Palaspas Vernacular: Towards An Appreciation of Palm Leaf Art in The Philippine

PALASPAS VERNACULAR: TOWARDS AN APPRECIATION OF PALM LEAF ART IN THE
PHILIPPINES
Author(s): Elmer I. Nocheseda
Source: Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society , March 2004, Vol. 32, No. 1,
SPECIAL ISSUE: PHILIPPINE ARTS AND CRAFTS I (March 2004), pp. 1-72
Published by: University of San Carlos Publications
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PALASPAS VERNACULAR: TOWARDS AN
APPRECIATION OF PALM LEAF ART
IN THE PHILIPPINES
ELMER I. NOCHESEDA

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PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
Vol. 32 March 2004 No. 1
Palaspas Vernacular: Towards an Appreciation

of Palm Leaf Art in the Philippines Elmer I. Nocheseda
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
PALASPAS CONTEXT I: PALMS AND PALMCRAFT

IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY 4
PALASPAS CONTEXT II: PALMCRAFT AMONG LOWLAND

FILIPINOS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES 9
THE WORD PALASPAS 13
PALASPAS MEDIUM 14
PALASPAS TECHNIQUE 16
PALASPAS FORM 17
PALASPAS FUNCTION 21
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE I:

RELIGIOUS RITUAL AND CEREMONY 22
Palaspas on Ash Wednesday 23
Palaspas on Palm Sunday 24
Palaspas as Wedding Symbol 25
Palaspas as Fiesta Art 26
Palaspas in Death 27
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE II: RELIGIOUS ART 28
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE III: FOOD ART 31
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE IV: FINE ART 33

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PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE V: FOLKLORE
AND LITERATURE 35
PALASPAS IN EVERYDAY LIFE 37
PALASPAS SYMBOLISM IN A SYNCRETIC FAITH 3 8
CONCLUSION 41
ENDNOTE 43
REFERENCES CITED 43
GLOSSARY 50
LIST OF CAPTIONS FOR PLATES I-XXII 58
PLATES 60

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Philippine Quarterly of Culture & Society
32(2004): 1-72
PALASPAS VERNACULAR: TOWARDS AN APPRECIATION

OF PALM LEAF ART IN THE PHILIPPINES
Elmer I. Nocheseda
INTRODUCTION
The 1589 journal of Juan de Plasencia, a Franciscan missionary
stationed in Nagcarlan, Laguna, gave us a very fleeting glimpse of beauty
that he did not name. In describing the ancient Tagalog ritual of pandot,
which was celebrated in the large house of a chief and in an inner, tempo?
rary shed called sibi, he noted that "on the posts of the house they set
small lamps, called sorihile; in the center of the house they place one large
lamp, adorned with leaves of the white palm, wrought into many designs"
(Plasencia 1903: 186, emphasis mine).
Though not directly citing the Tagalog word, Placencia described it
so well that one would not think of anything else but the palaspas. In de?
scribing the beauty he saw, he mentioned the material or the medium used
(the fresh leaves of the white palm), the technique employed {wrought or
woven), the expressive elements (many designs) and the context and func?
tion (adornment for the ritual). He was actually defining the text of the art
of palaspas.
The art of weaving and plaiting palaspas or palm leaf fronds is still
widely prevalent in the Philippines. Cutting, folding, plaiting, coiling,
braiding, and weaving pliant leaves is probably as old as the time when the
early Filipinos first took notice of the attractive palm fronds, so abundant
in their environment, with a view to begin creating something beautiful
out of them.
The art evolved from that creative moment when pliant leaves be?
came a natural medium of expression and a source of aesthetic joy. They
Elmer I. Nocheseda received a postgraduate degree in Management Policy Sci?

ence from the University of Tsukuba in Japan. His research into Philippine Cultural and
Historical Heritage is an avocation. He can be reached at <nocheseda-e@mnl.itochu.
co.jp>.

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2 PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
were also a material available to build shelters, clothe bodies, protec

heads from the elements, wrap food, weave baskets, embellish rituals, and
create playthings for games and amusement. Early Filipinos created fro
them items of everyday utility, and at the same time gave the leaves mean?
ing and beauty.
Its inherent attractiveness in form and structure makes the palaspas
a favorite decorative accent for communal celebrations like weddings an
other feasts, as the fresh leaves are used to festoon the arko or bambo
triumphal arches and the temporary altars of worship called toklong
Palaspas leaves decorate the sides of buses and jeepneys for a wedding
entourage; the sight of them, made into twirling and cascading forms
breaks the monotony of daily life as they manifest festivity and communa
joy.
Palaspas is made pregnant with meaning and symbolism when
used in rituals, divinations, dances and curing sessions. Filipinos endow
the leaves with a potency to ward off evil, and with this in mind, they
swoosh the leaves in their ritual dances, mix them with their ointments,
place them as protective amulets to guard their houses, burn them for in?
cense, cross their foreheads with them, and bring them to the graves of
loved ones.
In Japan, the art of origami or paper folding, like palaspas, also
originated as a symbolic embellishment for sacred rituals and offerings. In
both origami and palaspas, what started as religious expression evolved
into forms of secular articulation divorced from original religious inten?
tion. The arts became vehicles for self expression and worthwhile forms of
joyful creation in their own right. While origami is no longer a purely
Japanese monopoly, having many avowed adherents all over the world,
palaspas is in itself a very fascinating art mostly to Filipinos and their
neighbors, as interesting as origami in its combination of simplicity and
intricacy.
Reviewing pictures from only as far back as the 1970s, it becomes
apparent to us that we have lost knowledge of some aspects of this art par?
ticularly in terms of its most elaborate workmanship and delicate folds
(Anonymous 1977: 994-995). Recent pieces are now sparse in the use of
ornaments like woven birds and stars, colored paper banderetas (small
flags) and paper flowers.
An old 1917 photograph of Sta. Cruz church on a Palm Sunday
{Domingo de Ramos) shows its parishioners holding tall and elaborate
palaspas forms (Tiongson 1978: 2426). An even earlier drawing made by

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PHILIPPINE PALM LEAF ART 3
Felix Martinez (Plate 1) in 1893 shows a group of boys admiring the

palaspas they have made; while one boy strains his neck to admire an?
other's immense palaspas, a second boy takes pride in his own more
elaborate piece. It is twice his height and has four distinct layers of orna?
mentation (Zaragoza 1992: 94).
Another picture by Martinez shows an embellished karosa (float)
and a galilea (elevated platform) for the hosanahan (singing of praises)
during a Palm Sunday procession. They are also decorated with palaspas.
Three girls wearing flowered hats and holding long palaspas staffs are rid?
ing the karosa, which is being pulled towards the temporary galilea made
of palm leaves (Zaragoza 1992: 95).
However, unlike origami that is well-documented, palaspas art,
though widely practiced, has been glossed over for centuries. It has been
given only fleeting mention in terms of its nature and elements. Its ephem
erality, when compared to its more durable cousins like basketry and mat
weaving, may be the main reason why palaspas has not been given the at?
tention that it rightfully deserves.
There is a need to discuss palaspas as an art form within the spe?
cifically Philippine experience, with its own contexts, medium and tech?
nique, form and function, and pervasive manifestations in various genres
of Filipino culture such as ritual, dance, food presentation, proverb, riddle,
the passion, and church art.
Javellana (1982) initiated this effort of documenting some
palaspas forms, which he grouped in terms of their function, such as
arches for weddings and fiestas, food wrappers, and playthings. In the pre?
sent paper, I use both archival and oral sources, and some of my own life
experiences and field observations, to appreciate an art form that Filipinos
share in varying degrees of complexity and elaboration with other pan
Pacific and Asian countries. In defining the text of the art of palaspas, I
follow the approach of Plasencia by simply elaborating on the material or
the medium used, the techniques employed, designs or forms, and func?
tions. To go beyond Plasencia, I identify the various expressions of
palaspas in feasting, food art and everyday life, its historical and cultural
context, and its manifestations in other genres such as literature, poetry,
the art of church sculpture, prints, painting and other expressions. In the
end, I will say something about its significance for a syncretic religion, for
we will gain an appreciation of the strength and richness of the art of
palaspas, the expressive elements of which did not die with an acquired
faith and its ensuing cultural assimilation. Rather it prevailed and meta

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morphosed into expressions that, though still reflecting indigenous

structures, can now be reinterpreted within the context of adopted belie
The strength of Philippine indigenous imagination and culture
given birth to a profusion of terms that describe the art of palaspas in
various manifestations. Noting this, I find it necessary to include a s
glossary of palaspas-related terms (see end Glossary).
PALASPAS CONTEXT I: PALMS AND PALMCRAFT IN

PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Describing the first baptism (of the Cebuan Rajah Humabon) in the
Philippines almost seventy years before Plasencia, Pigafetta wrote in 1525
that "a platform was built in the consecrated square, which was adorned
with hangings and palm branches..." (Pigafetta 1905: 155). For her bap?
tism, the queen "was young and beautiful and was entirely covered with
white and black cloth.. .while on her head she wore a large hat of palm
leaves in the manner of a parasol, with a crown about it of the same
leaves, like the tiara of the pope; and she never goes any place without
such a one" (Pigafetta 1905: 159). Later on he described the funeral rites
for a chief. The principal women sat near the coffin, under branches of
trees that were hung from ropes surrounding the coffin. Next to each
woman was a girl "who fanned her with a palm-leaf fan" (Pigafetta 1905:
173).
In his short glossary of Visayan terms, he listed some items made
of palm, like uliman, "leaf cushions" (Pigafetta 1905: 195), tagichan and
bani, "palm mats" (p. 105), and the word for the fruit of the coconut palm
itself, lubi (p. 193).
The coconut is often referred to as the "tree of life" because of its
multitude of subsistence and commercial uses. Pigafetta's account of Ma?
gellan's expedition to the Philippines is replete with notes about the exotic
coconut. One long paragraph is entirely devoted to his fascination with the
palm. Praising its many uses, he writes: "just as we have bread, wine, oil
and milk, so those people get everything from that tree" (Pigafetta 1905:
105).
The early Spanish accounts noted the many uses of the palm leaves
and the ingenuity of the Filipinos in using them as paper on which they
wrote their notes with a pointed stylus or iron point (Bourne 1902: 144,
Chirino 1904: 243). Woven palms were used as sails (Transylvanus 1902:
305) and as hats (implied by San Antonio 1906: 328). Palm leaves could
be made to serve as torches or anime (Pigafetta 1905: 121, 199). One ac

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count noted that the early Sambal tied long strips of anahau onto the hilts
of their daggers in commemoration of having struck the first blow in a
killing (Perez 1906: 323).
An environment that is lush with palms and other trees teeming
with shady leaves was described by Antonio Morga in 1609 as dark and
filled with shadows (as implied at Morga 1904a: 110). Fr. Chirino told
how the coconut dominates the landscape. He wrote:
Those palms as well as the other trees which the whole island produces
in abundance, shade the roads to a great extent-providing a comfort
and refreshing coolness indispensable for those who must travel on foot
for lack of any other convenience .... the roads traverse groves and for?
ests with foliage so cool and abundant that even at high noon the sun
caused us no annoyance (Chirino 1904: 281).
After Pigafetta, the seventeenth century Spanish missionaries Navarette,

Colin, Combes and Alcina, though silent on the palaspas art, all indicated
the importance of the palm to Filipinos.
More than a century after Pigafetta in 1668, Fr Alcina still noticed
that the indios de Bisayas used nipa palm leaves "to make a very large
kind of chain (cadenzas muy grandes) which, when yellow, looks like
gold. They also make these chains out of coconut fronds. Thus with these
palm chains they adorn the roofs and walls of churches." These simple
decorations took the place of the brocades and tapestries of Flanders in
Europe. Alcina praised these artistic creations when he said that, "God
who did not disclaim to be born on straw and in the bed of a poor manger,
it seems, has provided for the lack of these natives and their temples" (Al?
cina 2002: 363). However, he also noted that as time passed the church
ornamentation became increasingly European.
Other than passing notices from the Spanish chroniclers about this
Filipino penchant for decorating and embellishing their rituals with
palaspas, there was no comprehensive effort to document this art as to its
aesthetics, functions, symbolism and values. No document was able to re?
cord in detail how the intricate folds and weaves were done. Perhaps it had
been assumed that the art was too commonplace, ordinary, or evanescent
to deserve any attention.
Fray Juan Delgado, who came to the Philippines in 1711, Was not
being hyperbolic when he said that "even if our Lord God had not created
any other tree than the coconut palm, man could not have been better pro?
vided with all the necessities of life, and this not only in sufficiency but in

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the abundance of its gifts" (Terra 1980: 8-15). He proved this by devotin
six chapters in praise of the many uses of the coconut palm, including
defense for the gunot (burlap) as a form of clothing.
San Antonio, in his Philippine chronicles of 1738-1744, like
Plasencia noted the use of temporary temples as private "oratories" and for
feasting. He reported that, "they made a bower in the house itself, which
they call sibi, dividing it into three naves and lengthening the fourth. They
adorned it with leaves and flowers on all sides, and many small lighte
lanterns. In the middle was placed another large lamp....Such was thei
simbahan or oratory" (San Antonio 1906: 335).
Filipinos have made use of various palms for centuries. They have
extensively used the coconut {Cocos nuciferd), buri or buli (Coryph
utari), anahau or anahaw {Livistona rotundifolia), rattan {Calamus and
Daemonorops spp.), areca nut or bunga {Areca catechu), nipa {Nypa frut
cans), and pandan {Pandanus spp.). Though there are about 200 palm
genera currently recognized in the country, the coconut palm is the most
ubiquitous and the one with which nearly everyone is familiar. The plac
of origin of the coconut has long been debated, but recent evidenc
(Schulling and Harries 1994) strongly suggests that it was in Malesia, th
botanical name for the region between mainland Southeast Asia and Aus
tralasia.
In the Philippines, prehistorians put the age at when coconut culti?
vation began in the Neolithic Age, at about 6,000 to 500 BC. Fossilized
leaves have left clear palm leaf patterns on a piece of tuff stone found in
Tatalon, Quezon City, and show the existence of earlier forms of palm
plants that were embedded in pyroclastic rock from an eruption of Taal
Volcano about 500,000 years ago (Dalisay 1998: 7).
The coconut palm has been a symbol and source of our wealth, as
reflected in the Filipino proverb: "He who plants a coconut tree, plants
vessels and clothing, food and drink, a habitation for himself and a heri?
tage for his children." Magnificent ancestral houses in Sariaya and other
towns of Quezon province attest to the commercial importance of this
palm where the profits of the coconut trade supported a luxurious lifestyle.
The detail of the pediment of the Miagao Church in Iloilo contains the
central motif of a coconut palm amidst tropical profusion. San Cristobal,
with the child Jesus on his shoulder, is clinging onto it, as if it were indeed
the "tree of life." In an old Philippine legend, the coconut palm is the only
bequest left by a loving mother to her two children, a tree which sustains
them for life.

