Traditional Folk Arts

• Folk Architecture

  These are simple structures built of local materials and available tools to provide shelter for its inhabitants

  Bahay Kubo or Nipa Hut

  Also known as kamalig, it serves as an icon to Filipino lowland and rural culture. It is a stilt house with walls usually made up of bamboo rods and bamboo mats or sawali, and a thatched roof made up of anahaw or nipa
• Bale or Ifugao House


  It is a one-room house with an attic for storage. Located at the contour of the rice terraces, the exterior of the house looks like a pyramid resting on four posts, while the interior is enclosed by slanting walls and ceiling that appears to be spherical that are formed by the loft.
• Ivatan House in Batanes


  Most of the Ivatan houses are built with limestone walls, and cogon roofs, strong enough to withstand the typhoons and earthquakes that visit the province. It has narrow doors and windows with wooden shutters and often secured by wooden bars.
• Torogan or Maranao House


  Literally means "a place for sleeping torogan is a stately house for the elite members of the Maranao tribe in Mindanao. As the house of the datu or sultan, it is a symbol of status and leadership. It also serves as a courthouse, hall for community meetings, and its courtyard as ritual areas for weddings.
• Badjao's Stilt Houses and Houseboats


  • Cruise along the islands of Sulu
  • Unique ecological setting
  • Fishing economy
  • Adjust to the limited space of their lepa or floating homes
• Structure of Badjao's floating homes

  1. Strong platforms made on both ends of the boat for the fish, kitchen utensils and fishing gadgets

  2. Kitchen area usually found at the back
• Badjao's stilt houses


  • Built out of driftwood and debris from the coastal cities around Southeast Asia
  • Foundations carefully placed in between coastal rocks and corals
• Maritime Transports


  These are simple marine vessels made for the transport of goods and people by sea and other waterways in the surrounding regions.

  1. Wooden Banca

  The outrigger canoe is a small wooden boat used for transport in daily activities by people near the coast. It is sometimes highly decorated.
• Vinta


  It is a traditional boat made by Sama-Bajau (Badjao) and Moros living in the Sulu Archipelago, Zamboanga peninsula, and southern Mindanao. The assorted vertical colors in its sail represent the colorful culture of the Muslim community. These boats are used for inter-island transport of people and goods
• Weaving, Textile making, and Fabric Art

  1. Fibers from abaca, cotton, pineapple and bark knotted

  2. Fibers boiled

  3. Fibers dyed

  4. Fibers dried

  5. Fibers weaved using hands and wooden platform
• The process of producing the final garment or fabric spans from a week up to months
• Piña fabric


  Soft and delicate but durable and long-lasting fabric
• Uses of Piña fabric

  • National costumes, the baro't saya and barong
• Piña silk


  Piña fiber blended with silk
• Piña jusi


  Piña fiber mixed with abaca
• Piña weaving is the oldest industry of Aklan
• T'nalak woven cloth


  Woven by the T'boli women of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, Mindanao, it represents the tribe's culture and tradition. According to them, the unique designs and patterns on the cloth are bestowed upon them through dreams.
• Tingkep baskets

  It serves both practical and spiritual purposes in the Pala'wan community life. It is used as a storage container for rice, salt, and personal belongings. It is also used to house the powerful female spirit Linamin et Kundu during a healing ritual called Kundu. It is handcrafted by the women from fine bamboo strips and made in natural colors.
• Hinabol

  Weaving is a happy activity for the Higaonon hinabol weavers of Bukidnon. Their ancestors have used abaca as a raw material for their clothing, footwear, blankets, and for their fishing gear.

  The production of textile was considered to be sacred to the tribe. The cloth reflects the moods and feelings of the weaver. It is woven as offering to the spirits and also given as a gift, as a dowry, and is used to bring peace during tribal conflicts.
• Yakan-weaved cloth

  Made by the Yakan tribe from Basilan, it features elaborate geometric designs and patterns that are inspired by nature. The fabrics produced by the weavers are used for religious and ritual purposes, bartered for daily necessities, given as gifts, and used for peace offerings in times of conflict.
• The Tapis of the Kalinga Tribe

  For them, weaving is a sacred tradition passed on from mother to daughter The tapis is a costume indigenous to the Kalinga and Apayao. It is a rectangular cloth woman wear as a wraparound skirt. The garment was woven using a backstrap loom and was embroidered with nature-inspired patterns.
• Carving

  From the northern part of the country down to the south, there is always a wood carving province that will amaze us. One of those is Paete in Laguna, the woodcarving capital of the Philippines. Wood is the common material that is widely used in the country. Other materials such as stone and metals such as silver and bronze are used in regions where there is an abundance of the mineral.
• Performing Art

  These may be folk dances and music which are developed by an individual or groups of people that reflect their traditions and culture.
• Literature

  It refers to the traditional oral literature of various

  ethnic groups of the country. It includes the story of

  "Malakas at Maganda" and epics such as "Hudhud ni
• Aliguyon, "Darangan," and the likes

  G. Graphic and Plastic Arts

  Graphic arts are mainly two-dimensional (2D), like sketching, painting, photography, and calligraphy Plastic arts include sculpture or ceramies which have three dimensions (3D).
• Ornament

  It is used to embellish parts of a building or object. The Ifugaos have carved Anito figures or Bulul which represent their ancestral spirit and granary gods. The bulul is placed in the rice granaries to guard their harvest. On the other hand, the Kapampangans are famous in their parol, an iconic symbol of the Filipino Christmas
• I. Pottery

  Native Filipinos created pottery since 3500 years ago. These potteries serve as a secondary burial jars to hold the deceased. Some of these were decorated with anthropomorphic designs.
• Manunggul Jar

  It is a secondary burial jar found in the carly 1960's in Manunggul Cave, Lippun Point, Palawan. The upper portion of the jar is incised with curvilinear scroll designs and painted with natural iron or hematite. On top of the lid is a boat with two human figures representing two souls on a voyage to the afterlife. The boatman is seated behind a figure whose hands are crossed on the chest. The position of the hands is a traditional Filipino practice observed when arranging the corpse.
• Maitum Anthropomorphic Potteries Earthenware pots resembling human figures were found in Ayub Cave in Pinol, Maitum, Saranggani Province. The pots were dated to the Metal Age (5 BC 225 AD) and were used for secondary burial. There were 29 jars discovered and each of head-shaped covers portrays different kinds of expressions: sadness, joy, contentment. The heads were either plain or coated with red or black paints.