SEEKING ETHNIC INSPIRATION

B'laan elders

It's been a while since I've posted a blog entryioI realize that even if I'm online from time to time, it becomes difficult  to upload and post articles to my blog because of the effects of bad weather on the information highway. Take it from me, the pace is dragging especially when one is uploading pictures.

Tabih cloth

In any case, I have been busy: with work... with life... and the many myriad, minutae that comes to my attention each day. Lately, I've been working on a school production slated for January 2016. Yes, it takes at least six months from concept to actual execution of costumes. Even then, when the cast gets on stage, one may have to tweak the designs a little bit if only to make the participants look good.

Tabih panel ready for the market

In previous posts on this blog, I wrote about Senator Loren Legarda's efforts at bringing our local fabrics to the fore through a special exhibit of Philippine hand made textiles. The exhibit was entitled HABI. Indigenous fabric is painstakingly difficult to produce because of the seemingly endless man-hours it takes to make one panel of fabric. I bring this up because my production uses some ethnic influence in manner of dress for both boys and girls. The music is mostly OPM (that's Original Pinoy Music, for the unitiated). So what do I do? I turn to our indigenous tribes for that unmistakable Filino touch.

Bonifacio Guerrero with B'laan school teacher  who teaches native dance to kids

I have an ally on this in the person of an apprentice of Ballet Philippines, dance major at the University of the Philippines and graduating student Bonifacio Guerrero, who is currently working on his thesis as a pre-requisite to earning his degree. 

Tabih specimen

The two of us were inspired by the B'laan: he for their dance movement, I for their clothing! B'laan actually springs from the root word "bla" meaning opposing or opponent and the suffix "an" denotes the people.

Tabih composite weave with border

The B'laan are a proud indigenous people of southern Mindanao. They are mostly situated around the picturesque Lake Seibu and are conveniently, neighbors to the T'boli. The B'laan used to occupy most of the area of General Santos City, formerly known as Koronadal. The name itself is taken from the native B'laan language. Koron means cogon grass and nadal means plains - which is actually a pictographic use of language to describe the area of their location. Eventually, the tribes were pushed back to the hinterlands when Gen. Santos City was established in 1939. The proud B'laan now occupy areas in Lake Seibu, South Cotabato, Sarangani, southeastern parts of Davao, and around Lake Buluan and North Cotabato.

B'laan weavers

Their manner of dress consists of a cloth woven on backstrap looms called tabih; akin to the T'nalak of the T'boli. Their blouses are heavily embroidered by utilizing hand embroidered geometric patterns. Women are also known to wear layers of glass beads on their  neck and waist bands made up of either colorful beads or thousands of links of hand forged brass with tassels of tiny bells. This is how you know they are arriving as they make tinkling sounds from far away.  The men wear vests and sawal (pants done in tabih weave) and sometimes a head scarf called tubaw. 

more complicated designs

The Tabih is different from t'nalak in the sense that the colors and patterns deviate strongly from the dream weavers of the T'boli. One sees more of the red dyes taken from local plants giving it a more vibrant hue. There are also no animated forms of lizards and humans that are sometimes included in t'nalak. Thanks to an exchange of ideas with Bonifacio Guerrero, I veered towards using that same kind of colorful influence for my production for an exclusive Catholic school in the south of Manila. 

Complicated antique patterns on a panel

*Pictures of antique B'lann tabih collection of RMMC by Michelle Lopez Solon through Bonnie Guerrero

Nag Car Lang to Nagcarlan

I know, it's a cheesy title! But hey, the beauty of it is... instant recall! On our roadtrip with Mabuhay Guide Yael Fernandez and her family, we motored down to this small sleepy town which is 103 km south of Manila.

Nagcarlan during its pre-colonial years was ruled by Gat Lakilaw. Fr Juan de Placencia and  Fr. Diego de Oropesa are credited for the town's conversion into Catholicism. The town, however, takes its name after a pious woman by the name of Ana Kalang whose charity was epic. She was said to have given alms to the needy out of her own personal wealth. To commemorate her passing, the town was supposed to have honored her memory by building giant effigies known as Kalang-Kalang. Eventually, the  town became known as Nagcarlan.

The town of Nagcarlan is often overlooked since it lies in close proximity to more popular towns of San Pablo and Liliw, Laguna. It's not lacking in attractions, though. Nagcarlan is blessed with waterfalls, a lake, a cool climate, nature resorts and  the magnificent St. Bartholomew church.  But its main draw is the underground cemetery.  Fr. Vicente Belloc, a Franciscan priest who served as parish priest for twenty years started the construction of the underground cemetery. Originally a final resting place for the Spanish friars, the underground cemetery served as a secret meeting place for the Filipino revolutionaries who conspired to overthrow the Spanish colonizers; among them Pedro Paterno and Gen. Severino Taino who planned the Pact of Biac na Bato within those premises.

It is said the when Gen. Emilio Jacinto was wounded in a battle in Majayjay, Laguna, he hid in the underground chambers of the cemetery and was captured there in 1898. The underground cemetery is a dimly lit chamber that is currently succumbing to the destruction borne by draft and time. Most of the frescoes have sadly been fading over the centuries.

If you're on a road trip to nearby Liliw, veer towards the Nagcarlan highway and visit the chapel. Don't forget to sign the guestbook before you descend into the depths of the chamber. Don't worry, it's not as ghoulish as you think. It actually is very welcoming...