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The so-called "coconut belt" begins on the fertile alluvial plains of

the Southern Tagalog region, in especially Laguna and Quezon Provinces,
continues down along the volcanic slopes of Bicol and Mindoro and on the
coastal sands of the Visayas, and stretches southwards into the hinterlands
of Misamis Oriental, Davao and South Cotabato.
The Spanish conquistadors initiated a large scale planting of this
indispensable crop. Realising the great potential of a coconut industry,
Spanish governor-general Hurtado de Corcuera ordered the greening of
the countryside in 1642'(Medina 1975: 496). Before that, in 1613, Pedro
de San Buenaventura (1994) had published his Tagalog Vocabulario,
which showed that Filipinos had a great inventory of the useful palm trees
around them. While coconut, nipa and areca nut palms were cultivated for
their economic values, most of the palms were undomesticated (palma sil
vestre) or growing wild in the mountains {palma del monte). Some of
these wild palms were buri, tical (Livistona saribus), anibong (Onco
sperma horridum), pugahan (Caryota cumingii), and banga (Orania pal
indan).
Anahaw, sapac (?), anibong, tical, and banga had wide leaves that
were used as walling and roofing materials. Mats were generally made
from buri palm. However, pandanus-leaf mats were also made. Buri had
seeds used as enormous rosary beads. Cauong (Arenga pinnata), pugahan,
and nipa palms provided better sap for palm wine than the small quantity
derived from the pasang (?). The anahaw (or luyong) palm was a favorite
source of wood for making bows for arrows, while the pugahan and
cauong (called by San Buenaventura tamping) provided the finest and
toughest cabo negro cords.
However, not all palms were useful. Palipog (Epipremnum sp.)
was just too small and weak for any practical use and tampinbanal (Rha
phidophora merrillii) simply useless and monstrous.
Bongbong referred to the palm frond. Because the palm has a com?
plex leaf composed of a long rachis with many pinnae or leaflets attached
to it, San Buevanentura's definition was not clear as to whether the word
referred to just a leaflet or to the whole palm frond itself. However, a con?
textual reading of the entry hints that San Buenaventura is referring to the
whole frond. Palapa or balaba was the name given to the petioles of the
leaves of the palm.
Ibus or ibos were the young and fresh leaves that grow out of the
heart of the palm. On the other hand, laquilang were those that were nei?
ther very young nor mature leaves. Cayacas, on the other hand, were the

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dead leaves of dried palms and landag the withered leaves, salab the palm
leaves and stems dried over fire or heat, and layac those that had fallen to
the ground or into the waters. Tica were those leaves that were thin and
unhealthy, while sagonson were those that were profuse, but of equal sizes
and orderly in their arrangement.
Palapa also was the whole stem or frond of the palm leaves. It is
interesting to note that today palapa is listed in the American Heritage
Dictionary which considers the word to be of American Spanish origin. Its
origin might eventually be traced to the Philippines, for it means in Eng?
lish an open-sided structure with thatched roof made of dried palm fronds,
usually found on beaches and erected for shade.
William Henry Scott (1994: 200) also noted the relation of the
palm leaves to the sixteenth century technology of rice farming. Once the
rice plants started to bear their grains, salidangdang or palm-leaf pendants
were placed in the fields and used as panakot or pamugao (scarecrows),
kept moving by the wind. They were woven from palm leaves in a variety
of different shapes called pamanay, balian, palawit, bangkiaw, and pakan
log. These words are now almost meaningless as the objects they named
have been replaced by plastic materials and other refuse which have less
aesthetic value as compared to these forgotten woven palm forms.
Noceda and Sanl?car (1860) noted the word samat for the woven
palm leaves that served as plates or food containers. Magsamat was to
weave palm leaves into food plates while the sinamat were the plates
themselves.
There were also different kinds of woven petate or mats. Caroro
can were probably the finest mats used by the principales elite and their
special guests. While banig has always been the general term for the
woven palm mat, sinabatan was an elaborately colored mat with intricate
designs, whether large or small. Such a mat was used, among other uses,
to sleep on. The parati was an ordinary small mat for everyday use. It was
woven from the coarser leaves of the pangdan anuang (a Pandanus sp.).
On the other hand, the bangcouang was a larger and finer version of the
parati. Balia was the coarse and common matting and bailing material
used for holding rice to be sold. Samil were reinforced with insertions of
rattan and used as boat awnings or as covering materials for jars.
Early interest in Filipino crafts by the American teachers in the
early twentieth century led them to identify some of the palaspas folds,
and catalog Philippine palm mats and baskets, in a series of articles pub?
lished in The Philippine Craftsman from 1912-1915 (Anderson 1913; An

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des 1914a, 1914b, 1915; Miller et al 1912a, 1912b; Parker 1913, 1914
Spencer 1914, 1915).
Luther Parker (1914: 2) identified "the simplest basket known - a
single palm leaf crab basket" but failed to discuss it. Brane (1915: 364
368), on the other hand, identified a toy called barimbeng, barioer-oer or
banerber in Pangasinan and sumba in Bicol, made from the folded seg?
ments of a palm leaf tied by string to a stick and made to revolve roun
and round while producing a humming sound.
A course design for the hand weaving of pliable fibers to be done
by elementary students was published by Anderson (1913). Though
palaspas was not directly discussed, her article recorded some basic fold
and braids that are used in palaspas embellishment.
PALASPAS CONTEXT II: PALMCRAFT AMONG LOWLAND

FILIPINOS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
More than four centuries have passed since Fray Plasencia re?
corded his fleeting glimpse, and yet palaspas is still with us. In Laguna
in Quezon Province, people still adorn their feasts with these leaves.
Palaspas are still the long fronds of fresh coconut or buri palm leaves
plaited into decorative patterns and embellished with colored paper flow?
ers to decorate arches for fiestas and weddings. In Pila, Laguna, palaspa
fronds are planted into the ground along the street where the Good Friday
procession is to pass. In Vigan, Ilocos Sur devotees decorate their make?
shift abong-abong with the fruits of their labor and with embellished palm
leaves for the Via Crucis procession on Palm Sunday afternoon.
The difficulty of separating ritual and ornamental functions of
leaves has been noted by Peralta (1977: 534). In describing the red lea
called dongla (Eng. palm lilly or ti, Cordyline fruticosd) used by the Ifu
gao in their ritual called him-ong, he noted:
They call it dongla, a sacred plant to the people...the red leaves are
worn about the heads of the armed men like a crown of feathers, and
about the calves of their legs. Where ritual ends and ornamentation be?
gins in the use of the dongla is difficult to establish, but even in ritual
the effect of the leaves is fearsomely beautiful.. .But it seems that
among the ethnic Filipinos, the beautiful and the functional are neither
contraries nor necessarily separable. The red dongla in the him-ong
procession operates both as a ritual object and as an ornament. But as
the leaves are plucked from the stem, the red soon fades as the leaves

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wither. The use of the dongla lasts only as long as the ritual. The
dongla as an ornament is transitory.
For the palaspas, too, no matter how intricate, the creations when dried are
usually thrown away or burned as trash.
Ritual functions of the palaspas can be seen among the various
communities that have retained much of their ancient culture and belief
system. The Tausug create elaborate palm leaf figures placed at the center
of a mosque to symbolize the Prophet during the third month of the ritual
of Maulud-al-nabi as a commemoration of his birth (Kiefer 1972: 124)
(Plate V). The Yakan weave intricate palm baskets and make delicate rice
offerings for the ritual of pagtimbang. They boil rice in bird-shaped palm
leaf casings they call tamu and make intricate offerings together with
boiled eggs and sampul, rice colored yellow with turmeric (Hassan et ah
1994).
References to the coconut, in general, and to palm leaves, in par?
ticular, in riddles, rhymes, fables, beliefs and legends provide some under?
standing of the essential meaning of palaspas and reveal that this has not
changed even after centuries of Christianization.
The reciting of the pasyon has effectively indigenized the faith and
has elevated the palm leaves to a new level of significance in the Catholic
rites of the Domingo de Ramos or Palm Sunday. By appreciating the Taga
log Pasiong Mahal, particularly the section Domingo de Ramos performed
in the Filipino Lenten traditions, we are able better to understand the relig?
ious significance of the ornamental palm fronds.
Although we might complain that there are no actual relics of the
palaspas, the most delightful and powerful visual records of these leaves
are embedded in the profuse sculptural ornamentation of the colonial
churches of the Philippines. The palm fronds as a symbol for martyrdom
frequently appear in early altars. This shows the proclivity of the early
conquistador for depicting the martyrs of the Catholic faith as good exam?
ples for the new converts. Galende (1987) and Javellana (1992) have
traced the palaspas motif in the bas-reliefs, sculpture, icons, and retable
ornaments of the early Jesuit and Augustinian churches. The commentar?
ies of Jose (1992) and Gatbonton (1979) on colonial church art and colo?
nial santos in the Philippines have been used extensively as a framework
for understanding these palaspas forms.
Palaspas is an art form used to enhance the space for a religious
ritual, wedding, a town fiesta, a santacruzan (May festival dramatizing

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Queen Helena's finding of the cross (Plate II)), or any social gathering.
Towns having more bountiful palm resources naturally produce the
most elaborate and intricate forms. In some places, like San Pablo,
Laguna, a day is set aside in January to praise the coconut palm. Every
conceivable form of palaspas is created and displayed in an elaborate
mardi gras. In Baler, Aurora a feast is held in May in praise of the differ?
ent kinds of suman (glutinous rice cake) and suman wrappers which are
usually banana or palm leaves. In the markets of Cebu, Samar, Leyte, Ca
gayan de Oro and Dumaguete, boiled rice wrapped in intricately woven
palm leaf pouches called pus?' is sold, often to those going on a beach
picnic outing.
However, palm plaiting is done outside of such holidays. In stray
moments, during a sudden rainstorm for example, it is not unusual to see a
group of children gathered together exchanging their palaspas creations of
birds and stars and teaching each other how to make other forms. Young
people are always attracted by the dexterity of the older ones in making
the palaspas, and they are always eager to learn new forms. For a creative
artist, there is no limit to what the imagination can make out of the
palaspas.
The importance of the coconut palm is reflected in our myths. The
Jama Mapun can see the coconut in the sky in a constellation they call
niyu-niyu. They also have a specific term for planting coconut, kabbun
(Casino 1976: 63-65).
Strongly embedded in the coconut farmer's psyche are the folk be?
liefs and rituals observed during planting. Among the Davaoenos some
comb their hair, others carry a child on their back while planting a coconut
to ensure good fruit. Farmers in Camiguin and Bukidnon carry as many
children as possible. Davaoenos crouch low while moving from hole to
hole so that the palms will not grow too tall. For the same reason, Rom
blon farmers never look up, else the palms will grow too high and the fruit
will be hard to get. The planter's shadow should not fall on the hole where
the seedlings are to be placed, otherwise, he (or the palm) will die first
(Medina 1975: 497).
Folk medicine prescribes coconut oil, preferably made on Good
Friday, as a cure for gas pains, skin diseases, and for anointing the sick.
Fronds blessed on Palm Sunday protect the home against lintik or light?
ning and other evil spirits. Powder from burnt blessed palaspas is used by
herb doctors to cure toothache and tropical ulcer. The ashes mixed with oil
are used to mark the forehead to remind us of our mortality on Ash

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Wednesday.
Filipinos, before cutting a palm branch, always ask permission
from the spirits of the palm. The palm represents the male phallus and sig?
nifies virility and fertility. Palm leaves are waved in honor of deities, to
call their attention and invite their presence.
Leaves have played central roles in many ancient rituals in the
Philippines. Jocano recorded and translated the epic of Hinilawod of Cen?
tral Panay, which contains prayers and rituals involving banay or a bunch
of dried anahau leaves important in healing ritual (Jocano 2000: 13).
Gitabunan ka panyo And covering it with a kerchief

