arts (LIMBIKS)

• ARTS AND CRAFTS OF LUZON (Highlands and Lowlands)
• "Artists think outside the box.": 'Try to innovate ideas or solutions. Mix and match colors and textures. Innovate shapes.'
• Both in the olden and modern times, Visayan artists are not just creative and imaginative but also resourceful.
• Before the Spaniards came, the ancient inhabitants of the Visayan islands were already engaged in metal, bronze, and gold casting and wood carving.
• They had made silver and gold jewelry.
• Jewelry making in Cebu is one of the oldest in the world.
• Antonio De Pigafetta

  Magellan's chronicler or writer of events
• In his journal, Antonio De Pigafetta mentioned his admiration for the mode of dressing of the early Cebuanos.
• Rajah Humabon wore a very heavy chain of gold around his neck and had two gold rings with precious stones on his ears.
• Rajah Humabon was using porcelain dishes and jars for his wine.
• Art was used to show one's social status.
• The designs of the tattoos of the early Visayans indicate their social status.
• Tattoos were created not just as body ornaments but also as means to tell others that some memorable things happened to them.
• Visayan Jewelry

  • Folk Art
  • Pre-Hispanic Philippines Golden Halter
  • Gold smelting jewelry
  • Spiral
  • Dynamic lines
  • Lines
  • Color: Silver white, Grayish yellow, Yellow ochre
• Gold Garuda

  • Design: Alternation of repeated geometrical shapes
• Cebu is one of the oldest cities in the Philippines and is an exciting place for artists and art enthusiasts.
• Cebu is famous in various arts and crafts industries, including jewelry making, metal craft making, wood carvings, furniture making, and shell craft decorations.
• Cebu is also famous for handcrafted fabrics and embroidery works in handmade clothes, rugs, and curtains, as well as religious and decorative wood carvings.
• Cebu is famous for producing handcrafted guitars, known for their superior craftsmanship.
• Cebu is famous for producing highly durable and artistic pieces of furniture, with Mandaue City producing 75% of the total furniture export in the Philippines.
• Kenneth Cobonpue, a famous furniture designer from Cebu, has won several international awards and had his works featured in Hollywood.
• Panay Island is known to be the home of many excellent craftsmen.
• Iloilo is considered the "Queen of Weaving" and was referred to as the "Textile Capital of the Philippines" during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
• Hablon, a popular textile made of cotton, silk, piña, and abaca fibers, is known for its symmetrical designs that can be on par with the best Southeast-Asian textiles.
• Hablon weaving can be found in the municipality of Miag-ao.
• Iloilo is famous for its old Spanish houses, which have been declared as Heritage Houses by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
• Iloilo is also famous for pottery-making, bolo-making, and bamboo crafts, as well as acrylic and shell crafts.
• Bacolod is known for its colorfully painted Masskara festival masks, souvenirs, and furniture items.
• Ilonggo culinary arts, such as chicken inasal and Negros pastries, are also popular.
• Popular items in Bacolod and other towns in Negros

  • Piaya
  • Barquillos
  • Pinasugbo
  • Pastel de manga
  • Dulce gatas
• Famous dishes in Iloilo

  • La paz bachoy
  • Bulalo
  • Lengua
  • Sizzling gambas
• Bohol is famous for its century-old stone churches, made of choral stones cemented using egg yolks, which housed small museums displaying artifacts, religious relics, and other antiques.
• A strong earthquake in 2013 destroyed many of Bohol's famous old churches.
• Artistry in Bohol seems to be expressed per community, with loom weaving popular in Tubigon and basket weaving and woodcarving popular in Antequera.
• The town of Basey in Samar is famous for its banig or handwoven mats, using dried tikog leaves instead of dried buri leaves, and dyed with strong colors.
• Items produced by talented craftsmen in Samar

  • Mats
  • Baskets
  • Bags
  • Wall decors
  • Placemats
  • Round mats
• Antique is noted for its weaving industry, producing piña cloth and using abaca fiber to make handicrafts like bags, furniture, carpets, and clothing.
• Other handicrafts produced in Antique

  • Baskets
  • Carpets
  • Placemats
  • Boxes
• The Visayan pattern of weaving palm leaves for cooked rice varies depending on the traditional technique of a region, such as the Cebuano's style of wrapping cooked rice in the shape of a heart, and the Waray's style of making ibos (cooked glutinous rice wrapped with palm leaves).
• Baskets of the Iraya Mangyan


  • Intricate patterns and designs of humans, animals, trees, and other objects
  • Made of dried nito grass and forest vines
  • Nito refers to the special vine that grows in the wild
  • Nito woven item is one of a kind, with no single design being exactly the same as the other
  • Delicately crafted by a single individual, a large basket takes roughly one week to complete