Inside the glass encasement, with its micro-weather of
controlled temperature and humidity to halt further damage, the object appears
to be a map of ancient lands, very different from what we know of present
geography, its crannies remaining uncharted. At one point, it looks like an old
puzzle, with pieces forever missing and patterns, obscured by age, at once
familiar and inscrutable.
This is actually the oldest piece of
textile in existence in the Philippines. Called the Banton cloth, it is
estimated to be from the thirteenth to the early fourteenth century. Considered
to be the earliest specimen of wrap tie-dyed textile in Southeast Asia, the
Banton cloth was discovered in April 22, 1966 by a team from National Museum,
after being informed by a local of cave complex, an ancient burial site, in
Banton Island of the province of Rombon in Central Philippines. Inside the
already disturbed cave, the team found wooden coffins, Chinese stone jars,
Chinese and Siamese plates and bowls, ornaments, glass beads, turtle shell
combs and the abaca cloth, which measures 74.5 centimeters in length and 75
centimeters in width. It was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 2010.
Museologist and anthropologist Ana Maria
Theresa Labrador, assistant director of the National Museum of the Philippines,
theorizes that the Banton cloth may be a trade object, brought to the island
from other areas, even from outside of the Philippines.
On the other hand, Philippine traditional
arts scholar and professor Dr. Norma Respicio, in her book Journey of a
Thousand Shuttles: The Philippine Weave (2014), writes: “The interplay of
plain stripes and designed bands in the Banton cloths attests to the dexterity
of the textile producer in the art and technology of weaving, dyeing and ikat
designing where interfaced designs are produced through the tying of certain
parts of the warp yarns in a series of folds. Moreover, the designs, both the
non-figurative and the figurative forms, bear social and cultural
significations in traditional Philippine aesthetics.”
Which ever, the Banton cloth remains to be
a mystery that tantalizes both the scholars and the layman visitors, an
enigmatic gem of the National Museum (NM) for several years. Now, the precious
artefact has a new home, though still within NM. The museum has unveiled a new
section dedicated to Philippine textiles and the art and technology of weaving
at the third floor of the Museum of the Filipino People (old Finance Building).
The Queen Sofia Hall and Hall 318 were converted into the Textile Galleries,
which was formally unveiled in May 18, 2012. In September 21, their permanent
exhibit, “Hibla ng Lahing Filipino: The Artistry of Philippine Textiles,” began
seeing visitors.
The idea for the Textile Galleries sparked
when like-minded individuals met and then collaborated. NM credits Loren Legarda
as a moving force behind the creation of the galleries. The senator¸ who chairs
the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, has been promoting traditional
woven textiles, her passion which became part of her advocacy to preserve
indigenous culture. Legarda has been known for wearing gowns fashioned from
hand-woven traditional fabrics and has showcased native fabrics and Philippine
attires in several exhibits in the Senate.
“But I have long dreamed of seeing a
textile museum in my own country,” she revealed. “With more than a hundred
indigenous cultural communities in our country, we should showcase our rich
culture and the distinctiveness of our own habi.”
In 2010, Legarda met NM director Jeremy
Barns and Labrador, which started the ball rolling, overcoming the hurdles that
came their way.
NM sourced from its own collections to put
into the Textile Galleries. Other government agencies and institutions became
partners and supporters in the endeavour including the Office of Senator Loren
Legarda, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Fiber Industry
Development Authority (FIDA) of the Department of Agriculture, the Philippine
Textile Research Institute (PTRI) of the Department of Science and Technology,
and the University of the Philippines’ Asian Center.
The Aklan Provincial Tourism Council and
HIBLA contributed additional looms. Congressman Victor Ortega of the First
District of La Union, Ilocos Sur vice governor Deogracias Victor Savellano and
councilor Edmund Gavina of Bangar, La Union also contributed items to the
museum.
“It’s really convergence,” Legarda said.
“There is really cooperation and convergence among government agencies.”
Labrador served as chief curator of the
exhibition, which aims to provide a preliminary survey and study of the
similarities of the traditional textiles.
“We finally thought we should really think
about nation and how textiles bind us a nation,” Labrador related. “So, we look
at the common practices, common threads, common fibers, that are really kind of
found all over the country.”
“The word is commonality and the
ties that bind, the threads of life,” Legarda affirmed. “These are perhaps
three phrases or words that formed part of the work we’ve done here, because we
are an archipelago, we have many ethno-linguistic groups, we have about 80
provinces with about 41,000 barangays, we have more than a hundred of
languages. We’re so diverse. But textiles, and with the various textiles,
however, we try to find the commonality, the unity amidst this diversity. That
is what we’re pushing for here. We do not want to further divide the nation by
displaying the textiles geographically. So, what Ana did was to the find the ikat
of the North and the ikat of the South, or the embroideries of the
Cordilleras, which have commonality with those of the Muslim groups….”