M Uwang Labing Anyag Uwa Labing Anyag
Gilapawan ka banay Shook the banay over the plate
Taklapan ka kinusu Then on top of it a red band she placed
Kambay manibu-tibu As she murmured her magic prayers
The Kiangan Ifugao build a spirit house at harvest time for the an?
cient spirit calledpili that guards their granaries. In order to get the spirit's
attention and attract it to dwell in the spirit house, they put down offerings
of the leaves of the runo grass (Miscanthus japonicus) that look like palm
fronds. Without the runo, the pili spirit will not comply (Barton 1911).
Among the Bilaan, a healing ritual called asbulong is officiated
over by the alamoos, also known as malong, usually female, who dances
around the sick, shouting incantations while brandishing a handful of fresh
palm leaves. With these, she occasionally strikes the patient's forehead,
arms, torso, legs and feet to drive away malevolent spirits (Maranan et al.
1994).
Palm leaves are also important on the two temporary altars made
by the Bilaan for the food and betel nut offerings placed in front of a pa?
tient. One altar is called maligay, and is a bamboo pole about a meter long,
festooned with palm leaves and elaborate bamboo shavings formed like
flowers. The other one is called sapak, a bamboo pole also a meter long,
with its top split into eight parts to hold like a funnel an antique blue and
white piece of chinaware and embellished with shredded palm leaves (Ma?
ranan et al 1994).
Ritual palm-leaf baskets are still being made in various shapes and
sizes by the Yakan of Basilan. They believe that they can settle their claim
of ownership of a child by performing the ritual of pagtimbang directed to
the mythical serpent spirit called Malikidjabania. Woven baskets of young
palm leaves containing chicken, cakes, salt, oil, and rice are hung on one

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end of the bamboo pole which will act as the counter balance to the weight
of a child cradled in a Yakan sarong called os hanging at the other end of
the pole (Sherfan 1976: 44).
The most important of Aborlan Tagbanuwa rituals is the pagdi
wata or inim, which is essentially an open invitation to the deities to par?
take of a lavish feast of ceremonial tabad or rice wine and other offerings.
In this ritual, the shaman holds in both hands the ugsang or bundles of
stripped palm leaves. The attached small brass bells create mantric
rhythms with the swooshing of the ugsang (Fox 1982: 209, 219, 224. See
also Fox n.d.). Two straws inserted into the rice wine jar and through
which the supernaturals are invited to sip are decorated with plant leaves
which probably include those of a Licuala species of palm called balasbas
(Fox 1982: 218 n. 46), a word cognate with the Tagalog palaspas. The Ta
laandig perform a similar dance with leaves of the anahau palm during
their annual community ceremony calledpangamp? (Lucero 1994: 186).
On Samal Island, a male spirit healer and a female medium preside
over a complex healing ritual which includes the sacrifice of a chicken.
This healing ritual assumes an aura of pageantry, evident in the waving of
palm fronds and rhythmic movements of the arms and hands (author's
notes).
The use of palms in these ancient Filipino rituals still occurs today,
contemporaneously with the palaspas which has become so closely associ?
ated with Roman Catholicism. For this reason, some Protestant translators
of the Bible into local languages do not use the word palaspas to translate
the palm fronds mentioned in John 12: 13. For them, the word palaspas is
too much associated with the animism of prehispanic Filipinos for it to be
used to convey the teachings of the Bible (Arevalo 2002).
THE WORD PALASPAS

The contemporaries of Fr. Plasencia and those who followed him
identified, recorded and defined the word for him. Early dictionaries con?
structed by Spanish missionaries recorded words that would otherwise not
be mentioned in their chronicles. The archaic words about palaspas and
palm weaving in these early dictionaries have been most revealing. The
perishability of palaspas and lack of solid documentation on palaspas from
this period forces us to these sources, which provide, if not directly, some
hints about the palm leaf art. While the Spanish language could only trans?
late palaspas as hohas de palma (palm leaves), the seventeenth and eight

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eenth century vocabularies are profuse with specific terms pertaining to

the craft of weaving, plaiting, coiling and folding palm leaves.
They defined palaspas both as noun and noun-verb. In particular,
Fray Francisco de San Antonio OFM (died 1624) defined palaspas both as
las hojas de palma or palm leaves, and el acto de adornar con ellas or the
act of decorating with these leaves (San Antonio 2000).
On the other hand, his contemporary, Fr. Pedro de San Buenaven?
tura (1994) in 1613 not only defined palaspas but also provided the word's
important inflexions and affixes. San Buenaventura noted that while
palaspas simply refers to the palm leaf, nagpapalaspas is the act of bring?
ing palaspas to a church in order to decorate the church. Pinapalaspasan is
the state of something that has been decorated with palm leaves, while
palaspasan is the imperative - the command to decorate something with
these leaves.
Another vocabulario published in 1754 by two Jesuit friars, No
ceda and Sanl?car (1860) listed pagpalaspasan as a place which people
decorate with woven palaspas, or simply where there are palaspas.
There are other terms that mean to decorate, to beautify, to orna?
ment. Magpahiyas is to decorate a church, roads and other places for a fi?
esta, using flowers, bamboo arches and other decorative materials like
palm leaves. Magdayang is to decorate a religious image such as a Virgin
Mary. However, magpalaspas is to decorate using specifically the embel?
lished palm leaves.
PALASPAS MEDIUM
Palaspas as an art form is generated by the people; no single crea?
tor can claim credit for its beauty. Moreover, there is something satisfying
about art that allows the intrinsic beauty of the material from which it is
made to come to the surface. The leaves greatly influence the resulting
creation while gently yielding to the artist's vision. The interplay and the
tension between the natural form and the artist's manipulations result in
the "value added" of sensory propriety and aesthetic delight, reflecting
both playfulness and creativity. In this way, palaspas is no longer only a
leaf. It is now endowed with meaning and artistic charm.
Since the palm leaf wilts quickly, palaspas art is meant to last only
for a short time. No matter how elaborate and intricate its form, it is a per?
ishable ornamentation. This art form cannot be preserved in the same way
as one might an intricate basket, an elaborately woven piece of cloth, or

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painstakingly plaited mats, in a museum.

Palaspas is related to the art of basketry and mat weaving only in
the sense that it uses basic basketry techniques of plaiting, coiling, braid?
ing and weaving with the hands. Complicated weaving tools and equip?
ment are not necessary in this art form. However, unlike mats and baskets,
freshness is a primary component of its aesthetics. Because of its time
limited nature, it has more a symbolic function than a practical one. Once
a palaspas dries out, it is lost forever.
Given certain conditions, baskets can be kept for a long fime. In?
teresting pieces can be treated as collectibles. Because of this, they have
been subjects of research and publication. The same is true with intricate
mats and ethnic woven fabrics.
It is very tempting to say that the beauty of the art form is some?
how inherent in the material itself. The long and pliable, fresh palm leaves
are so beautiful that they entice one to try to weave something out of them.
Simple rice cakes wrapped in the leaves taste better just as they smell
sweeter. The craft seems to have a life of its own, born out of the sheer
charm of the natural material from which it is created.
As can be noted for other Philippine art forms, we cannot separate
beauty from function. Peralta noted, "the concept of the beautiful as beau?
tiful alone apart from function is a product of other cultures that invented
the painterly and sculptural arts. But it seems that among the ethnic people
of the Philippines, the beautiful and the functional are neither contraries
nor necessarily separables" (Peralta 1977: 534).
He further observed that whether the material is perishable or per?
manent, "the function of ornamentation is more than just to please the per
ceiver." Specific instances reveal that "it involves a certain range of ritual
aspect that moves between sign and symbol" (Peralta 1977: 538).
Palaspas in the museum only faintly suggests what the artistic crea?
tions once were. Dried and disintegrating specimens that have lost their
pliability and sheen, like old textile fragments cannot impart a sense of the
original, for a great part of the beauty of palaspas is its freshness.
Though much is lost when the leaves become dry, even a dried
form can acquire a different level of aesthetic beauty which can still rise to
the surface. A brown patina tells of a time in the past when it was made.
The temporary baskets still reveal their repeating patterns of weave, the
embellished fronds still expose their intricate folds.
In looking at palaspas in the museum, our sensitivities are height?
ened. The observer is required to perform a feat of reconstruction, to

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summon up his past sensory experiences, and the mental associations

aroused by such stimuli. An imagined restoration of the palaspas is a crea?
tive act based most of all on the memory of the leaves when they were
natural and fresh. The viewer not only responds to the textures, odors, col?
ors, sounds, and feel of the dried objects as they appear on exhibit, but
also to the objects as they were at the time of their construction. In a way,
the imagined beauty of the palaspas is heightened.1
PALASPAS TECHNIQUE
Spanish chroniclers noted the varying skills of the early Filipinos
in weaving palm leaves into various utilitarian and decorative objects.
Among the indios Bisayas, Alcina (2002: 363) noted that they made thick
baskets from nipa palm leaves which they called qulgar and a kind of bag
for carrying rice they named bioi He noticed that these articles were very
cheap and required "only the labor of the native." He also noticed about
weaving that "all of them, men as well as women, have this skill."
Among the Tagalog, San Buenaventura recorded the term sali
dangdang na palaspas or simply salidangdang, to refer specifically to the
weaving of palm leaves (Sp. hoja de palma tejida). It was also a distinct
term for the woven leaves themselves. While the Spanish language simply
uses the word tejer for "to weave," Tagalog can make finer distinctions,
depending on the material or object being woven. Salidangdang na
palaspas was differentiated from lala which means to weave mats; from
habi, to weave cloth; lantaga, to plait threads and palm hats; and hicquit,
to weave a net.
San Buenaventura further defined salidangdang as the entirely
woven palm frond used to cover something (para tapar) or used as a
scarecrow (para espantajos). Entire palm leaves were woven into mats to
be used as walling or roofting. These are today called salanigo when
woven horizontally and used as roofing material, and sulirap when
braided together vertically like tirintas (plaits) for use as walls (see also
Dacanay 1992: 161-253).
Many items in use in everyday life are made of palm leaves. Tu
mopi is to make baskets out of buri leaves. Lipilipi is to place a bunch or
bundle of palms along the side of an outrigger canoe so that water will not
seep in. They are also placed at the sides of the stairs of a house so that
floodwaters will not enter the house. Atab is to cover walls and roofs with
palm leaves.

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In the stripping of buri leaves for weaving, the palimping are the
trimmings or cuttings which are too narrow and of such different sizes that
they are of no practical use. Cobot cobot are leaves with pleats or wrin?
kles, while golotong are rough leaves with spines and thorns.
The art requires the simplest of steps. The palm strips can be
formed with a lupi, a doubling back (or bight) of a strip so that the two
ends can be brought close together. When the doubling-back is creased, a
tupi (fold) is created. Overlapping two strips at an angle makes a pinagpa
tong (crossover). When the two adjacent parts of a bight are crossed, a
bight turns into an ikit (loop), which could either be a pabilog (round) or
patulis (pointed) loop. When the two adjacent parts of the loop do not
cross but are placed one on top of the other, the loop turns into an inikot
(coil). However, when one end is inserted through the coil and pulled, the
coil turns into a buhol (knot). Two or more strips can be made into a
salapid (braid) or lala (interwoven) with each other at a desired angle, fre?
quency and pattern.
The art requires the simplest of tools. Noceda and Sanl?car (1860)
listed about twenty kinds of knife having different shapes, sizes and uses.
While sundang, itac and goloc were long knives used for various cutting
purposes, there were specialized knives for more specific kinds of work.
Carit and calauit were used to cut the stems of the palm trees while tipar,
pisao, hiwas, and sisip were used for cutting and cleaning rattan palms and
in removing their thorny leaves.
Panalip and carot were used to cut the betel nut palm. Ganal, pan
gal and palang were knives with blunt blades, while pungi had no pointed
tip. Bonong was a knife with a curved shape. While men used the calum
pagui to shave, the campit was a small knife usually used by women. So
they said campit nang campit ang bibig niya, "her mouth jabbers like the
campit" to describe a woman gossiper.
PALASPAS FORM
As noted by Peralta (1977), there is a difficulty in separating the
ritual and ornamental functions of leaves. However, we can try to classify
the palaspas into some general forms (Plate III) without necessarily at?
tempting to separate them as regards their functional, ornamental or relig?
ious values.
1. Palaspas can appear as ritual objects like the Tagbanuwa ugsang
and the Cebuano lukay, "the palm leaves blessed on Palm Sunday,"

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where "Palm Sunday" is bindita sa lukay (Wolff 1972: 138, Tros

dal 1990: 265). However, Cebuano Bisayan as spoken in General
Santos City names the palm leaves blessed on Palm Sunday as
themselves bindita sa lukay.
2. They can be elaborated as animal forms like birds, snake, and fish.
3. They can be made with geometric patterns like triangles, dia?
monds, stars and zigzags.
4. They are also used as food wrappers in forms ranging from simple
coils to more complicated woven casings for rice sweets.
5. Palm fronds are woven into temporary baskets with various shapes
and intricacies, and into utilitarian objects like hats and fans.
6. They are woven to make mats, walls and roofs for houses.
7. Children make them as playthings like elisi (propellers), tsinelas
(slippers), rings and bracelets.
There is a problem in giving names to the palaspas figures and
forms. Because palm leaf art has never before been extensively discussed
and described, there is a lack of commonly accepted and understood ter?
minology. Though some forms and figures such as the star, pineapple,
bird, and shrimp readily submit themselves to specific nomenclature, it is
not easy to name the more abstract forms. There is the difficulty that dif?
ferent informants give different names. Others do not even try. For them,
these forms have no names at all. They are simply visualized in their
heads. They end up describing them instead of giving them specific
names.
While it is widely understood in Cebu (Trosdal 1990: 339, see
puso in Encarnacion 1885: 435 and Mentrida 1841: 304) that pusu re
to the rice boiled in woven palm leaf casings as well as the pouches the
selves, there are wide differences in naming the various shapes of
pouches. While some recall the kidlat (lightning) when they see the
fold of a rice casing, others are reminded of the kris or espadang bali-
(broken sword). In Alfonso, Cavite it is called siko-siko, referring t
pointed elbow. Some see in it the jagged teeth of the handsaw, so they
it lagare. In the same way, others recognize the tapering coil weav
kandila (candle), and others as a latigo (whip).
This problem is resolved by consulting dictionaries of the lo
languages. Ethnographic dictionaries contain words like samat, the arch
Tagalog word for a plate of woven palm leaves; ugsang, a bund
stripped palm leaves with brass bells used by the Aborlan Tagbanuw
their rituals; and barakas, or drinking container made of palm leaf by

