Arts and Products of the

Philippines
ARTS
1. Dance
Geographic localization
Presentation of Dances in the
Philippines are often categorized in
ethnic or geographic localization.
These localization are often presented
in the following:

Dances of the Cordillera

Mountains (Igorot)
Dances of the TagaUmmah (Muslim)
Dances of the
Traditionalists (Lumad)
Dances of the Low-land
Western-Christians

Societal function
Other less common presentations of
Philippine dances have been
categorized by societal functions.
Philippine dances not only convey the
artistry of movement but, are often
associated with a life-function such as
a wedding, the mimicry of birds, or
even the warding of evil spirits. This
outlook on dance can be looked at in
the following categories.

Ritualistic dances
Mimetic dances
Life-cycle dances
Party dances

Dance influences
Another presentation of dances is
through contrasting the influences
of Southeast and mainland Asia with
the influences of the Spanish and
Americans.

Southeast Asian Influence

Mainland Asian Influence
Spanish Influences
American Influences

Time periods
Dances of the Philippine needs to be
looked at the Time-period in which
they are taken. As culture is constantly
evolving, dances often change along
with the times. Philippine dance can
be categorized in these time periods:
Pre-colonial
Spanish Colonial
American Period
Modern and Post-Modern
2. Weaving
Philippine weaving involves many
threads being measured, cut, and
mounted on a wooden platform. The
threads are dyed and weaved on a
loom.
Before Spanish colonization, native
Filipinos weaved using fibers from
abaca, pineapple, cotton, and bark
cloth. Textiles, clothes, rugs, and hats
were weaved. Baskets were also
weaved and used as vessels of
transport and storage, and for hunting.
These baskets were used to transport
grain, store food, and catching
fish. They also used weaving to make
just about all of the clothing that was
worn.
They weaved rugs that they used for
quilts and bedding. The quality of the
quilt/bedding was based on how soft,
how tight together, and the clean
pattern. The patterns were usually
thick stripes with different colors and
with a nice pattern.

However, during Spanish colonization,

Filipinos used fabric called nipis to
weave white clothing. These were
weaved with decorative, flower
designs.
3. Pottery
Pottery are objects that are first
shaped of wet clay, then hardened by
baking. Pottery includes both
decorative and practical items such as
bowls, vases, dishes, and lamps
Pottery in the Philippines varies in
forms and functions. The forms of the
pots are directly influenced by the
functions of the pots and the tradition
of the community/local area
Ex. The Manunggul Jar is a National
Treasure of the Philippines. A
secondary burial jar, it is designated
item 64-MO-74 in the National
Museum of the Philippines, Manila. The
jar was found in Chamber A of the
Tabon Cave, one of the Manunggul
caves in Palawan. The jar is dated
from about 2800 years before the
present. It was found by Robert Fox
and Miguel Santiago.
4. Other art forms
Kut-kut art - A technique combining
ancient Oriental and European art
process. Considered lost art and highly
collectible art form. Very few known
art pieces existed today. The
technique was practiced by the
indigenous people of Samar Island
between early 1600 and late 1800
A.D. Kut-kut is an exotic Philippine art
form based on early century
techniquesgraffito, encaustic and
layering. The merging of these ancient
styles produces a unique artwork
characterized by delicate swirling

interwoven lines, multi-layered texture

and an illusion of three-dimensional
space.
Islamic art - Islamic art in the
Philippines have two main artistic
styles. One is a curvedline woodcarving and metalworking
called okir, similar to the Middle
Eastern Islamic art. This style is
associated with men. The other style
is geometric tapestries, and is
associated with women. The Tausug
and SamaBajau exhibit their okir on
elaborate markings with boat-like
imagery. The Marananaos make
similar carvings on housings called
torogan. Weapons made by Muslim
Filipinos such as the kampilan are
skillfully carved.
Painting - Early Filipino painting can
be found in red slip (clay mixed with
water) designs embellished on the
ritual pottery of the Philippines such as
the acclaimed Manunggul Jar. Further
evidence of painting is manifest in the
tattoo tradition of early Filipinos,
whom the Portuguese explorer
referred to as Pintados or the 'Painted
People' of the Visayas. Filipinos began
creating paintings in the European
tradition during 17th-century Spanish
period. The earliest of these paintings
were Church frescoes, religious
imagery from Biblical sources, as well
as engravings, sculptures and
lithographs featuring Christian icons
and European nobility. Most of the
paintings and sculptures between the
19th and 20th centuries produced a
mixture of religious, political, and
landscape art works, with qualities of
sweetness, dark, and light.
5. Part Filipino Artists

