CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

Second Semester | Academic Year 2024–2025

ART APPRECIATION
ARTS 1013

Prepared by:

ARTS 1013 INSTRUCTORS

Reviewed by:

CLAIRE T. GUMARANG, MAEd

Political Science and Social Science Department Head

Recommended by:

HERBERT S. CORPUZ, Ed.D.

Academic Dean

Approved by:

LUISA B. AQUINO, Ed.D.

Vice President for Academic
CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE
 ARTS 1013- ART APPRECIATION
Academic Year 2024–2025

Lesson 8

Topics: INDIGENOUS ARTS

Learning At the end of this module, you are expected to:

Outcomes:  identify the art form that comprise the indigenous arts
in the Philippines
 explain the importance of indigenous arts to the identity
of its people

Date Topic Activities or Tasks

INDIGENOUS ARTS Read and understand the
lessons
Accomplish and submit the
worksheet in the Activities
portion
Returning of Module

LEARNING CONTENT
Introduction:

Indigenous arts are those

native arts that have grown
naturally through the years in a
certain locality. Indigenous arts
include the Muslim Mindanao
(torogan), bahay-kubo, bahay
bale, bahay na bato, and other
indigenous house. Traditional arts
and crafts are not indigenous arts
per se since these arts did not naturally existed in the particular area from time
immemorial.

Usually we can find indigenous arts in every locality here in our country. Since
we are product of native cultures, we are rich in these aspect of our identity. Many were
still preserved, but others are transformed in its contemporary form, for we all know, we
are also product of a mix culture from different countries of the world.

Lesson Proper:
Indigenous Materials
The materials in indigenous arts come from native materials or local materials
that are found in the locality. Some of these are the sawali, coco coir, bagasse, abaca,
bamboo, palm frond stems, mud bricks, rattan, rice husks, cogon, wood, and stone.

1. Sawali- This material comes from the outer covering oft bamboo poles. It is
woven into mats and ideal for cement backing.

2. Coco coir- This by-product of coconut is used to minimize the use of cement and
as sandwich panels for insulation.
 3. Bagasse- This is sugar cane waste
used for insulation or cement
backing.

4. Abaca- This is a fiber material obtained from the leaf stalk of a banana plant.
Most of these materials are found in the Bicol region.
5. Bamboo- This indigenous
material has low degree of
elasticity, low -concrete
adhesion, but wide variable
moisture content. It is very
useful in architectural
forms and designs, mainly
as reinforcement to
concrete. The use of
bamboo materials can lead
to substantial savings and
increased employment in
the locality.

6. Palm frond stems- This material

is often used for non-structural
panels, walls, screens, and bases
of houses. Despite being widely
used, it is susceptible to termites
and have to be replaced every 4
to 5 years. To raise its life span to
15 years and above, the material
must be treated with anti-termite
chemical like solignum or the
structure must be raised above
the ground.
 7. Mud bricks- This
material is brittle,
has less strength,
and cannot stand up
well to tension.
However, it is the
choice of building
materials in places
with hot, dry
climates due to its
low thermal
conductivity.

Indigenous materials are widely used in architecture such as in the construction

of bahay-kubo, bahay bale, bahay na bato and other indigenous architectural structures.

Bahay-kubo
Bahay kubo is a cultural icon, a
cultural heritage and as a symbol of
togetherness. The Filipino translation,
bahay-kubo is also known as "nipa hut".
The typical nipa hut has no partition for
rooms so as to accommodate the entire
family. The inside area is the space for
dining, sleeping and living area in one. This
typical hut symbolizes the typical Filipino
family as a closed knit family. This is also an
indication that Filipino families are closely
tied. In other countries, it is the opposite
phenomenon. When an individual has
reached the age of 18, that individual is free
to move out of the house and live independently. In the Philippines, even if the children
have already grown up and already married and have children of their own, generally,
parents still prefer their children to live with them. This phenomenon usually happens in
rural areas of the Philippines. However, this situation has gradually decreased due to
the emergence of the contemporary society where many of indigenous cultural
traditions and customs have been overtaken by globalization and industrialization.

Bahay na Bato
In Filipino language, it is literally known as "bahay na bato" or better still "stone
house”. This is the type of a dwelling unit that existed during the Spanish time in the
Philippines. This type of house is considered as an updated version of the traditional
bahay kubo.
During the Spanish times, stones are found anywhere. They can be picked up for
free. Since there were no hollow blocks available then, so stones were used instead.
Using stones as foundation material for building makes it sturdy and strong and free
from earthquake, storm, and other disasters. The common architectural appearance of
the bahay na bato is that of an elevated overhanging wooden upper story, nipa hut (with
balustrades, ventanillas, and capiz shell sliding windows) that stands on Spanish style
solid stone blocks or bricks and posts as foundation instead of junk wood, bamboo stilts,
or timber posts (all used as a store room or other business purposes)". This type of
indigenous house uses a Chinese tiled roof or sometimes nipa or cogon roof but today,
this roofing’s are being replaced by styled galvanized irons with various shapes and
designs like the Bahay Kubo, the Bahay na Bato has an open ventilation, elevated from
the ground and the inside part is used as a living room, and the ground floor as
storeroom, cellar and other business purposes. If these were carriages, the horses are
housed in stables called cabellerizas.
The materials used in building the bahay kubo is a nipa or cogon hut with wood
or bamboo walls whereas in the bahay na bato, it is obviously made partially of stones.
Bahay na bato is rectangular in shape while bahay kubo is usually square. Bahay
na bato reflected an Austronesian traditional house integrated with Spanish architectural
style. Bahay na bato is usually the house of middle class and rich families, a nipa hut is
associated for the average and poor families. The bahay na bato style was used for
Philippine Spanish era convents, monasteries, schools, hotels, factories and hospitals.
And also, some of the American era Gabaldon school buildings. All with few
adjustments. During the American Era of the Philippines, they still incorporated Bahay
na bato architecture, but merged with American influence.

