has It forms truncate at the upper
no manifestation of twisting. part and twisted twice at the
base of the shape.

PCA3 11.51 It looks like the mean shape which is elongated It has also an oblong shape
except its base; it has a wider length of the base and has narrower base.
than the upper base.
PCA4 5.86 It forms an elongated oblong and twisted twice It forms constricted elongated
on the right lower part of its base. oblong which is closely the
same size as of the mean
shape.
Total 87.17

In Figure 3, the results describe that the difficulty of weaved geometric patterns using the computerized image processing analysis
of Bed Henda’s inner and outer shapes are somewhat irregular in shape because of its degree of difficulty in weaving particular
designs and the lesser PCA( Principal Component Analysis) has the higher degree of difficulty and unique design.
According to Table 1, the process of computerized image analysis found out that the inner shape formed is simply elongated
oblong, the percentage of variance is less than 50 % except in the PCA1(principal component analysis).

Table 2: Description of the principal components by the overall shape variation and percentage variance of the
outer shapes of Bed Henda.
PCA %Variance -2StD +2StD
PCA1 86.05 There are variations in the position of In contrast, the positive extreme
shapes. The negative extreme has a V has an inverted V position and
shape position without any twisting. is twisted four (4) times.
PCA2 5.46 There are variations on twisting of There are variations in the upper
the body region, particularly, on one left of the figure forming a
side of opposite ends. The negative broader irregular linear shape
extreme has a constricted linear shape which is twisted twice and it's
and is twisted on its upper right. upper right, is twisted once.
Total 91.51

Table 2, discussed that due to the degree of its difficulty the percentage of variance is 91.51% across the geometric patterns
created, which is true in terms of the weaving designs of the Bed Henda outer shapes. The rays inside the hexagons are the things
where the computerized image process got variations of broader irregular linear shapes.

B. Phylogenetic Analysis

This analysis was used in determining the geometric patterns of the Bed Henda, one of the one hundred(100) designs of T’nalak
and a well-known Ikat weaving in the Southern Philippines. Using the Phylogenetic analysis of Buckley (2012), the proponents
found out that the images of geometric patterns in inner and outer shapes of Bed Henda match and are coded as shown in
FIGURE 3 below.

Figure 4.a. Inner shapes of Bed Henda Figure 4. b.Outer shapes of Bed Henda

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

Figure 4. (a) Phylogenetic Analysis of Bed Henda showing inner shape is Jnrd (b) Phylogenetic analysis of Bed Henda showing that outer
shape is ‘MDnrd-IN’.

In FIGURE 3-a, the inner shapes of Bed Henda found in classification and coding of warp ikat motifs are coded as ‘Jnrd’, the
geometric designs are simply a diamond shape with curved rays surrounding the perimeters of each diamond shape which has
four sides while in Figure 3-b, described that the Bed Henda has outer shapes formed and has six (6) sides of closed polygon
called a hexagon.
C. Image Processing Analysis Versus Phylogenetic Analysis

The similarity is denoted as a positive sign (+) and difference as negative sign (-) of the two (2) methods of analysis in terms of
the mean Elliptic Fourier Analysis(EFA) for a quantitative and coded image in qualitative are found in Table 3.

Table 3. Image differences and similarities of Bed Henda, outer and inner shape between
Phylogenetic and Image Processing Analysis

Difference(-
Type of Analysis Inner shape Outer shape
)/Similar(+)
Phylogenetic
(Qualitative) -
(negative)

Computerize Image +
Processing (positive)
(Quantitative)

Difference(-)/ positive(+) Negative(-) positive(+)

Similar(+)

Table 3, demonstrate how quantitative and qualitative data, analyze the geometric patterns formed in the Bed Henda as one of the
T’nalak design as their differences and similarities in terms of the formations of shapes either in the inner or outer part of the
designs. There are similarities between the phylogenetic and computer image processing analysis in terms of the inner shape,
while outer shapes between phylogenetic and computer image processing analyses have a little difference.

Results and Discussion

The woven T’nalak warp cloth is one of the finest crafts ever made by the Indigenous People, called T’boli of Lake Sebu, South
Cotabato. This IPs craft has existed 14th to 15th century, called as Banton cloth of Cordilleras, the oldest existing warp ikat in
Southeast Asia. The abundance of this ikat warp cloth in the Southern part of the Philippines, make the proponents, studied its
connections to the concept of mathematics, called it ethnomathematics. Further, its strong connections are present in the output of
the woven design in every Tnalak woven by the masterweavers, but the tools needed are somewhat to search and over. Using the
computer image analysis and phylogenetic analysis determines the unique geometric patterns and its congruency of shapes
distributed in whole Bed Henda cloths which only made by hand create a genuinely. The results signified that the geometric
patterns analyzed between the qualitative and quantitative image analysis are something in common in shapes that are somewhat
like diamond or oblong shapes, the open-ended shapes are only included as a second part in the geometric patterns. Therefore
Filipino has had its unique way understating of mathematics concepts since then.
Conclusion
The Philippines is very rich in its customs, culture, and traditions. The concepts of mathematics can help the “dream” or T’nalak
weavers of Lake Sebu to enrich their trade of T’nalak weaving. Through polygenetic and computerized image processing, this
study found that Bed Henda, as a sample of the T’nalak, has unique geometric designs like oblong or diamond shapes in its inner
elements while its outer surface has hexagon and some broader irregular shapes. Ethnomathematics, through phylogenetic and
image processing analysis, can enhance the industry of T’nalak weaving and keep it abreast with other big and profitable

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 International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021

industries.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express his gratitude of thanks to the Sanguniang Bayan of Municipality of Lake Sebu to be included
in their 30th regular session, 12th day of September 2018 held at SB Session Hall headed by Vice-mayor Floro Gandam and to
Yab man, master weaver of Brgy. Klubi, Lake Sebu. Authors are greatly honored with this idea through the initiative of Sultan
Kudarat State University, Philippines.

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International Journal of Advance Study and Research Work (2581-5997)/ Volume 4/Issue 11/November 2021