Past notable Filipino artists

include Juan Luna
(spoliarium), Fernando Amorsolo(first
Filipino national artist), etc.
Products of the Philippines

Handicrafts

Handicraft, more precisely expressed

as artisanal handicraft, sometimes
also called artisanry, is a type of work
where useful and decorative devices
are made completely by hand or by
using only simple tools. It is a
traditional main sector of craft. In
order to create new handicraft
products which can be sold locally or
exported abroad, different raw
materials which are available in the
market, are needed.

Abaca - known worldwide as

Manila hemp. Abaca fiber is
obtained from the leaf sheaths
of the abaca (Musa textilis Nee)
and is considered as the
strongest among natural fibers.
The length of the fiber varies
from 3 to 9 ft or more,
depending on the height of the
plant and the age of the
leafsheath. The color of the
fiber ranges from ivory white to
light and dark brown.
Rattan - is superficially similar
to bamboo, but distinct in that
the stems are solid, rather than
hollow, and also in their need
for some sort of support. While
bamboo can grow on its own,
rattan cannot. Some genera
(example Metroxylon, Pigafetta,
Raphia) are however more like
typical palms, with stouter,
erect trunks. Many rattans are
also spiny, the spines acting as

hooks to aid climbing over other

plants, and also to deter
herbivores. Rattans have been
known to grow up to hundreds
of meters long.
Bamboo - Stems of bamboo
plants are stronger and flexible.
Bamboo grows in all parts of the
country - in plains, forests, hills
and mountains.
Among the varieties of bamboo
are the spiny
bamboo, kawayan China,kaway
an kiling, bikal and buho.
Coconut Shells - Coconut trees
are abundant in the Philippines.
Coconut shells vary in thickness
and color depending on the age
of the nut. They are used for
fuel and for manufacturing
articles such as buttons, pins,
coin banks, lamp shades, and
flower vases.
Fibers - They come from plants
where fibers or threadlike
substances are extracted. Fibers
from coconut husks, buri,
maguey, pineapple, abaca, and
banana are used in making
mattresses, carpet, and seat
pads.
Buri - It is a palm from which
three kinds of fibers,
namely buri, raffia, and buntal,
are obtained. The buri palm has
large fan-shaped leaves with
stout petioles ranging from 2 to
3 m in length. The palm reaches
a height of 20 to 40 m and its
trunk attains a diameter of 1 to
1.5 m. Of the buri fiber, buntal
is the one with the most impact
in the market.
Leather - is a material created
through the tanning of hides,
skins and kips of animals. Hides

are skins from large animals like

horses and carabaos. Skins
come from such animals like
alligators and goats. Kips are
obtained from undersized
animals like lizards. The tanning
process converts the putrescible
skin into a durable, long-lasting,
and versatile natural material
for various uses.

Delicacies

Filipino native delicacies, known

as kakanin, are popular snack foods
that are usually served as merienda or
desserts. Kakanin are native delicacies
made ofmalagkit (glutinous rice),
which comes in two varieties: the firstclass variety that is sweet, rounded
and white and the regular variety that
is longish and translucent. The
word kakanin is derived from kanin,
Tagalog for rice. The three basic
ingredients are malagkit or glutinous
rice, coconut milk or gata, and sugar.
Filipinos love of kakanin can be traced
way back pre-colonial times when our
ancestors used suman as offering to
gods and visitors.
EX.
1 - Sapin-Sapin
Sapin-Sapin is a native dessert made
from glutinous rice flour, purple yam
or ube, coconut cream and sugar. It is
a multilayer rice cake with different
colors usually white, yellow and
purple. The texture is very fine and
should melt in your mouth without
spending much time chewing it. It is
topped with latik.
2 Biko

