FilArts Mindanao and Sulu Motifs

• Mindanao encompasses a large land mass along with several other small islands. It is home to a wealth of natural and mineral resources. Mindanao has six regions.
• Regions of Mindanao


  • Zamboanga Peninsula or Region IX
  • Northern Mindanao or Region X
  • Davao Region or Region XI
  • Soccsksargen or Region XII
  • Caraga or Region XIII
  • Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
• In most cases, the efficacy of consanguinal ties or blood relations may be greater than geographical boundaries or ethnicity. At times, the affinities created are based on faith that can even extend beyond national borders.
• The Sulu zone is a network of islands that used to be at the forefront of pre-colonial political governance and maritime trade. The area navigated from the Sulu coastline to the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay Peninsula.
• Mindanao is characterized by both ethnolinguistic groups that have embraced Islam and those who continue to practice their traditional belief systems.
• Ethnolinguistic groups of Mindanao

  • Maguindanaon
  • Maranaw
  • Yakan
  • Ilanun
  • Samal
  • Tausug
  • Badjao
• Adornment worn on the hips, T'boli


  • Brass and beads
• The name Mindanao was derived from the Maguindanaoan people.
• Sarimanok


  An ornament usually seen in a torogan (datu's house). The motif recurs in the panolong (floor beams) or on top of poles with colorful streamers. Symbolises "the ascent of the spirit from the netherworld and the world of man to the skyworld of the world of the gods".
• Hashas


  Serpent, dragon, fish, eel, lizard, and crocodile motifs. Serpentine figures that abound in myths shared across Asia.
• Naga


  A cosmic serpent of the sea in the Hindu creation myth. Found in the panolong of the torogan and of ancient Indian influence (Sanskrit). Considered endowed with sacred qualities, representing fertility, the earth, or life itself.
• Okir


  Maranao design consisting of curvilinear shapes and serpentine lines, inspired by natural environment and myth. Can be combined with geometric or angular designs.
• Okir motifs


  • Armalis (vine)
  • Potiok (bud)
  • Dapal or raon (leaf)
  • Pako (curling fern leaf)
  • Todi (katuray flower)
  • Pako todi (katuray flower with inner spiral)
  • Piako (curling leaf)
  • Pako lungat (leaf with indention)
  • Pako nai (leaf with several indentions)
  • Olan-olan (moon-like)
  • Binitoon (star)
  • Kianoko (fingernail)
  • Tiyali-tiyali
  • Obid-obid (ropelike border design)
• The okir pervades all aspects of Maranao life and embellishes objects of everyday use as well as ritual objects.
• Burrak


  A figure of a horse with a woman's head and torso, a combination of human and animal figures. Believed to carry deceased defenders of Islam.
• Celestial motifs


  • Eight-point star
  • Crescent moon
  • Zigzag (lightning)
  • Wave-like lines (sea)
  • Boat motifs
• Geometric motifs


  Circle, triangle, square. Abstracted forms indicative of the spiritual realm significant to believers of Islam. May also signify religious sanctuaries or the mosque.
• Calligraphic motifs


  Sulat-Kuraan or verses in Arabic used to embellish religious structures and objects.
• The pervasiveness and circulation of design motifs affirm the dissemination of the ethno-history of Mindanao beyond the boundaries of nation and affiliation with other places within the nation.
• Traditional Philippine Muslim art is not purely decorative but indicative of the expression of beliefs on the origins of the universe and humanity's place.
• T'boli dwellings


  • Large one-room houses seen as "space surrounded by space" situated near the lake
• Samal dwellings


  • Houses on stilts over the water, grouped together in bridges and catwalks and always close to the sea along the shore
• Badjao dwellings


  • Houses on a large area of water and reachable only by boat. Also have houseboats for shelter and fishing.
• Tausug dwellings


  • Houses on land, often pointed towards Mecca. Elite houses rest on nine posts signifying parts of the body. Open layout with a porch and cooking area. Carved wooden finials called tajuk pasung.
• Maranao torogan


  • Only the sultan or datu is entitled to live in this house. Rests on stones and supported by massive wooden posts. Has protruding beam ends called the panolong, similar to the prows of a boat.
• Ukkil (Sulu archipelago) or Okir (Maranao)


  Carving techniques using curvilinear shapes and serpentine lines, inspired by natural environment and myth. Seen in architectural ornamentation.
• Maranao motifs


  • Brocade
  • Flower bud
  • Stars
  • Naga (serpent)
  • Sarimanok
  • Other bird imagery
• The presence of the naga and the abundance of bird imagery in the visual repertoire of Southern Philippines bear affinities with Indonesia and other states with Hindu-Buddhist influences.
• Motifs in the Sulu Archipelago also appear in grave markers, commemorating the dead and celebrating the afterlife.
• Dagbus tau


  Anthropomorphic figure, almost abstracted in form, used in grave markers by the Samal, Tausug, Badjao, and Jama Mapun.
• Maranao motifs


  • Brocade
  • Flower bud
  • Stars
  • Naga (serpent)
  • Sarimanok (bird imagery)
• The visual culture of ethnolinguistic groups in Mindanao is intimately linked to their myths and epics
• The presence of the naga and the abundance of bird imagery in the visual repertoire of Southern Philippines bear affinities with Indonesia and other states with Hindu-Buddhist influences
• Sarimanok


  The most important motif, occurring frequently in the houses of the datus and sultans
• Motifs


  Can also allude to bodies of water, such as the Lanao Lake
• Motifs in the Sulu Archipelago

  • Appear in grave markers
• Grave markers in the Sulu Archipelago

  • Carved creations in wood that commemorate the dead and celebrate the afterlife
  • Contain the dagbus tau or anthropomorphic figure, almost abstracted in form
  • Intricate ukkil style carvings combined with frames and enclosures
• Kantilkantil


  A bed-form enclosure very rarely used for solitary burial
• Kubul-for-a-kubul


  An enclosure usually intended as a family burial plot made of wood used among the Samal and Badjao
• Masjid (mosque)


  • Paintings of figures that combine human and animal forms similar to those found in West Asia
  • Onion-shaped dome combined with minarets or multilevel pyramidal roofs similar to a pagoda