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Mansaka.
Instead of names, respondents often gave me a noun-verb, which
reflected the process by which the figures were created, like inikot
(coiled), nilala (woven), ginupit-gupit (cut), tinali (tied), and sinuksok
(tucked).
Meanwhile, other names reflect the shape or figure that was imi?
tated, like pinagi (from pagi, sting ray-like), nginipin (from ngipin teeth
like), sinawa (from sawa, snake-like), and kinasing from kasing (spinning
top) or "top-shaped" (although in towns of Negros Oriental I was told that
heart-shaped pouches called kinasing are made; this word is thus rather
from the Cebuano Bisayan word for heart, kasingkasing).
The simplest braid starts with two strips of leaflet. The palaspas
weavers from Cavite give this the curious name of salapid, which simply
means the braid that is made with long hair. This braid is one of the easiest
to make but one of the most pleasing. I saw a very simple palaspas in Gat
taran, Cagayan that made use of this simple fold turned in an S-form with
a midrib. The design though simple was striking. Some weavers bunch
them together into a bouquet that sways and bounces, making an interest?
ing decorative accent, also for the Palm Sunday palaspas in Gattaran. This
form can also be seen in Tacloban, Leyte.
As an easy form, children make the salapid fold to play with as a
toy. A child's imagination is so powerful that he/she sees it sway like a
snake, and so it is called an ahas. They also make a square braid to fill the
empty matchboxes that house the spiders they catch. Spiders build their
nests in the corners created by the interlocking strips of fresh leaves, and
some children call this fold a bahay gagamba, "spider's house."
The Maranao imagine the salapid fold to be a towak a amo (mon?
key's stairs). This is not just a simple comparison; perhaps this name is
part of a long-forgotten tale. Some forms probably do reflect stories from
folk tales in their creative comparisons. The Maranao have imaginative
names like kimes a datu (lump of rice in the datu's palm) and olona a ba
bak (pillow of the frog) to describe two of the various shapes of the woven
pouch for their boiled rice.
Form emanates from the interplay of various folds, shapes and tex?
tures of the palm leaves. Aesthetic joy ensues when delightful meaning is
implied. Value is created when meaning agrees with form, and when form
supports function. Simplicity, and its obverse, elaboration, is appreciated,
as they become the crucibles for validating the meaningful designs visual?
ized from the folds of the palaspas.

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The goal in making palaspas figures and forms is to create beauty

without inconsistency. While a square sheet of paper ordains the form and
meaning in origami, for palaspas, it is the obverse and reverse sides of
long, ribbon-like, plaited leaf material. While usually a whole is the sum
of its parts, in palaspas it could be said that the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts. The leaf acquires new meaning and its aesthetic value is
heightened when it is transformed into palaspas. Matter and form are in?
fused with value more than what is inherent in the original palm leaves
alone. A simplest unit of the repeating fold is translated into astonishingly
exquisite and interesting patterns that carry and sustain implied meanings
and values. It imparts synesthetic sensations - the sight of it can stimulate
the sense of touch. Woven palaspas can become the Prophet Mohammed
among the Tausug during their important ritual of Maulud-al-nabi. In the
same way, it can contain all the virtues and powers of the Christian cross
during Holy Week among the Cebuanos.
However, the slightest inconsistency in the form can mar the re?
sults. In Panay, Capiz, the tail of the cometa should point sideways and
never downward because if downward, it portends death. In Labrador,
Pangasinan, the palaspas forms seen on Palm Sunday are not to be used to
decorate weddings or fiestas.
It is a wonder how space can be defined and created just by two
long strips of palm leaf to produce food wrappers and casings. For the
pusu and suman wrappers, the space created by the walls constructed
from the leaves is as important as the rice grains that fill them up. For the
patupat of Pangasinan, the size of the rice pouch increases with the num?
ber of leaves used in its weaving. Elaborations of from four, six or eight
leaves are created as the pouch is made larger and more complicated.
It is a puzzle how two surfaces, the obverse and the reverse of a
strip of leaf, and repeating folds of palaspas can suggest the form of a
shrimp, a caterpillar, a pineapple. The kidlat form, quite an easy one to
make, is created by simply repeating a basic step. The form is very attrac?
tive and resembles the frizzling splash of lightning. Its delightful shape
makes it a favorite form with which to decorate the palaspas for Palm
Sunday. Once the palaspas are dry, some creative mothers use them as ac?
cent pieces in their flower arrangements. In Cagayan de Oro, this fold is
used to form the halo to a palm cross which acts as a protective charm
hanging on door panels (Plate XVII).
Some artistic folks enhance the zigzag shape by using two long
and thin strips woven alternately with the fronds. The strips create rounded

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arches along the sides. With this very simple variation in the design, the
figure is transformed from having rather pointed corners into one having
softer curved edges. Using the basic triangle fold, the Tausug create vari?
ous shapes and designs that decorate the edges of their colorful tutup or
food covers.
Kinulot is also an interesting form I found in Labrador, Pangasi
nan. A whole palm frond is split into two thereby creating two curtains of
leaflets. All the woody midribs, called tingting, are removed and ribbon?
like leaflets are now coiled and slit in the middle and carefully pulled out
to curl like corkscrews and flow like veils. The leaflets do not curl if they
are completely cut off from each other. Though separated by the slit, they
still remain attached to each other. No wonder this is a propitious wedding
symbol in Labrador!
Cordero-Fernando (1992: 75) described this form as follows:
"...being pliant, these leaves are made into curtains of corkscrew curls, or
hung in layered fringes, or plaited, or parted in two, like classical cur?
tains."
The fun part of making kinulot is when you pull the cut leaves out
of the roll. The pleasing curls slowly appear before your eyes, as they
emerge curling together. It would be interesting to know the topological
mathematical formula for how a leaf cut into two yet remains one.
PALASPAS FUNCTION
For most, the mere mention of palaspas denotes specifically the
decorative fresh palm fronds used during Palm Sunday. However, as we
have noted, the word has had a much broader meaning than that. Palaspas
refers both to the palm fronds and to the process of embellishment using
the pliable palm leaves (Plate IV). It refers to the ephemeral plaited ob?
jects and figures that can be made out of palm leaves, which have func?
tional, ornamental, religious or aesthetic values, perhaps all
simultaneously. These objects can be used for play, to amuse, to decorate
an occasion, to embellish a space, to ornament an offering for a religious
function or serve in a utilitarian way as food wrappers or food covers, fans
and baskets. One example of their use as food art is the suman sa palaspas
(rice cake in palm leaves).
Dried palm-leaf artifacts may have a function as well, like the
dried palaspas tacked on the windows and doors of many Filipino houses
as protective charms, the dried palm baskets used as carry-alls hanging on

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the bamboo post of a Samal house (Perez et al. 1989: 201, 203), the
woven leaves framing the walls and roofs of Badjao stilt houses (Perez et
al. 1989: 213, 215), and the containers for onions, garlic and ginger in the
Yakan kitchen (seen by the author in Lamitan, Basilan).
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE I:

RELIGIOUS RITUAL AND CEREMONY
When the palm appears, in its entire resplendency, as the central
motif of the pediment of the Miagao church, we know that this must not
have been a matter of coincidence. The details are remarkable. Even the
budding ibus coming out of the heart of the palm did not pass unnoticed
by the sculptor. The bas-relief in yellowish coral stone is a fitting homage
to a plant that has defined our landscape, has shaped our faith, and has
served us well.
We can still find manifestations of its primordial importance in the
ugsang of the pagdiwata ritual among today's Aborlan Tagbanuwa of
Palawan, and in the soten ritual dance among the Subanon males. Holding
a shield in his left hand and shaking dried palm leaves in his right, a
Subanon dancer calls down the attention of the deities to his supplication
by the sound of the palm leaves. It is the most beautiful sound, so the
Subanon believe, in their deities' ears.
When the ritual of Domingo de Ramos was adopted by the Filipi?
nos, they found no need to invent a new word for it. The Tagalog, Pam
pangueno, and Pangasinense shared the word palaspas to mean the
artistically decorated coconut palm fronds used to recall Jesus's entrance
to his passion and death. A Bikolano synonym is langkay, and among the
Cebuano and Leyteno, lukay. Ramo is a Spanish word which basically
means "branchlet" and therefore did not hold much meaning for our local
cultures.
Palm leaves, more than any other leaves in the Philippines, are
seen as more than mere items of vegetation. They are the essential me?
dium in ceremonial performances used to invoke agricultural fecundity
and human fertility, and to restore health. They also offer magical protec?
tion to their bearers in times of transition, danger and even death. In ani
mist thought, there is little distinction between the abstract and the
concrete, or between what is living and what is not. Obtained from very
useful, potent, virile and prolific plants, palm leaves understandably are
believed to interact and pulse with the potentiality of life.

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The use of palaspas therefore is integral to important religious

ceremonies. The lore associated with leaves, plants, and trees is rich in
symbolism associated with the deities. For example, we have said that the
Aborlan Tagbanuwa ugsang of stripped palm leaves is bunched with small
brass bells to speak to the diwata (deities). They also insert fresh strips of
palm through bamboo poles to make the ritual altar called buburan.
Moreover, the ancient belief in the efficacy of the palaspas was
retained not only in the Catholic rituals. Among the Tausug, as already
mentioned, the important Muslim ritual of Maulud-al-nabi celebrating the
birth of prophet Mohammed is not complete without an elaborate pillar of
ornamental palm leaves (Plate V). Various shapes like kidlat, birds, and
flowers decorate a pillar which is located in the center of a prayer room.
The ritual consists of continuous chanting and when a certain section of
the chanting is reached, about midway, each person in the mosque stands
up and lays hold of one of these shapes, which symbolize no less than the
Prophet himself (Kiefer, 1972: 125).
Palaspas on Ash Wednesday

The first day of Lent, a Wednesday, is always special and it came
to be called Ash Wednesday from a custom involving ashes, long a sym?
bol for repentance, and also a reminder of man's mortality. Early Chris?
tians approached the church altar to have the ashes of blessed palm leaves
traced on their foreheads in the shape of a cross. The blessed palm leaves
that were burned to make the ashes were, in fact, "leftovers" from the pre?
vious year's Palm Sunday.
Though this Lenten custom, brought to the Philippines by the
Spaniards, originated in the sixth century during the papacy of Gregory the
Great, dried and scorched palm leaves (salab) were believed by ancient
Filipinos to have curative powers when their ashes were mixed with water
or coconut oil and applied as an ointment to an afflicted part of the body.
The author witnessed this done by an herbalist in Pateros in 1977. This
fact could have led to a quick acceptance of the lenten custom. Likewise,
he has seen cure by suob, "fumigation or burning of incense," which is
done in varying ways in the Philippines, but generally palm leaves, usually
those already blessed during Palm Sunday, are used. In a coconut shell are
burnt a handful of kamangyan, "sweet gum" (Vigna sesquipedalis),
palaspas leaves, chicken feathers, and fresh garlic. When the smoke starts
to build up, the shell is moved underneath the bed sheet of the patient.

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This confines the smoke and steams the sick, causing him to perspire an
to inhale the smoke. This will cast away the bad spirits from the body.
And so the Catholic use of incense would have been understood.
There is a practical function for the burnt leaves, too. Isabelo de los
Reyes noted that the palm leaves can be used as zahumerio or incense to
disinfect the houses (para desinfectar las casas).
Palaspas on Palm Sunday

Palaspas is given fullest expression on Palm Sunday. To com?
memorate the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, Catholic Filipinos
bring their palm leaves to church to be blessed by the priest. Thus Palm
Sunday in the Philippines is always a dramatic sight.
The galilea, the elevated platform decorated with palm leaves and
flowers (Plate VI), is built in a church patio for the choir who will sing the
chants of the day. Tuklong or "temporary altars" are decorated with
palaspas and the little "angels" sing their Hosannas at the tops of their
voices.
Every worshipper brings a palaspas. The long stalks of coconut or
buri palms with their fronds are plaited into decorative patterns and embel?
lished with crepe paper flowers and flaglets.
Isabelo de los Reyes in his 1889 book El Folk-lore Filipino de?
scribed the palaspas he knew in his native Vigan. He wrote: "the palm
leaves are decorated with pajaritos (small birds), culebras (snakes), estrel
las (stars), pinas (pineapples), and other figures" (de los Reyes 1994: 164
165).
Once blessed with holy water by the passing priests, the palaspas
acquires a potency that was not there when it was still a mere frond. It be?
comes a fixture placed on top of a door or window to ward off evil.
In the Tagalog region, the palaspas is like a staff, constructed of
two parts: a decorative handle and the decorated fronds. From the fronds
hang the woven stars, grasshoppers and other figures made from palm
leaves, and perhaps other tiny paper flags. The fronds are cut and woven
into various textures and designs. They may be cut, folded or plaited to
form the zigzag patterns symbolizing lightning, or in the shapes of the es
pada (sword), bola (ball), ibon (bird), hipon (shrimp) and other designs.
The decorative handle, on the other hand, may be heart-shaped or woven
like a mat or folded into overlapping bows (Plates VII - XIV).
Usually, the palaspas made for the priests is longer and looks like

