I N D I G E N O U S C R E A T I V E
C R A F T S I N T H E
1. Identify who are the Indigenous people
in the Philippines.
[Link] different indigenous groups
in the Philippines.
[Link] a brief overview of Philippine
Indigenous arts and crafts.
As defined by the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997
(RA No. 8371 , or simply IPRA ), Indigenous People are:
• A group of people or homogenous societies identified
by self self0ascription and ascription by others.
• Continuously live as organized community on
communally bounded and defined territory.
• And who have under claims of ownership since time
immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such
territories, sharing common bonds of language,
customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural traits.
The Philippines is consist of a large
number of indigenous ethnic groups living in
the country. They are descendants of the
original inhabitants of the Philippines.
Indigenous communities can be found in
the interiors of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Some examples of it are: Aetas, Igorots,
Mangyans, Caraballo groups, Dumagats,
Palawan Groups, Ati & Tumanduk, Lumads,
and Bangsamoros.
An American Anthropologist , who spent most
of his adult life in the Philippines teaching
Philippine Indigenous Culture. He is known as
the Father of Philippine Anthropology.
Spent his first years teaching in Cordillera
Mountains in Luzon island before being
appointed ethnologist in the Philippine
Bureau of Science and head of the Philippine
Museum.
Popularly known of his Wave Migration
Theory, which is arguably the most well-
known of all the theories on how humans
came to live in the Philippines.
SOME OF THE INDIGENOUS
GROUPS IN LUZON
Igorots- Cordillera Province
Bontoc Tribe- Mountain Province
Ifugaos- Mountain Province
Kalingans- Mountain Province
Boliwons- Central Cordillera
Ibaloi- Central Luzon
Ivatan- Batanes
SOME OF THE INDIGENOUS
GROUPS IN VISAYAS
Suludnon Tribe- Panay
Eskaya People- Bohol
Negritos- Negros Oriental
Karay-a – Antique
SOME OF THE INDIGENOUS
GROUPS IN MINDANAO
Yakan- Basilan
B’laan- Southern Mindanao
Bagobo- Southern Mindanao
Lumads- Mindanao
THE PHILIPPINE INDIGENOUS
CRAFT AND ARTS
The indigenous groups in the Philippines displayed a
variety of social organization , cultural expression, and artistic
skills. They showed a high degree of creativity, usually
employed to embellish utilitarian objects such as bowls,
baskets, clothing, weapons, and other materials. Different
indigenous groups are also known for their carved wooden
figures, baskets, and also in weaving.
Arts and Crafts in the Philippines refer to the various forms
of the arts that have developed and accumulated in the
Philippines from the beginning of civilization in the country up to
the present era. They reflect the range of artistic influences on
the country’s culture, including indigenous forms of the arts,
and how these influences have honed the country’s arts.
Folk architecture in the Philippines
differ significantly per ethnic group,
where the structures can be made of
bamboo, wood, rock, coral, rattan,
grass, and other materials. These
abodes can range from the hut-style
bahay kubo which utilizes vernacular
mediums in construction, the highland
houses called bale that may have four
to eight sides, depending on the ethnic
association.
Maritime transport in the
Philippines includes boat houses,
boat-making, and maritime traditions.
These structures, traditionally made of
wood chosen by elders and crafts
folks, were used as the main vehicles
of the people, connecting one island to
another, where the seas and rivers
became the people's roads.
Weaving is an ancient art form
that continue in the Philippines today,
with each ethnic group having their
distinct weaving techniques. The
weaving arts are composed of basket
weaving, back-strap loom weaving,
headgear weaving, fishnet weaving,
and other forms of weaving.
Expensive textiles are made
through indicate and difficult process
called back-strap looming. Fibers such
as Cotton, abaca, banana, fiber, grass,
and palm fiber are used in the Filipino
weaving arts.
The fine art of basket weaving in
the Philippines has developed intricate
designs and forms directed for specific
purposes such as harvesting, rice
storage, travel package, sword case,
and so on. The art is believed to have
arrived in the archipelago due to
human migration, where those at the
north were the first to learn the art
form.
The art of carving in the Philippines
focuses on woodcarving and folk non-
clay sculptures.
Indigenous woodcarving is one of
the most notable traditional arts in the
Philippines, with some crafts in various
ethnic groups date back prior to
Hispanic arrival with perhaps the oldest
surviving today are fragments of a
wooden boat dating to 320 AD.
The field under folk graphic and
plastic arts are tattooing, folk writing,
and folk drawing and painting.
The Philippines has numerous
indigenous scripts collectively called as
suyat, each of which has their own
forms and styles of calligraphy. Various
ethno-linguistic groups in the
Philippines prior to Spanish colonization
in the 16th century up to the
independence era in the 21st century
have used the scripts with various
mediums.
Folk paintings, like folk drawings,
are works of art that usually include
depictions of folk culture. Evidences
suggest that the people of the
archipelago have been painting and
glazing their potteries for thousands of
years.
Ornament, textile, or fiber art
includes a variety of fields, ranging
from hat making, mask-making,
accessory- making, to ornamental
metal crafts, and many others.
Accessories in the Philippines are
almost always won with their
respective combination of garments,
with some being used as accessories
for houses, altars, and other objects.
The art of pottery is categorized as
into making ceramic pot making,
claypot making, and folk clay
sculpture. Important pottery artifacts
from the Philippines include the
Manunggul Jar (890-710 BCE) and the
Maitum anthropomorphic pottery (5
BC-225 AD)