This type of house should not be

confused with the lvatan houses in Batanes,
as there are also Bahay na bato houses in
Batanes called "Sinadumparan" with
radically different form and style. Although a
type of Ivatan house called Rakuh is very
similar to traditional Bahay na bato outside
Batanes and have a crossbreed
appearance between Sinadumparan and
Bahay na bato and may have originated
during the Philippines colonial era too. The
Bahay na Bato in Batanes is not a symbol
for wealth. It was constructed to protect the Family from the ravage of a disaster such
as a storm and typhoons.

There are also existing stone

houses in Ilocos Region, particularly
in Vigan City, which was built during
the Spanish time. These houses are
either ancestral houses or were
developed and designed for cultural
heritage of the place.

Ifugao Bale (Native House)

This type of indigenous house is
sometimes referred to as "No-Nail
House" because it was constructed
without the use of nails. Since it was built without the hassle of nails, it can be
dismantled and conveniently relocated to a new location where it will be reassembled.
Thus, it is considered to be one of the most indigenous and nearly perfect architectural
constructs ever made by man. They are known as the "architectural marvel of the
century. Local carpenters of Banaue who are called "munhabats" built the Ifugao bale
as part of dangah or free service. The bale evolved from primitive dwelling called
"abong" which is equivalent to "house" in Pangasinan dialect.
The Ifugao bale is made from the timber of amuwagan trees. It stands on 4 posts
buried 50 centimeters underneath and the posts are only covered with stones. The
hatched triangular roof shields dwellers from the tropical weather.

According to Otley Beyer, a renowned

anthropologist, the Bale is the "first pre-
fabricated house in the world" because it can
be relocated without destroying any part of it.
The Ifugaos observe the "ngilin" which is a
pagan ritual, and during the construction of
this house, the munhabats abstain from sex
right before they start building the Bale.

Other Indigenous Houses: The Mountain Houses

 In the masteral study of Rodrigo D. Perez on the "Folk Architecture" he pointed
out that Willy Henry Scott classifies the Cordillera houses into “Northern and Southern
strains". "The northern strain is exemplified in the Isneg and Lower kalinga house, and
the southern, in the Ifugao, Tbaloi, Kankanai, and Bontoc houses.

The octagonal Kalinga house is

a combination of both strains. The
northern style 15 characterized by a
gable roof, sometimes with bowed
rafters; a three-section, two-level, reed
mat floor; and two sets of posts, one;
floor-bearing and the other, roof-
bearing. The space below the floor is not
used.
The common features of the southern
strain are a steep pyramidal or hip root;
a house cage, which among the Ifugao, Kankanai, and Ibaloi is the living area, and
among the Bontoc and Sagada, a granary; and the house cage support consisting of
four posts carrying two girders, in turn carrying three beams or joists. The space below
the floor is used. Except in the Ibaloi style, the house has no windows.
The prototype of the southern strain is the Ifugao house, which probably
developed from a granary. This is apparent from the use of stilts and rat guards,
features of granary constructions. The Kalinga octagonal house combines four posts-
two girders-three joists support of the southern strain with the floor and roof construction
of the northern strain. The space under the floor is not used.
Igorot houses religiously employ post and-lintel construction to the exclusion of
diagonal bracing even in the roof frame. Roof supports consist of king posts, and queen
posts in some cases, resting on beams and stabilized by horizontal straining members.
House size and structural design -the latter limited to short spans and in some cases
multiple supports -appear to result partly from the custom of cutting timer in the forest to
sizes that could be easily carried by men.
The interior design of both northern and southern strain houses appears as an
attempt, conscious or otherwise, to visually expand the one-room space by means of
levels and defined sections. The Ifugao house has a peripheral shelf at waist height.
The Mayoyao and Kankanai houses have a low platform around the floor, or in fact, a
two-level floor. The Kalinga and Isneg houses have lateral platforms which are used as
head-rests or "pillows" and which provide space for storage. Platforms wide enough for
sleeping create a play of levels in the Sagada house. In the Bontoc house, levels and
clearly defined sections exemplify both a practical and ritual organization of space. In
spite of its minimal area, the interior of the Igorot house is, like the far larger houses in
the lowlands, a space surrounded by Space."

OTHER FORMS OF INDIGENOUS ARTS

REFERENCES:
Textbook:
Ariola, Mariano M. (2018). Art Appreciation
Ariola, Mariano M. Introduction to Art Appreciation. Quezon City: C& E Publishing Inc. 2014 (2 nd
ed)

Online:
Pictures (Google)