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an intricately decorated scepter. Instead of having just two parts, it is made

of several layers of ornamentation. Its greater intricacy befits the priest
who represents Jesus Christ on earth.
In Tumauini, Cagayan, there is no distinction between handles and
decorated fronds. The leaflets, usually taken from the softer tip of the
frond, simply explode into various forms and designs. In Gattaran, Ca?
gayan, the insertion of a tingting or midrib through the folded leaves cre?
ates a simple S-shaped figure. In Cebu, the krus sa lukay is the favorite
decorative and symbolic component. The figure of the cross either stands
alone or is mixed more elaborately with other forms. In Labrador, Panga
sinan, a repetitive pattern of square knots creates a fish-like woven form
called isdang dapa, which can be found in almost every home.
Palaspas as Wedding Symbol

In Quezon Province, weddings are incomplete without the
palaspas. The jeepneys that bring the families to church are decorated on
both sides with palm fronds. The fresh leaves serve as a symbol of a new
bond. They announce the joy of the wedding occasion and suggest the
shared fun and laughter going on inside a teeming jeepney.
Cordero-Fernando remembers a Bulacan wedding party taken to
church in an ox-drawn cart. "It is profusely decorated with coconut leaves,
plaited in artistic fashion, from fans to birds and stars" (Cordero-Fernando
1992: 74).
The following observations of weddings are taken from the
author's fieldnotes. In Labrador, Pangasinan, the day before the wedding
is usually devoted to making propitious symbols of birds by curling leaves
of the coconut to decorate the wedding reception. Because many guests
are expected and not everyone can be accommodated in the house, a tem?
porary shed or bahay-bahay is built for the reception. In Bulacan the hut is
called the damara, while in Rizal and Laguna some call it the endramada,
and others, the embramada. In some Batangas towns they call \\ pasibi or
tuklong, words which must be prehispanic.
The entrance to the bride's house yard, where the reception is held,
is usually decorated with a profusion of palm leaves. The whole fronds of
young coconut palms have been stripped of midribs and the leaflets have
been allowed to flow like ribbons. The whole frond is then bent to form an
arch to mark the entrance to the dooryard like a curtain. Paper flowers,
flaglets, buntings and paper chains festoon the festive space. Various

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plaited forms are artistically tacked onto the trunks of bamboo and banana
trees together with paper flowers. A similar tradition in the use of palm
fronds is found among the Tausug who use fo'dto-shaped palm leaves in
the arrangements of the fruits and flowers for a wedding ceremony and
reception. A bowl of rice yellowed with turmeric serves as a base on
which the woven palm leaves are arranged in great profusion.
The Yakan use the shape of the bird they call tamu, together with
boiled chicken eggs, to signify the hoped-for fecundity of the newlyweds.
Among the Maranao, rebareban or small pouches or baskets are woven
from coconut palm leaves and hung on artificial wedding trees.
Wedding preparations are a community effort involving the fami?
lies and friends of bride and groom. They can be done only on the day be?
fore or early in the morning of the wedding day, to ensure that the
decorations will still be fresh when the guests arrive.
Palaspas as Fiesta Art

For fiestas, coconut and anahau leaves may decorate the church
and the altar, the arco (temporary and decorated bamboo arches) erected at
strategic points where the procession of the patron saint passes, the kubol
(temporary shed) where the loa or the poem of praise will be declaimed to
the patron saint, and the stage on which the play or the variety show is to
be performed.
In Paete, Laguna, embellished palm fronds are wound around lamp
posts that encircle the church patio. Temporary arches mark the entrance
to the church. Midribs are removed from the fronds thereby allowing the
leaflets to sway and rustle in the slightest zephyr. Some are meticulously
woven into binanig or mats for the endramada in order to demarcate a
space for the reception.
No fiesta outdoes the Pahiyas Festival of Lukban, Laguna, in terms
of the use of an abundance of palm leaves and other local vegetation. The
whole town is profusely decorated with coconut leaves as well as other
colorful products of the community. The decoration of the outer walls of
the houses features kiping or thin, colored rice wafers arranged in rows or
as hanging mobiles and chandeliers. Along with the artistic arrangements
of fruit, vegetables, flowers, and bamboo, the coconut and buri palms are
arranged in such a way as to attract even the most jaded passerby (Plate
XVI). Big arches made of woven fresh coconut palm leaves are created,
and also various shapes called kinurtina (curtain), nilaso (ribbons), pilipit

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(curls), tinupi (folds), nilala (like woven mats), tinirintas (braids), layang
layang (like butterflies) and kinayas (long strips).
In Lucban, the pahiyas (ornaments) become the main text of the
fiesta, not its mere complement. Without the pahiyas, there is no Lucban
fiesta.
Palaspas in Death
Fernando Zialcita, observing the many uses of the palaspas among
the Filipinos, notes their use even in death.
In Catholic iconography, martyrs enter heaven, brandishing the palm of

victory. Ilocanos extend this privilege to all the dead. They leave a ro?
sary in the corpse's right hand, but they remove the cross and substitute
for it one woven from the blessed palm; in the left they [place] a candle
with a palm plaited around it (Zialcita 2000: 40).
Dorm Hart (1975: 39) observed a funeral in a southern Negros

town near Panglirigan Hill in which he noted the many roles played by the
coconut:
The men put the coffin on a small cart that relatives of Vicente had
decorated that morning. The edges of the cart were covered with a lacy
green fringe of coconut fronds. Four men pulled the cart through the
poblacion as the others followed behind.
This litter or platform that carries the dead to a final resting place
was called handolan by the seventeenth century Tagalogs and gaily deco?
rated with palm leaves and flowers (San Antonio 2000: 110).
Hart (1975: 38) described not only the litter but also how they pre?
pared the dead body for burial.
Vicente was dressed in his best pair of white trousers, a sheer pina em?
broidered barong Tagalog shirt, and shoes. (His sparse white hair was
rubbed with coconut oil and neatly combed). A small cross made of the
bendita palm that had been blessed in the church on Palm Sunday was
put in his folded arms resting on his chest. The blade of a bolo sculled
by use in splitting firewood was smeared with coconut oil and slipped
under his mat?a custom said to delay putrefaction.
Among the Muslims, planting twigs and flowers on graves is not

permitted by the holy Koran or the Sunnah. The companions of the

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Prophet and the early generations of Muslim scholars did not practice the
ritual of placing wreaths on graves. It is, however, authentically narrated
that the Prophet did, on one singular occasion, stick a palm leaf on a grave
(Sahih Al-Bukari n.d.). No wonder, then, that Tausug represent the
Prophet with decorated palm leaves.
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE II:
RELIGIOUS ART
Palaspas is a favorite motif on the Filipino altar, whether animist,
Catholic or Muslim. The palm, said Origen, is a symbol of victory in the
war against the flesh (Hassett 1911), and this explains why it became the
favorite symbol of martyrs of the Catholic faith, and appears so frequently
in the altars of the early churches in the Philippines. The early missionar?
ies wanted the zeal of these martyred heroes of the faith to be the example
for the new converts.
In several colonial churches, bas-reliefs carved in the late 1600s
and early 1700s included figures of tropical palms. The unique lateral door
of the Maragondon church in Cavite is profuse with bas-reliefs made in
1734 of tropical plant motifs including the palaspas and the Tree of Life
(Javellana 1991: 39-41). Three birds are perched on a curious-looking tree
while two palm fronds at both lower corners balance the artistic composi?
tion.
The gospel side retable of the church in Silang, Cavite, made in
1663, is interesting in the sense that it depicts three women saints who all
carry palaspas (Javellana 1991: 126-127). It is quite noticeable that they
are carrying three different varieties of palm leaves.
On one side of the retable, St. Catherine, or Santa Catalina, with
her iconographic symbol of a spiked wheel, is holding in her left hand a
palm frond that looks like a slightly opened palmate leaf, probably anahau.
On the other side, Saint Agnes or Santa Ines, with her lamb on a book, is
holding with her right hand a frond of a pinnate leaf, which looks like a
coconut frond. Santa Ursula, on the second tier, with her minions of
eleven thousand virgins, here represented by only six, is holding a
sparsely-leafed palm, probably a young frond of palmera (Chrysalidocar
pus lutescens).
The San Agustin Museum has a good collection of icons with
palms. A seventeenth century bas-relief from a retable of an Augustinian
church exhibited in the San Agustin Museum sometime in the late 1970s
had the image of an unknown bishop being given the palm of martyrdom

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by the Virgin Mary on board a billowing cloud with cherubs (see a cover
of Archipelago, Vol. 5, 1978). The unknown carver revealed his Filipino
ethnicity in the way he depicted the palaspas as an unopened fresh ibus.
He is markedly familiar with the way it curves and how the leaflets over?
lap each other. With many iconographic details, some of which are now
undecipherable, the palaspas is the central figure that unites the Virgin
Mary and the bishop.
The side altar of the Our Lady of Consolation, the altar of Saint
Thomas of Villanova, and the chapel of Legaspi (see Galende 1987: 66,
69, 75) are festooned with crossbows of palm fronds.
In the Luis Maria Araneta collection in the San Agustin Museum,
there is an 1850 painting from the Baclayon church in Bohol by Liberato
Gatchalian called "The Crowning of Thorns" (Jose 1991: 160). It shows a
very Filipino-looking Roman soldier on his knees handing to Jesus a
palaspas signifying our Lord's martyrdom.
The great Filipino master painter, Damian Domingo (1795-ca.
1830), made an oil painting on an 11" x 14" copper sheet entitled Catedra
de San Pedro en Roma (see Ongpin 1983: 11-12). In a highly muted and
well-balanced composition, Domingo painted in the foreground a dark
green palaspas frond crossing a papal staff. Though it was not meant to be
the central image of the painting, one is drawn to the frond as it is the only
organic form amidst a stiff and structured architectural composition.
While Domingo's painting is mute in its display of the palm frond,
the Miagao Church, built in 1786, is like a temple dedicated to the coconut
palm. The coconut in all its majestic glory is the central botanical figure
occupying the church's pediment. A relief of the overlapping fronds of a
vigorous palm dominates the image of San Cristobal carrying the child
Jesus. The saint and the child Jesus seem to become the supporting, rather
than the main, focus for the fa9ade. The palm is given remarkable detail,
again including the budding ibus at the center of the crown of the palm.
A similar image, this time directly painted on the walls of the Paete
Church in Laguna, has the pronounced local color of an indio jornalero,
with rolled-up trousers, a bolo strapped to his belt, and a pot belly. Defy?
ing all laws of perspective, a palm, which appears to be the areca nut, is
drawn with the fronds looking as if they had just been pruned.
A palm with its inflorescence appears in the lower right corner of a
relief on the various titles of the Virgin Mary in the church of Majayjay,
Laguna. It balances, completes and situates a tropical garden, which pro?
vides a striking contrast to a fenced garden to its left (Bunag 1977: 14).

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A fine engraving of the image of San Pedro de Verona or San

Pedro Martir, attributed to Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay, an indio tagalo, ap?
peared in Pedro Nunez de Villavicencio's Academia devota published in
1740 (Jose 1991: 137-140). Aside from showing the bolo or machete em?
bedded in San Pedro's cranium as a symbol of his ordeal, it also depicts
him holding a cross in his right hand, while in his left, as a symbol of his
martyrdom, a palm frond looks like freshly cut ibus or palaspas.
This theme is repeated in the bas-reliefs of two unknown Jesuit
saints in the retable of the church of Sta. Cruz, Marinduque (Javellana
1991: 132-133). They hold their pagan palaspas together with the cross.
The assimilation of the palaspas to the symbol of the acquired faith is
complete. For the early Filipinos, the cross and the palaspas actually be?
came one. The saints were not holding them merely together. Filipinos
made crosses out of palaspas, displaying an absolute syncretism of the old
and the new religions. They created a hybrid cosmology by effectively
making a comparison and an assimilation of the formerly unknown con?
cept of the wooden cross to the more familiar ideas of the woven palaspas
(Plate XVII).
There was no reason to discard the palaspas in order to accept the
unknown and untested potency of the cross. The power of the cross be?
came more understandable by way of the palaspas. The two enhanced each
other. The palaspas acquired, as the cross also did, a new meaning and
utility that were not formerly endowed to them when they were separate.
The union made each potently legitimate in a new hybrid belief system.
The farmers of Samar and Leyte see no contradiction in using palm
crosses in their rice-farm fertility rituals when they also call on ancient
spirits. A modern seafood processing plant in Tubigon, Bohol, and a fast
sailing fishing boat in Turil, Davao, have these palm crosses prominently
displayed on their door beams.
The Western olive branch, used as an iconographic attribute of the
image of Santa Marta, was changed to a palaspas when the image reached
Pateros, Metro Manila. In the same way that this patron saint of cooks and
bakers in the West became the patroness of balut-makevs and duck-raisers
in Pateros, the occidental dragon was transformed to an oriental buaya at
her feet. The recamadero or image caretaker unabashedly replaced the ol?
ive branch, signifying a hyssop and the saint's virginity, with a palaspas,
in complete disregard of formerly imposed and accepted iconography, be?
cause unlike the olive branch, the palaspas was a symbol which he could
understand and with which he could identify.

