Ilocano Textile Weaving Traditions

Ilocano Handweaving Tradition

• The Ilocano community from the Ilocos Region in northwestern Philippines is known for its ancient handweaving tradition.
• The primary material used in Ilocano handweaving is kapas or cotton.
• The pedal loom, locally called pangablan, is used in the weaving process.
• Various weaving techniques are employed, including:
  • Basic plain weave
  • Double-toned basket weave (binakul)
  • Multi-heddle weave (binetwagan or tinumballitan)
• A complicated weaving technique is the brocade weave, also known as pinilian.
• The pinilian technique involves inserting sticks into selected warp threads to create designs that float on the threads.
• The pinilian weave is a complex and intricate design technique.

Bontoc Weave

• Symbolizes permanence, order, and balance, key factors in the life of the Bontoc people
• Weave direction is from the edge to the middle, demonstrating centeredness
• Cloth construction is symmetrical with repeated warp-striped design
• Young Bontoc girls start their training with the simplest part of the cloth, the langkit or edging
• They move on to pa-ikid (side panels), learning simple designs such as fatawil (warp-bands) and shukyong (arrows)
• Sinangad-am design represents the Sinamaki weaving

Kalinga Textile

• Exhibits motifs executed as though they are embedded in the geometry of weaving
• Distinct dialogue between red and blue, expressed in broad red and blue bands of plain or twill weave
• Densely-composed groups of tight stripes are characteristic of Kalinga textile
• Kalinga weavers, particularly in the upper Kalinga area, use twill-weave technique to add textures on striped bands

Piña Fabric

• Considered the finest of Philippine textiles
• Made from the fibers of the leaves of the red Bisaya pineapple through an arduous process
• Leaves provide two kinds of fibers: bastos (rough fiber) and liniwan (fine fiber)
• Extraction of fibers involves removing the epidermis of the leaf, exposing the lustrous bastos fiber
• Degumming process entails repeated rinsing, beating, and airdrying of the fibers
• Weavers connect each strand through knotting to produce long continuous strands before weaving
• Aklanons of western Panay Island are known for piña with inlaid supplementary weft designs or embroidered with floral or vegetal designs on the lattice ground

Hablon

• Hiligaynon for “something woven”, from the root word habol, “to weave”
• Refers to the hand-woven textiles by Kiniray-a and Hiligaynon weavers
• In a Panayanon legend, Datu Lubay introduced the art of weaving textiles
• Weaving using the pedal loom had been common in the provinces of Iloilo and Antique until the arrival of mechanized weaving