[HOA 313] July 1, 2014

PRE-SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF LUZON

BONTOC (Fayu)
Location: Mountain Area of Cordillera
Bontoc is the capital of Mountain Province
Bontoc is derived from two morphemes “bun” (heap) & “tuk” (top) which when taken
together means mountain

Traditional House of Bontoc

House within a house shelter for rice, chickens, pigs & people
Plan: square in plan & designed to facilitate various activities
Granary (falig) – (2 m2 in area); elevated on 4 posts of about 5’-0” high
Has a fireplace located at rear left corner
On the ground floor (cha-la-noii) the following areas are arranged from the doorway to
the rear as follows:
a. left side of main entrance is rice threshing room (5 ft2 in area); center of
room is mortar used for threshing rice
b. right side of the entrance is a bench 4’-O” wide, 12’-O” long and l’-O”
high where baskets, utensils and other tools are placed. Chickens are kept
underneath this bench.
c. adjacent to the threshing room is kitchen (5 ft2 in area); provided with 3
concave stove stones, wooden shelves & water jars.
d. rear side of the house is angngan, for sleeping & storage; only room with
wooden flooring & ceiling

Structural
4 corner posts & side walls are built as supports to the roof
front & side walls are made of wood connected to the posts
rear wall is made of stone & mud
floor is the earth itself often covered with hardened mud
roof framing is made up of a ridge post supported by two queen posts; its peak or attic is
called (faey)
roof of the house is well-thatched with cogon grass
queen posts are made to rest on a central horizontal beam

Decorative Elements
 [HOA 313] July 1, 2014

sleeping compartment (wooden boards or sleeping benches 3-O” x 4-O” in size)

board is slightly inclined on one end to allow the sleepers head be elevated
on the other end is a pole where the sleeper can rest his feet
fire can be provided under this pole