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PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE III:

FOOD ART
Circular baskets made from the golden yellow leaves of young
palm fronds are woven as containers for nasi kuning or yellow rice in Jolo.
Triangular containers are also woven there as containers for curried
chicken. Food is made beautiful by these containers. They are an integral
part of the pleasure of food. A pleasing visual indulgence breaks the mo?
notony of everyday food, as a sign of festivity, and a special occasion. In
these containers, something as plain and common as rice becomes delec?
table.
There are plenty of variations of the suman or sweet rice cake
wrappers. One variation is the suman sa ibus which can be seen being sold
in front of churches and markets. These usually are made with sugar or
latik, the thick coconut jam. By simply coiling the leaves and sealing them
with a piece of coconut midrib before boiling for hours, the sticky rice is
firmly packed and ready to be sold and the package uncoiled to be eaten
(Plate XVIII).
The practice of using young coconut leaves to wrap sticky rice
cakes takes various regional forms. In the Visayas, the whole coconut
leaves are opened, laid flat, and folded lengthwise with the midrib intact to
form containers for the glutinous rice. In the Tagalog region, the ibus or
young leaves are removed from the midrib and then coiled firmly to form
a cylinder with both ends sealed after putting in the wet rice for boiling.
In Cainta and Antipolo many make a living from coiling these
wrappers (magk?mpel). The coiled buri leaf wrapper is a kampel. A mag
kakampel can prepare ibus containers even with the eyes closed. A busy
time for this is the month of May during the pilgrimage to Our Lady of
Peace and Good Voyage.
In Cebu and Dumaguete, it is a delight to see how the complex
steps in making pus?' containers are made to look so easy in the hands of
an expert (Plate XIX). In some areas, instead of using coconut palm
leaves, the fresh leaves of the sasa or nipa are used, giving a different kind
of aroma and texture.
In Baler, Aurora, the suman sa palaspas is more intricate. Using
coconut ibus, one begins the fold with a Visayan base, but it is finished
with a more intricate weave. For the amount of labor involved, it is almost
a sin to unwind them just to eat the suman inside.
Scott compiled a list from Mentrida's dictionary (Mentrida 1841)
of the various shapes of the pusu made among the Visayans in Panay.

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Their names are intriguing and denote complicated shapes. Without extant
samples, it is now quite difficult to imagine them:
1. Poso nga linalaque, a "masculine pusu" which Mentrida describes
as a rice pouch with sharp corners. Nagalalaqui is to make poso
nga linalaque. Eiseman has noted that Balinese weddings have of?
ferings of boiled rice wrapped in coconut leaves with a shape that
is "symbolic of the male genitalia" (Eiseman 1999: 216).
2. Poso nga pinauican is made in the shape of a pauican or turtle.
3. Poso nga binuaya follows the shape of a buaya or crocodile. This
could have been a very intricate form.
4. Poso nga ibaiba is the shape of an iba, a rice basket or earthen jar.
5. Poso nga galangan is the star shape of a galangan (balimbing or
star fruit) in cross-section.
6. Poso nga palohan is the shape of a palohan (a small piece of wood
fastened at the back of the waist of a fisherman to which cords are
attached). Pinalohan is to make a rice pouch in the shape of a pa?
lohan.
Unfortunately, nowadays in Panay and Cebu, nobody knows how to make
these rice pouches anymore. The dictionaries did not elaborate on how
these pouches were made. They have now become meaningless words in
the Visayas.
Looking for pre-hispanic Filipinos, William Henry Scott surveyed
old manuscripts and found that in the sixteenth century Visayan rice cakes
were "boiled in a little wrapper of coconut leaves... calledpusu after the
banana flower, and .. .prepared in a number of different sizes and shapes -
e.g. linalaki, masculine, binuwaya, crocodile-like, or kumul sin datu,
'data's fistful'" (Scott 1994: 48).
Some of the pus?' figures noted by Scott are now forgotten, but
some are still woven like the kinasing which is shaped like a heart or spin?
ning top, binaki like a frog, pinagi like a stingray, and tinigib which has a
flat, blunt end like a chisel. One not mentioned by Scott but which can be
found in Cebu's Taboan Market today is binaba, a four-cornered rice
casing with one side rounded and one flat, meaning "like a piggy-back
rider."
Scott, while meticulously studying the 1613 Spanish-Tagalog Dic?
tionary of San Buenaventura, received glimpses of old Tagalog culture
and technology. He noted the relation of the palaspas culture to the tech?
nology of planting and harvesting of rice. Scott wrote: "Once [the rice]
plants began to bear heads, placed in the fields were scarecrows, wicker

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work or palm-leaf pendants kept moving by the wind, in a variety of dif?

ferent shapes" (Scott 1994: 200), some of which we have mentioned be?
fore.
The old Tagalog culture recorded by San Buenaventura had a pro?
fuse and specific terminology pertaining to various forms of palm frond
creations. How I wish they had been able to record in detail how these
pieces were made, or at least had passed some pictures down to us!
However, some old designs have not become obsolete and they are
still being used up to the present in some places. In Isla Verde, Batangas,
buri is used to wrap pakaskas or raw sugar that is formed from nipa sap
(Plate XX). In Pampanga, this* is called tinaklob. Buri leaves with their
tender midribs are shaped into round canisters. Wide buri leaves are cut
into circles and are meticulously put at the centers of the canisters to hold
the liquid sugar before it hardens. The canisters are then stacked and tied
one on top of the other. A Pampango couple holding a bundle of tinaklob
is recorded in a lithograph print by Juan Serapio T. Nepomuceno from
Jean Mallat's Les Philippines Atlas of 1848 (reproduced in Burke-Miailhe
1978: 1570; see also Medina 1978: 1186).
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE IV:
FINE ART
Esteben Villanueva depicted palm leaves in one of the fourteen
paintings he completed in 1821 about the Basi Revolt of 1807 in Piddig,
Ilocos Norte. Pilar (1976: 24), in observing the charming primitive style of
these paintings, noticed the palm leaves when he commented:
...a word must be said of Villanueva's use of motifs, both as symbols

and as evocations of folk color, and in the long run, as means to lend to
his work a universal significance, perhaps deeper than what is intended.
His use of the comet and the palm of victory on both symbolic and real?
istic levels is one example of serendipitous device (Pilar, 1976: 24).
Looming over Filipino visual artists today is the challenge to re?

think basic concepts of art and aesthetics vis-?-vis their emerging national?
ist consciousness and the ensuing Filipino artistic expression. Together
with this challenge is the exploration of indigenous and pre-colonial art
forms that were once relegated to "folk," sometimes "primitive," or even
dismissed as of "savage," status. These forms continue to surface, though
they have been considered as unable to rise to the level of what is consid?
ered in the West as "fine" art.

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To discover and create a Filipino expression has led artists like

Roberto Feleo, Jun Yee and Imelda Cajipe-Endaya to explore the use of
materials such as sawali (woven strips of bamboo), bamboo and palaspas,
and of folk art techniques, processes and sensibilities. What they have cre?
ated is a charming discovery of the artistic beauty of forms which have
been used by Filipinos for a long time but not given the attention and the
concomitant articulation they deserve.
Cajipe-Endaya incorporated palaspas in her collages and assem?
blages together with the colorful taka (wood-molded papier-mache) dolls
and horses from her native Paete, Laguna to create metaphorical scenes
about the Filipino family and women. Her use of palaspas arouses emo?
tions of nostalgia and melancholy for they evoke familiar images of our
native hometowns.
Painters like Jose Blanco and his children also made the figure of
the palaspas one of their favorite subjects, demonstrating an intricacy of
the form which was a testament to their artistic dexterity and draftsman?
ship. Viewers are delighted by their painstaking attention to the smallest
details of the palaspas.
In his work Paglaum, Michael Lagos of Cagayan de Oro City uses
a less direct allusion to the Christian message of hope by mix-matching
popular images. A Palm Sunday palaspas in the form of a cross, brown
and brittle with time, is tacked to the center of a tattered door. Behind it is
a commercial poster for Hope cigarettes detailing images of skiing on a
snow-covered mountain. The bluish color of the poster provides the only
contrasting hue in a rather monochromatic brown picture of a dilapidated
shanty house. In effect, the palm cross, albeit ironically, sends a powerful
message of paglaum or hope and security against evil spirits and an op?
pressive economic structure. For a family living in a shanty village, the
palaspas is the only remaining vestige of hope and security.
Roberto Villanueva rejected the colonial connotations of easel
paintings and experimented with locally found materials like palaspas in
making alternative structures like altars and icons. In Alay kay Ina, an art
installation of a rice altar he put up in 1992 at the Cultural Center of the
Philippines (see picture in Paterno-Locsin 1999: 116), he was successful
in placing palaspas in a mixture of images from pre-colonial and colonial
experiences, and in conjunction with quotations from popular culture in
humorous and even sardonic compositions, unearthed forgotten cultural
memories and undigested colonial ideologies.

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These Filipino artists have effectively used the potent image of the
palaspas as a powerful symbol with which to articulate the rich messages
of their art works and to bring to the surface the shared experience and
wisdom of their national culture and identity.
PALASPAS IN GENRES OF EXPRESSIVE CULTURE V:
FOLKLORE AND LITERATURE
Riddles tackle the perplexing qualities with which nature has en?
dowed the coconut palm. They play with words, images and double mean?
ings. They also provide an indication of the way Filipinos understand and
appreciate the most common things around them.
In a book of Filipino riddles compiled by Eugenio (1994), among
the 197 plants that have been the subjects of riddles, the coconut appears
the most often. There are in the book 94 riddles referring to the coconut
and its fruits, leaves, stems, and structure compared to 63 riddles about
bananas and 49 about bamboo. In riddles as in life, the coconut, banana
and bamboo are the most prevalent and important plants. Below are some
interesting examples of riddles about the coconut palm (see Eugenio
1994).
"Mohayang ang inahan, Nagkolob ang mga anak" (S. Leyte)

(The mother lies on her back; The children lie on their stomachs)
Answer: palwa sa hibi, coconut frond
"Akatirakyang so dakulap ko akatikleb so gammet ko " (Kapampangan)

(Palms up, fingers down)
Answer: palapa, palm frond
"Human mamatay, mao pay pagbitay " (Bohol Cebuano)

(The dying came before the hanging)
Answer: langkay, palm leaf
"Pinatay ko muna bago ko binigti" (Tagalog)

(I killed it before it was hanged)
Answer: palaspas, palm frond
"Beklat ni ama, kurita ni ina, bisukol ni anak" (Ilocano)

(Python is the father, octopus is the mother, snail is the child)
Answer: niog, coconut palm
Eman Lacaba (1949-1976) used the imagery of the palaspas in his

poem "Orasang Patay" in describing the vivid pagoda (Eng. pagoda) and

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pasubo (offering) dancers who perform during the town fiesta of his native
Pateros (Lacaba 2001: 70-71). Images of ritual, intense color, ornamenta?
tion, and shuffling movements fill Lacaba's poem.
Na naligaw sa Pagoda ng Pateros, That was lost in the fluvial parade

in Pateros,
Nakipagsayaw sa matangdang puspos Danced by the old folks full
Ng kulay at sayaw at paspas na paspas Of color and jig and flapping
Na parang kineng palaspas Just like the palaspas
Na may laso pa't rosas With ribbons and roses
Na nakakabit Attached
At bitbit and borne
At iwinawasiwas and swooshed
Para sa asnong Diyos. For the donkey God.
Javellana (1988: 70-72) put the palm frond in conjunction with the
olive branch in a poetic image of the first Palm Sunday. His poem used the
quintilla, a five-line stanza with eight syllables per line.
Ang iba,I, nangag si cuha Some took

Nang palaspas at oliva, Palm fronds and olive branches,
ang iba ay manga capa, Others spread
ilinatag capagdaca Capes immediately
cay Jesus na Poong Ama. For Jesus the Lord Father.
This forms the basis for a dramatic re-enactment of the entry of Jesus to
Jerusalem by transforming the streets around the church as a stage: Old
women lay down their tapis (aprons), belo (veils), or banig (mats) on
which the priest, acting like Jesus and holding the biggest and most elabo?
rate palaspas, treads.
In subsequent stanzas, the poet further explains the meaning of the
local palaspas palm leaves together with the other leaves that are quite for?
eign to him like laurel and oliva:
Cun caya pinagsama The reason why the palm and olive
ang palaspas at oliva, are brought together,
at may laurel na lahoc pa, and laurel besides,
cahuluga,i, ang Doctrina is to lay down the doctrine
ni Jesus sa madlang sola. of Jesus for all sinful men.
Sa olivang cahulugan Olive's meaning:

ang malaquing caauaan the great mercy

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nitong Dios na maalam of this wise God

sa tauong macasalanan toward sinful mankind,
manga inanac ni Adan. the children of Adam.
Ang laurel nama,i, ganito The laurel's real meaning

ang cahulugang totoo is this:
sa carapatan ni Cristo, we will be crowned
puputungan naman tayo with joy indescribable
nang touang di mamagcano, because of the rights of Jesus.
Note that, in the first stanza above, the word palaspas was not
placed in a construction with the Spanish word ramos (branch). Because
of the origin of the palaspas in an animist context, it has a potency of
meaning not detectable in the foreign imagery of "branches" of oliva and
laurel.
PALASPAS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Palaspas serve everyday utilitarian purposes as well, especially as
perishable baskets, as we learn from articles in The Philippine Craftsman.
Loarca (1903: 169) noted in 1582 that "coconuts furnish a nutritious food
when rice is scarce. From the nutshells they make dishes, and .. .match
cords for the arquebuses; and with the leaves they make baskets."
Some of these temporary baskets are still being made in various
shapes and sizes by the Yakan of Basilan (personal observation). The Ya
kan's woven baskets of young palm leaves containing chicken, rice cakes,
salt, oil, or rice are hung on bamboo poles in their houses (Sherfan 1976).
The Mansaka make small drinking containers of palm leaves called bara
kas (Suelmae and Suelmae 1990).
The Tausug, as the author witnessed in the field, weave a tempo?
rary basket of palm leaves to market their fruit like mango and lansat.
They call it tambusa and it is shaped like a bucket with a round base and
handle (Plate XXI). They create variations of it which they call japang,
su 'gub, and kampil, the last of which is also used to carry raw and cooked
provisions. They make a telescoping basket called tampipi from coconut
palm leaves.
Among the T'boli of Lake Sebu, one sees palm baskets that have
been woven in the field and strapped onto their horses; the Tausug of
Tawi-tawi hang them onto a bamboo pole as a carry-all. These temporary
baskets are also made as containers in Jolo, Sulu, in Camiguin Island, and
in Liliw, Laguna for lansat and other fruit (author's field observations).

