Contemporary Philippine Arts from the

Regions

Pre - Conquest
GERALD BARROGO
 What we'll discuss
today
The history of arts before the colonization of the
spaniards
 PRE-CONQUEST

Art before the first colonizers

Other terms for Pre-Conquest

• Indegenous = Stylistic
• Pre- Colonial = life before civilization
Pre-Conquest

Arts were woven into the fabric of their everyday

lives.

Hunter Gatherers
Ritual
Preparing the hunters and prayed to have the
strength of the animals that they've hunted.
Literature

Writing the stories about their hunt by

carving.
Theater

Enactment of hunting the animals by the

hunters.
Music
Drum beats

Dance
Dancing to the music
Pre-Conquest

RITUALS
 Cañao
KA N YAW
• Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR)
• Officiated by a shaman or mumbaki
• Animal sacrifice

WH E N D O T HE Y DO T HI S
• healing
• announce the birth of a child
• coming of age (legal)
• Wakes
• Weddings
• Burial Ceremonies
 Kashawing
• Lake Lanao in Mindanao
• reenactment of the pact made by the ancestors and unseen
spirits that inhabit the lake

WH E N D O T HE Y DO T HI S
• During rice planting and harvesting
 Palawan

TA G BA N WA
• thirteenth moon, three goddesses descend from the heaven
to bless the planting of rice
• The shamans go into a trance
Pre-Conquest

MUSIC
 Music Instruments
• pipes
• flutes
• zithers
• drums
• kudyapi
• kulintang
• gansa or flat gong
• agong
• bamboo percussion instruments
Pre-Conquest

DANCE
Native dance forms

Imitating the movements of animals, humans and

elements of nature
Pangalay

• Sulu archipelago
• mimetic of the movements of seabirds
Predatory Birds

• Mandayas'kinabua
• banog-banog of the Higanon and B'laan
communites
• man-manok of the Bagobos of Minadano
Talip dance

• Of Ifugaos
• is used for courtship
• imitate the movements of wild fowls
Tinikling

• Movements of the crane

• Balancing itself on stilt-like legs
Pre-Conquest

CARVING
 Bulul

• From Ifugaos
• Regarded as the Granary God that plays an
important role in rituals

IT A PPE A RS O N
• Containers
• Bowls
• Spoons
Hagabi
• From Ifguaos
• A wooden bench
Santos
• From Christianized communities of Laguna and
Pampanga

• Laguna is known for its carving traditions while

Pampanga face many challenges to
contemporary practices, but it's still active.
Okir
• From Southern Philippines
• woodcarving
• Sensuous figures painted in primary colors follow the basic
designs of mythical sarimanok, the naga or serpent.
 Okir

• Panolong of the sultan's house

called torogan
Pre-Conquest

Pottery
Ancient Forms

Most are made out of terracota

Manunggul
Jar

Discovered at Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point,

Palawan

Neolothic Period (890-710 BC)

Secondary burial vessel

Buried and exhumed bones are inside of the jar.

Other forms of
burial jars

Discovered during the Metal Age

(5 BC - 225 AD) in Ayub Cave in Maitum,
Saranggani province.
Other forms of pottery that
remain in use

Palayok - for cooking

Banga - containers
Tapayan - containers
Pre-Conquest

Weaving
Weaving

• According to Respicio, Philippine

ethnolinguistic groups have a rich textile
weaving tradition.
Traditional
Weavings

• Fibers are gathered from plants like

cotton, abaca and pineapple leaves, while
the pigments are extracted from clay,
roots, and leaves of plants.
Backstrap loom

• This is used to weave designs that hold

special meaning for a particular cultural
group.
Pis siyabit

• It is a headpiece woven by the Tausug of

Sulu
Malong

• Woven by the Maranao of Lanao del Sur

• Tapestry panels called langkit
Tepo mat

• Woven by the Tawi-Tawi

• Made out of pandan leaves
Ovaloid baskets

• From Itbayat, Batanes

• Made out of nito and bamboo
Bubo

• From the Ilocos region

• Made out of bamboo strips
Pre-Conquest

Ornaments
 Boxer codex
It is a manuscript in the 16th century that shows the
ethnolinguistic groups

Upper class Tagalog were wearing gold jewelry while

the Visayans are shown fully covered in tatoo. It is
called "Islas de los Pintados"
 Tattoos

U SE S WHO

• Aesthetic Function • Shared by other regions in Southeast Asia

• Protect the person from evil spirits and New Zealand
• Badge of maturity and bravery • Kalinga
• Kankanay
• Ibaloy
• Ifugao
 Jewelry

To make the wearer more attractive

The T'boli are known to wear brass chains, bells, and

colorful beads
Pre-Conquest

Metalwork
Lotoans

• From Marano of Lanao del Sur

• Various shapes (spirals, circles and
tendrils)
• Made of brass or bronze
• Lost wax
Brass Kendi

• used in ceremonies
• cherished as a status symbol
• Heirloom pieces
• A vessel used for pouring liquids. It has a
round body with no handle.
• Lost wax
Lost wax

• AKA cire perdue

• Metal casting
• Molds filled with liquefied metal
THANK YOU!