“Hibla
ng Lahing Filipino” looks into the likenesses, exchanges and borrowing of
designs and forms in local weaves, believing that they can be coaxed to reveal
visions of a national identity through threads that when woven as textile, may
piece together their different stories.
The exhibition tells the processes of
weaving, informing visitors first of the different fibers used by the different
ethnic groups with weaving traditions. Abaca and cotton are commonly used by
many ethnic groups. An attractive chart, reproduced from the 2009 book Bahaghari:
Colors of the Philippines, shows the natural dyes that have been used all
over the Philippines, from the karimbabul to the malunggay.
The different looms used by different
groups, such as the foot loom and the back-strap loom, are displayed in one
area, enabling visitors to compare and contrast. Other production materials can
also be seen and marveled at. The finished textiles are laid out to reveal
their beauty..
The exhibit illustrates the social
significance of textiles in different communities, the roles they play in
rituals and in life, from birth to death. Aside from the Banton cloth, another
National Cultural Treasure is on display—the kinuttiyan of the Ifugao, a
ritual death blanket of the kadangyan, the high-ranking members of the
Ifugao community. The one here is collected in June 13, 1968 by William Beyer
in Amanagad, Banaue, Ifugao.
Additionally, large photographs of several
indigenous people wearing their traditional attires, such as the Mandaya,
decorate the walls, taken by prominent photographer Wyg Tysmans. At another are
historic photographs of several ethnic groups in traditional garb at the 1904
St. Louis Exposition (courtesy of the American Museum of National History
archives).
Also part of the exhibit are gowns,
dresses and barong Tagalog by prominent fashion designers such as Jojie Lloren,
Cesar Gaupo, Barge Ramos, Frederick Peralta, Milka Quin and Roy Gonzales.
The Textile Galleries are not only
repositories of precious artefacts and specimens but they also serve as venues
for lectures and live weaving demonstrations by actual weavers, which are
occasionally mounted during Fridays and Saturdays.
The Senator Loren Legarda Lecture Series
on Philippine Traditional Textiles and Indigenous Knowledge officially started
on March 13, 2012, along with the preview of the Textile Galleries.
“In this modern day and age, it is quite a
difficult task to make our people embrace our culture since many may have long
forgotten about it. But if they refuse to visit our history, we must let
history visit them. These Textile Galleries and the lecture series we organized
are some of our efforts towards that,” Legarda commented.
Tagabawa Bagobo weavers, piña weavers from
Aklan, weavers from the Cordilleras as well as from the Ilocos Region have been
brought in for visitors to witness and experience actual weaving. Mat and
basket weavers from different cultural communities have also been invited.
Labrador admitted that the galleries are not
thoroughly comprehensive. “We chose because it can’t possibly accommodate
everything, but we’re hoping someday we can have a standalone museum for
textiles,” she said.
“It’s a work in progress,” Legarda added. “I’m
not saying it’s perfect but we’re trying.”
Right now, ideas, plans and dreams are
being woven.
Legarda mentioned plans of bringing in the
textile collection of one of Philippines’ most revered heroes, Jose Rizal. It
is presently at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin in Germany. Another plan is
the collection of sketches of Filipino fashion designers, which are usually
discarded after use.
“What we want to do is also to create an
archive of Filipino fashion designs,” Labrador revealed. “We want to be a reference later on for maybe
designers or merchandisers, [a place to] look at what we have. It’s really to
inspire later on to generate more innovations and designs.”
She also said that they’re starting a
program on “economic botany” in collaboration with FIDA and PTRI “because we
want to be more relevant to local people.”
“So, we’re experimenting now with fibers
to see if we can harness them that can be turned into something else so that
local people could actually have a means of livelihood,” Labrador said.
With these, the National Museum is tying
together life and death, tradition and innovation, past and future, and the
different cultures with imagination and the fibers of our country.
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| The exhibition features different kinds of looms in the Philippines as well as other implements for weaving and the finished textiles. Large-scale photographs by Wig Tysman features selected indigenous peoples in their traditional wear |
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| Both traditional attires and gowns made by contemporary designers, using hand-woven fabrics, are on display at the Textile Galleries |
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| The Banton cloth, estimated to be from the thirteenth to the early fourteenth century, is the oldest exsiting piece of cloth in the Philippines and is considered to be the earliest specimen of wrap tie-dyed textile in Southeast Asia. It was discovered in a disturbed burial site in Banton Island, Romblon, along with other artefacts. /Photo from the National Museum of the Philippines |
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| The kinuttiyan, made of cotton and dyed using the binudbudan or wrap-ikat tie-dyed resist technique, is the ritual death blanket of the kadangyan, the high-ranking members of the Ifugao community. This specimen, declared a National Cultural Treasure, was collected in June 13, 1968 by William Beyer in Amanagad, Banaue, Ifugao. /Photo from the National Museum of the Philippines |
Museum of the Filipino People, where the Textile Galleries
are, is part of the National Museum complex and is located along Finance Road,
Ermita, Manila. Visiting hours are from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M., Tuesdays to Sundays.
For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph.
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