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These baskets are woven in situ wherever the leaves can be found
to serve as containers for whatever can be harvested. They are never in a
regular size and shape but depend primarily on the amount of load to be
carried and the leaf material available in the area. The Casiguran Dumagat
call their field basket kahubut. These baskets, though they have practical
uses, are never or rarely sold. They are thrown away once they have
served their purpose.
Until now, the Yakan farmers of Lamitan, Basilan, after their hard
work in the field, eat their rice porridge with a temporary spoon made
from coconut leaves, named suru. They simply discard the spoon after use.
Suro is ancient Tagalog for spoon and in archaic Ilocano, palaspas signi?
fied a spoon made from palm leaves (Sta. Maria 2002; also Gelade 1993:
456). San Buenaventura (1994: 205), on the other hand, records siloc as a
spoon made from a palm leaf by the Tagalog. Nagsisiloc was the act of
making the leaf spoon, while magsiloc ca nang palaspas was the impera?
tive to make one, and silocquin mo was to eat using a palm leaf spoon.
However, bunches of fresh ibus leaves are sold everyday at the
market in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, together with bundles of banana
leaves, charcoal, and grated coconut. They are fresher on Thursdays when
they arrive in bundles from nearby coastal towns. In Dumaguete, Negros
Oriental, jeep loads of fresh coconut leaves from the coastal towns arrive
in the city late Tuesday night for the early morning of market day on
Wednesday.
In Calapan, Mindoro Oriental, as in Malolos, Bulacan, dried buri
leaves are wound into rolls of about 20 cm in diameter, tied together and
sold ready for makers of mats and other utilitarian objects.
PALASPAS SYMBOLISM IN A SYNCRETIC FAITH

The palm was regarded by the early Christians as a symbol of the
victory of the faithful over the enemies of the soul. Thus it was used as a
common symbol for those who died as martyrs for the faith. It was and is
the Tree of Life, representing immortality. As such, it is sometimes de?
picted with the phoenix. Palm leaves are used, too, in invocations to God
as they are associated with Jesus Christ in the commemoration of Palm
Sunday. The use of palm leaves in the triumphal entry of the son of David
into Jerusalem marks Christ's temporal victory.
Of course, the palm of the Scriptures was the Phoenix dactylifera,
the utilitarian date palm. In Saudi Arabia, this palm is revered in the coun

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try's emblem or seal. The Philippine plant closest to the biblical palm is
found in Batanes. The Phoenix hanceana, known there as voiavoi, is the
material from which the thatched rain cape of the Ivatan is made.
When the palm concept crossed the Pacific and reached the Philip?
pines through Spanish missionary zeal, the colonized Filipinos adopted the
introduced religious symbolism into their own artistic media in order to
express the faith. In turn, the palm as palaspas acquired a new meaning
within the newly adopted religion.
When the ritual of Domingo de Ramos was adopted by the early
Filipinos, they found no need to invent a new word or adopt a foreign ter?
minology for it. The Tagalog, Pampangueno, and Pangasinense already
shared the word palaspas and added to its meanings and uses the recollec?
tion of the entrance of Jesus to his passion and death. The Bikolano had
ready a synonym, langkay, and the Cebuano and Samar-Leyte speakers
had lukay. The local counterparts for "branch" or ramos, a Spanish word,
did not conjure up much meaning in local languages and cultures (Sta.
Maria 1990) and so were never used in this context.
Native printmakers soon acquired a virtuosity for engraving and
lithography. They were commissioned by the Spanish friars to create
prayer books translated into local languages. Images of Christian saints
began to appear in prints, and soon after, in bas-relief and in painted im?
agery on wood and on the stone walls of churches.
Early Filipino artists recorded for us in print, sculpture, bas-relief,
metalwork, painting, and even in the poetry of the pasyon, their early im?
ages of the palaspas. They preserved in more enduring materials what
could not have been preserved in a natural state (Plate XXII).
Even while accepting foreign ideas, the Filipinos never rejected
totally their ancient beliefs and customs. The palaspas, which they had
been using for centuries in their ritual dances, divinations, and ornamenta?
tions, attained a new level of acceptance and legitimacy as a form of artis?
tic expression in their newly acquired faith. There was no need to discard
the concept palaspas among the Tagalog, lukay among the Visayans, and
so forth.
But the lik-ha, the carved images of prehispanic deities (anito), had
to be suppressed and suffered complete destruction, for they did not con?
form to the norms and standards of a foreign iconography. And so the term
lik-ha, unlike palaspas, faded away into oblivion as did its referents.
Among the Muslim Filipinos, pre-Islamic embellished palm leaves
were retained in a Filipinized Islam. Even the Prophet Muhammad was

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represented by woven palm leaves, in the same way perhaps that Chris?
tians represented their faith in palm crosses. Placing flagpoles with white
flags and palm leaves on graves, considered "non-Muslim" elsewhere, is
found among the Muslims of the southern Philippines.
It is said that early Filipino Christian converts carved images for
their chosen and venerated santos, such as San Isidro Labrador, when they
became the Catholic counterparts to the ancient anito spirits worshipped in
agricultural fertility rituals. They composed dalit (hymns) for the myriad
manifestations and attributes of the Virgin Mary, which they filtered and
interpreted through Filipino values.
It is in this manner that the animist traditions concerning the po?
tency of the palm leaf began to veer away from addressing pre-colonial
divinities, by then tabooed, and toward newly imposed interpretations of
Spanish Catholic rituals and doctrines.
However, this was not a complete veering-away. Though the
church liturgy during Domingo de Ramos recalls the entry of Jesus to Je?
rusalem, some people believe that waving their palaspas vigorously while
being sprinkled with holy water is part of a consecrated ritual to defend
their bodies, souls and homes from the snares of the devil and from mis?
fortune (Demetrio 1991: 490). This differs little from the Subanon belief
that the sound of shaking palm leaves attracts the attention of the deities
because it is the most beautiful sound to their ears (interview with a
Subanon cultural dancer, 2000).
Palms that have been blessed by a priest are kept inside residences
in Camaman-an, Cagayan de Oro City, as a protection against robbers.
Residents of Malaybalay, Bukidnon believe that if they put the palms
above the main door, the dili ingon nato or supernatural beings "not like
us" will be kept at bay. They also believe that burning blessed palms and
throwing the ashes out of the window is a sure antidote against lightning
strikes. And when mixed with aromatic coconut oil coupled with orasyon
(prayers) they become a potent potion that can cure all maladies (Demetrio
1991:307, 360, 490).
They also believe that blessed palms will save them from earth?
quakes if they wet the palms with vinegar, and by using them as an as
perge to sprinkle the house with this pungent acid. The same is believed in
Sta. Cruz, Laguna, but the vinegar there is diluted with water (Demetrio
1991: 360).
In a Rombloanon ritual performed just before planting or harvest?
ing of rice, called tuna, the leaves of tanglad (Cymbopogon citrates) or

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those of the nipa palm are used. Prayers are offered to the spirits for a
bountiful harvest (Demetrio 1991: 507).
In Marinduque, a ritual of suob (fumigation) is done in varying
ways, according to one of my informants there. In a coconut shell, a hand?
ful of kamangyang (incense) is burnt to cast away evil spirits from the
sick. In some church rituals, palaspas leaves blessed during Palm Sunday,
chicken feathers, and garlic are burnt to create a smoke that will achieve
the same goal.
The strength of the indigenous imagination and culture was such
that what has been described as conversion was really the indigenization,
better yet Filipinization, of the colonial religion. The Filipinos conquered
a foreign faith and made it their own. The strength of prehispanic Filipino
culture prevailed. Palaspas is a symbol of that victory.
CONCLUSION
The ephemeral art of the palaspas has taken various manifestations
in Philippine life, in its prehistoric rituals, folk beliefs, medicine, the rites
of Domingo de Ramos, and in various everyday utilitarian objects and
playthings. The created forms and figures bring out aesthetic delight as
they impart meaning and value. Because their signs and symbols are val?
ued and shared by the community, they attract viewers and fascinate the
makers.
This art form has done much to enhance the festivity of a space for
a ritual, wedding, town fiesta, santacruzan, or any social gathering. As
such, it evokes images of communal joy, of fun, sharing, and merriment.
Images expressed by the palaspas reflect simple everyday objects,
just as the material from which they are made is "everyday." Nameless
and ordinary people are involved in the making. This is an art form gener?
ated by the people, with no single creator who can claim credit for its
beauty.
Because it is ephemeral or highly temporal, palaspas art has not
been given the attention that it deserves. The palaspas in the museum only
faintly suggests what the artistic creations once were. The dried specimens
may be only adequate for the scientific study of structure and identifica?
tion of materials.
We see palaspas in rituals, festivities, food preparation and presen?
tation without realising its historical significance, because it leaves no
trace in hard material form. A record of the steps in making the palaspas

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figures would contribute to the effort of preserving knowledge of this per?

ishable art form.
This paper has barely scratched the surface. One may go to many
parts of the Philippines to find out more about this craft. Visits to Batanes,
the towns in the Sulu Archipelago, Masbate and Southern Bicol will surely
lead to additional knowledge.
I have not ventured into the etymology of the word palaspas itself.
This would provide fresh nuances. Similar crafts appear throughout
Southeast Asia. Elaborate pieces appear in Indonesia, China and Thailand.
The Pacific Island nations have similar crafts which have peculiar sym?
bolic meanings. Peruvian and Mexican palm fronds are likewise elaborate.
The ketupat of Malaysia, the patupat of Ilocos/Pangasinan and the
kitupat of Guam are shared cognates in the region for the palm leaf rice
wrappers. In Bali, Indonesia, coconut leaves are the most important mate?
rial for making the food containers and the elaborate sampian offerings.
The young leaf is named the busung while the mature ones are slepan.
Almost all Balinese know how to make more than a dozen different kinds
of palm leaf decorations for their offerings and some spend about twenty
percent of their waking hours on this activity (author's fieldnotes, Bali,
April 1994).
It would be interesting to understand the topological mathematics
of the designs, in order to appreciate the structural wisdom that governs
the folds. Topology may allow us to perceive the configurations of the
structures and appreciate why several designs are possible given only the
two sides of the leaves.
In learning from the palaspas one thereby discovers much about
the Filipino and Filipino culture. One can appreciate the strength and rich?
ness of Philippine civilization. The belief in the palaspas did not die with
the acquired faith brought by the colonizers. Rather it prevailed and
metamorphosed into expressions that still reflect indigenous values, now
interpreted within the context of various layers of influence.

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ENDNOTE
Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino in the Cultural Center of the Philippines

has a permanent exhibition that carries the general theme, Spirit: Life Ritual and Art. In
the section called Divinity, the Palm Sunday ritual is reconstructed. The Osana rites of
Bulacan for the start of Holy Week display a collection of woven palm leaf fronds for
Domingo de Ramos or Palm Sunday.
The area called Kin and Community displays a Nueva Ecija comedia or metrical
romance play that uses coconut palm leaves as the decorative accent for the stage. In the
Section called Land, an Ilocano abong-abong or temporary altar for Holy Week rituals is
constructed using palm leaves and decorated with a bountiful harvest of fruits and vege?
tables. In the area called Life and Death, a Pala'wan ritual is shown with a kunduq doll
made from folded palm leaves playing a central role.
On the other hand, the on-going exhibition by the National Museum on the rice
culture of the Philippines has a section showing the various rice cake delicacies and the
different ways of wrapping them with palm and banana leaves. Though much of the natu?
ral esthetics is lost, the exhibitors tried to overcome the problem of displaying perishable
goods by making wax effigies of real pusu and suman.
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GLOSSARY
Major Tagalog Dictionary Consulted:

Noceda and Sanl?car (1860) = (NSL) in Glossary
Other Tagalog Dictionaries Consulted:

Laktaw(1914)
San Antonio (2000)
San Buenaventura (1994)
Santos (1833)
For Plant Names:

Madulid (2001)
Abbreviations for Languages:

Ceb Cebuano Bisayan
Dgt Dumagat
Ifg Ifugao (Batad)
Ilk Ilokano
Hil Hiligaynon (Central Panay)
Ivt Ivatan
JM Jama Mapun
Kmp Kapampangan
Mar Maranao

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Man Mansaka
Sbl Sambal
SL Samar-Leyte (Waray)
Sp Spanish
Tag Tagalog
Tgb Aborlan Tagbanu(w)a
Tsg Tausug
Ykn Yakan
Alahas (Tag) Toy jewelry (e.g. rings and necklaces) made from
palm leaves.
Anibong (Tag) (NSL) A kind of palm. (There are Caryota cumin

gii, C. rumphiana var. philippinensis, Oncosperma
horridum, and O. gracilipes.)
Anime (Cebu, Tag) Torches of palm leaves bound tightly together (Pi
gafetta 1905: 121, 199).
Atab (Tag) (NSL) To use palm leaves to cover walls and roofs.
Bagaybay (Tsg) The young inflorescence of the palm often used as

a decoration, during mawlud, or bulan toy 'ti.
Banay (Hil) Dried anahau leaves used in rituals, in the Hinila

wod epic (Jocano 2000).
Banderita (Tag < Sp A small paper flag, usually made from cut and
bandera, flag, colored papel de japon, Japanese paper, and used
banderita, as an ornament to embellish a palaspas.
small flag)
Banga (Tag) (NSL) A palm found growing wild in the mountains.

