MUSLIM BETROTHAL

Carlos "Botong" Francisco, a national artist, has created pieces that highlight Muslim culture, such as his
painting "Muslim Betrothal," which shows a Muslim wedding.This painting demonstrates tradition in
Philippine contemporary art, having to do with medium and materials, and has theme, substance, and
meaning, all in accordance with Philippine current aesthetics. The painting illustrates depicts an
engagement ceremony used by the Tausug tribe in the Philippines. A young couple is depicted in the
painting kneeling on a bamboo platform and receiving blessings from an imam. The seated wedding
guests and energetic nudists who have gathered to enjoy the auspicious occasion are protected by
modest scaffoldings. The blue mountains, which are receding in the distance, add some relief to the
otherwise heaving composition. The betrothal is the preamble to the marriage contract, but it is not
without its own set of restrictions. When a man approaches a woman or her family to ask for her hand
in marriage, the terms of the contract are negotiated, and the conditions that both the man and the
woman seek to impose are included.