(There are Orania decipiens, O. paraguanensis, O.
palindan var. sibuyanensis, and Pinanga insignis.)
Barakas (Man) A drinking container made of woven palm leaves

(Suelmae and Suelmae 1990).
Baroy (Mar) Palm leaves used as roofing material (McKaughan

and Al-Macaraya 1996).
Binaba (Ceb < baba, Palm leaves woven in a hunchbacked design.

piggy-back
rider)

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PHILIPPINE QUARTERLY OF CULTURE & SOCIETY
Binaki (Ceb < baki, Palm leaves woven into a frog-like form to make a
frog) casing in which to boil rice.
Bituin (Tag) Star-shaped palaspas.
Borlas (Tag < Sp Tassel-like palm ornaments.

borla, tassel)
Buburan (Tgb) Bamboo trays or frames, decorated with strips of

palm leaves, that are used during the pagdiwata
ceremony.
Bulanday (SbL) A bundle of wild palm leaves (palma silvestre)

used as a substitute for a fan in animist rituals in
Bolinao, Zambales.
Bull (Tag) (NSL) Palm from the uplands having seeds used as beads
in necklaces and rosaries (Corypha utan).
Buri (Tag) See bull.
Bush (Tag) A container made from woven fibers and palm

leaves.
Calaguimay (Tag) (NSL) Pandan (Pandanus spp.) leaves used to make mats
and mattresses.
Cauong (Tag) (NSL) A source of tuba to drink, yoro to eat, wool for
mattresses, and bristles for pots. (Arenga pinnata
palm).
Cayacas (Tag) (NSL) Dried palm leaves.
Chinelas (Tag) Palm leaves woven in the shape of a slipper.
Cobot cobot (Tag) Pleats or wrinkles made on palm leaves.
Dampotan (Tag < dampot, Plates, made from palm leaves, from which food is
to take with to be eaten with the hands.
hands)
Dayaka (Man) Palm leaves of sasa (nipa) strung on a bamboo lath

called pawiran and sewn together usually with the
rind of the petiole of the dayaka palm (Suelmae
and Suelmae 1990). (Arenga tremulal)

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Diamante (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into a diamond shape.

diamante)
Dongla (Ifg) The palm lilly or ti plant, having red lanceolate

leaves, used as a headdress in the him-ong rituals
to avenge the violent death of a warrior (Newell
1993). (Cordyline fruticosa.)
Elisi (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into a propeller shape.

helice)
Espada (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into a sword shape.

espada)
Estrella (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into a star shape.

estrella)
Golotong (Tag) Rough, unclean, and wrinkled palm leaves.
Hipon (Tag) Palm leaves woven into the shape of a shrimp.
Ibon (Tag) Palm leaves woven into a bird shape.
Ibong A darna (Tag) Palm leaves woven into the shape of the mythical
bird adarna, with its long tail, popularized by the
metrical romance Florante at Laura, authored by
Franicsco Balagtas.
Ibos/ibus (Tag) Young palm leaf-sprouts having light green or

yellow colors.
Japang (Tsg) A woven palm-leaf basket used for transporting

fruit to market and later discarded.
Kahubut (Dgt) A crude, temporary basket made from palm leaves

used to carry home gatherings from forest or farm.
Kampil (Tsg) A woven coconut palm-leaf container in which

fruit or raw or cooked provisions are kept.
Karagumoy (Bik) Pandan leaves, up to three meters in length, used

for making mats and baskets.
Kidlat (Tag) Palm leaves woven in the shape of a zigzagged

bolt of lightning.

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Kinadena (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into a chain.

cadena, chain)
Kin asin g (Ceb < kasing, Palm leaves woven into the shape of a spinning
spinning-top) top, to form a casing in which rice is boiled.
Kinulot (Tag<kulot, Strips of palm leaves made to curl like corkscrews.

curl)
Landag (Tag) Withered, dried (palm) leaves.
Langkey (Dgt) See ogbus.
Langkay (Tsg) Dried coconut leaves.
Laquilang (Tag) (NSL) The neither very young nor mature palm
leaves.
Latigo (Tag < Sp Palm leaves woven into the shape of a whip or
latigo, whip) horsewhip.
Lipet (Mar) Rice cooked and wrapped in coconut leaves

(McKaughan and Al-Macaraya 1996).
Lipilipi (Tag) (NSL) To place bundles of palms on the gunwales

of a canoe, or along the sides of house stairs during
flood, to prevent water from seeping in.
Lukay (Cebu, SL) The young leaves of the coconut palm, or a lobe or
section of the coconut palm frond. Dominggu sa
Lukay (Palm Sunday), bindita sa lukay, the bless?
ing of palms on Palm Sunday (Trosdal 1990).
Luyong/loyong (Tag, Sbl) (NSL) A palm used to make archery bows (Livis
tona rotundifolia var. luzonensisl).
Nginipin (Tag < ngipin, Palm leaves woven in the shape of the pointed
tooth) teeth of the crocodile.
Nilala (Tag < lata, to Woven palm leaves.

weave)
Nilubid (Tag < lubid, Palm leaves woven to resemble a rope,

rope)

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Nipa (many Nypa frutescens, yielding palm wine and broad

languages) leaves used for roofing and walling.
Ogbus (Dgt) A fresh, sprouting young coconut frond.
Palapa/balaba (Tag, Dgt) Petiole of the palm leaf.
Palaspas (Tag) Plaited and decorated palm fronds used during the
Palm Sunday rites commemorating the entry of
Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. The word also pertains
to the plaited objects created from different fresh
or dried palm leaves to amuse and decorate.
Palimping (Tag) (NSL) Small leaves, trimmings, pieces, or cuttings

of the large leaves of the buri palm which are too
narrow and of too unequal a size to be of use in
weaving.
Palipog/palipoc (Tag) (NSL) A palm that is small and weak.
Pangdan (Tag) Pandanus palm leaves used for making coarse

mats.
Pasang (Tag) (NSL) A less useful palm giving only a small quan?
tity of tuba.
Patupat (Kmp, Ilk) Rice cakes made from glutinous rice that have
been boiled in molasses within palm-leaf cases
until sticky and tender.
Pina (Tag < Sp pina, Palm leaves woven in the shape of a pineapple.
pineapple)
Pinagi (Tag <pagi, Palm leaves woven in the shape of a stingray.

stringray)
Piyoso (Mar) Rice cooked in woven coconut leaves (Mc

Kaughan and Al-Macaraya 1996).
Pugahan/ (Tag) (NSL) Arenga pinnata, a mountain palm from

pogahan which cabo negros or black cords are gathered
from fibers in their trunks. See cauong.
Pusu (Tag) Woven palm leaves shaped like a heart and used to
wrap rice to be boiled. The heart-shaped flower
buds of the banana plant.

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Pus?' (Ceb) Small individual containers of woven young coco?

nut leaves, in the shape of a heart or the heart
shaped bud of a banana plant (Trosdal 1990).
Rebareban (Mar) Basket-like objects hung on an artificial wedding

tree (McKaughan and Al-Macaraya 1996).
Sabotan (Tag) Leaves of Pandanus sabotan used to make various

mats.
Sagonson (Tag) Palm leaves of unequal sizes but which can still be
arranged in an orderly manner.
Salab (Tag) Dried leaves or stems of the coconut.
Salapid (Tag) Palm leaves woven in the shape of a long braid of

hair.
Salidangdang (Tag) To weave palm leaves into mats.
Samat/sinamat (Tag) (NSL) Plates made from woven palm leaves.
Sapac (Tag) (NSL) A variety of anahau that has many uses.
Sasa (Many (NSL) See nipa.

languages)
Sinawa (Tag < sawa, Palm leaves woven into the form of a snake.
python)
Sombrero (Tag < Sp A hat; can be woven from palms.

sombrero, hat)
Su'gub (Tsg) Container woven from coconut leaves and used to

carry fruit.
Suman (Tag) Sticky rice wrapped in woven palm leaf casings

for boiling; "rice cake."
Tambusa (Tsg) A round basket made of coconut leaves for carry?

ing fruit, especially mango and lansat.
Tamping (Tag) (NSL) See cauong and pugahan.
Tampingbanal (Tag) (NSL) A useless and monstrous palm tree.

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Tampipi Tsg) A double telescoping basket made of coconut

leaves.
Tamu Ykn) A palm casing in the shape of a bird, used for boil?
ing rice.
Tical Tag) (NSL) Fronds from upland palms used as walling.
Tingting Tag) The tapering woody midrib of the palm frond.
Tinigib Ceb < tigib, Woven palm or banana leaves in the shape of a
chisel) blunt-ended chisel, used for wrapping rice to be
boiled.
Tipaklong Tag) Palm leaves woven in the shape of a grasshopper.
Todong Mar) Gaily colored baskets made of woven palm leaves

and used as lids for covering food (McKaughan
and Al-Macaraya 1996).
Torotot Tag) Palm leaves woven in the shape of a horn whistle.
Tuklong Tag) A temporary altar, covered and decorated with

woven palm leaves, flowers, fruits and vegetables,
where people congregate for religious prayers and
chanting.
Tumopi Tag < topi, To make baskets out of buri palm leaves,
eaves of the
buri palm)
Ubod Tag) The heart of a palm; leaf sprouts.
Ugsang Tgb) A bundle of stripped and pleated palm leaves, with

small brass bells attached, used during the pagdi
wata ritual.
Urbay/qurbay Tgb) Rope made from the infructescence of the areca

nut palm (Areca catechu); also called mandari
rong.
Voiavoi/voyavoy Ivt) Phoenix hanceana, the palm in the Philippines

which is closest to the biblical date palm. Material
from it is made into a thatched raincape.

49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
LIST OF CAPTIONS FOR PLATES I-XX11
Plate I. Felix Martinez, Domingo de Ramos, 1893. Filipinas Heritage Library Collection.
Plate II. Reyna Elena, played by Ms. Martine de Borja, and King Constanino. Santa
cruzan, Pateros, Rizal, 1938. Photo collection of Ms. Marthie de Borja-Ungco.
Plate III. Various forms woven from coconut palm-frond leaflets.
Plate IV. A weaver from Pampanga in Quinta Market, Quiapo, Manila, 2003. The han?
dles are a single pattern of overlapping bows, the upper parts are repeating pat?
terns of cut and inserted palm leaflets.
Plate V. In the Tausug Maulud-al-nabi, a banana stalk pillar is ornamented with palm
leaves to form the telian-telian, a symbol (not an icon) of the Prophet. Dr. Tho?
mas Kiefer collection.
Plate VI. The galilea, an elevated platform built on a church patio for the Palm Sunday
choir of angels. Manila Times photo collection, Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila
University.
Plate VII. Palm Sunday palaspas, Pateros, Metro Manila 2003.
Plate VIII. Palm Sunday palaspas showing ribon-ribon (ribbon-like) for the handle and
panaypay (fan-like) for the leaflets. Made by weavers from Alfonso, Cavite,
2003.
Plate IX. Palm Sunday palaspas showing the forms of the krus (cross), ibon (bird) and
bitoon (star). Made by a weaver from Antique Province, 2002.
Plate X. Palm Sunday palaspas showing heart-shaped handles and fronds in the shapes of
the espada (sword), kandila (candle), and latigo (whip). Ribbons and estampita
of the Mother of Perpetual Help added. Bound by rubber bands. Pasig, Metro
Manila 2002.
Plate XL Palm Sunday palaspas showing ribon-ribon, palapa (whole frond), or bukey
(bouquet). Pateros, Metro Manila, 2002.
Plate XII. Palm Sunday palaspas showing handles folded into overlapping bows, and
upper forms called layang-layang (birds). Pateros, Metro Manila, 2002.
Plate XIII. Palm Sunday palaspas showing handles in the woven-mat form, and upper
leaflets in the laying-layang form. Quiapo, Manila, 2003.
Plate XIV. Palm Sunday palaspas with heart-shaped handles and laying-layang leaflets.
Some leaflets are darker and move mature.

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Plate XV. Palm Sunday palaspas using the cross as the dominant motif and colored paper
flowers. Made by a weaver form Cavinti, Laguna, 2003.
Plate XVI. A Lucban, Quezon house front decorated for the May time Pahiyas festival.
Note the colored rice wafers, vegetables, and two kadena (long chains) made of
strips of young palm leaves. 1999.
Plate XVII. A krus sa lukay, coconut palm leaflet folded into a cross, with a halo or aura
in the zigzag shape of the kidlat (lightning). From Cagayan de Oro City, 1980.
The Regalado Trota Jose collection.
Plate XVIII. Suman sa ibus. Boiled rice cakes wrapped in coiled buri palm leaves died
yellow. Sold in fives in markets and churches, Cainta and Antipolo, Rizal.
Plate XIX. A pusu' vendor in Dumaguete.
Plate XX. Pakaskas, packed in wraps of 5/canister and sold in lots of 6 canisters. The
nipa palm toddy is converted to caramel and wrapped in leaves of buri palm. Isla
Verde, Batangas.
Plate XXI. Tambusa baskets for lansat, each woven from a single coconut palm frond.
Bacolod, Negros Occidental, 2003.
Plate XXII. A relief of the Annunciation showing the Archangel Gabriel holding a palm
frond while announcing the coming of the Messiah to a kneeling Virgin Mary.
Intramuros Administration Collection.

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Plate I.

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Bg^jk ^^^^ *
Plate II.

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49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
Plate XII.

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Plate XIII.
^^^^^^^^ ^
Plate XIV.

49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00

49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00
Plate XVni

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Plate XX.

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49.145.164.77 on Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:05:34 +00:00

Palaspas Vernacular: Towards An Appreciation of Palm Leaf Art in The Philippine

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