Biko is a Filipino rice cake made from

glutinous rice, coconut milk, and
brown sugar. Traditionally, this
delicious rice cake is placed over
banana leaves in a bilao and
garnished with latik on top. Other
variations of biko will have a custard
like topping or matamis na bao
(caramel like topping) instead of latik.
3 Kalamay-Hati
Kalamy-hati is a native kakanin or rice
cake made from ground sticky rice,
sugar, mascuvado, coconut milk and
sesame seeds. It is brownish in color
and is very sticky that you will almost
spend your whole time chewing it. Its
not easy to prepare as you have to
spend around 2 hours cooking it with
continuous stirring to achieve the
tough-leathery texture (makunat). It is
usually stored inside empty coconut
husk or bao.
4 Suman
Suman is a famous kakanin made from
glutinous rice and usually wrapped
tightly in leaves. The leaf wrapper
banana, palm, buri or pandanvaries
according to locality. Filipinos have
been making suman since pre-colonial
times. Antonio Pigafetta, an Italian
scholar and explorer who travelled
with Ferdinand Magellan, provides the
first description of suman in historical
records which he observed were
wrapped in leaves and were made in
somewhat longish pieces.
5 Kutsinta
Kutsinta is another native delicacy
that is sweet, sticky, and golden brown
rice pudding that is made from ground
malagkit. Achuete is used for coloring
and lye is added to improve its

texture. The kutsinta ingredients are

put into molds and steamed for 15
minutes. It is usually served with
freshly grated coconut.
6 Palitaw
Palitaw is made from ground glutinous
rice and sugar and got its name from
the manner it is cooked. It is quite
easy and fun to make as all you have
to do is form into small balls the
ground malagkit and flatten with
fingers to form tongues. Drop in
boiling water, when they float
(lumitaw or lumutang), skim and drop
in cold water. Drain and roll in mixed
grated coconut, sugar and sesame
seed mixture and youre done!
7 Puto
Puto is a steamed rice muffin made
from galapong or rice flour. It is traditi
onally in plain white color but adding
ube (purple yam) or pandan can
create variations in flavor and color. It
is usually being sold with kutsinta but
Filipinos love to eat puto together with
Dinuguan. A more recent variation of
puto is the Puto Pao that has a meat
filling just like the Siopao.
8 Espasol
Espasol is a type of rice cake that is
made of rice flour cooked in coconut
milk. This cylindrically shaped treat
originated from the Province of
Laguna. Cooking the glutinous rice
flour, sugar and toasted grated
coconut mixture usually takes an hour
as the mixture needs to become really
thick to achieve the right consistency.
Once cooled, it is then cut into desired
size and rolled over dusted sweet rice
flour until a cylindrical shape is
formed.

9 Puto Bumbong
Puto Bumbong is traditionally made
from a special variety of heirloom
sticky or glutinous rice called
Pirurutong which has a distinctly
purple color, soaked in salted water
and dried overnight and then poured
into bumbong or bamboo tubes and
then steamed until done or steam
rises out of the bamboo tubes. It is
served topped with butter or
margarine and shredded coconut
mixed with sugar. It is a favorite
among church goers, along with
Bibingka, during Simbang Gabi or
Christmas Eve Mass.
10 Bibingka
Bibingka is a most sought after
kakanin during Christmas Season
traditionally served w ith salabat and
sold alongside Puto Bumbong. It is a
round rice cake made with galapong,
sugar and coconut milk. It is cooked in
a banana leaf-lined clay pan , with
coals underneath and on top. It is
topped with salted duck eggs or itlog
na maalat and kesong puti. Once
cooked it is brushed with butter, and is
garnished with sugar and grated
coconut and is served while hot.

Agricultural Products

The country's major agricultural crops

are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane,
banana, cassava, pineapple, and
vegetables.
The major livestock products are hog,
cattle, carabao, goat, and dairy
products. Chicken and duck are the
leading poultry products. Having vast
stretches of coastlines, the Philippines
boasts of an abundance in fish
species.

Among the leading species are tuna

and tuna-like varieties, roundscad,
sardines, anchovy, and slipmouth.

MUSIC
Indigenous Music
Indigenous music before the colonial
era was largely functional. Expressed
either instrumentally or vocally or a
combination of both, music was
deeply integrated with the activities of
the natives. The ancient Filipinos had
music practically for all occasions, for
every phase of life, from birth to
death.
Indigenous Musical Instruments
A few differences may be noted
between the instruments of the
Northern and Southern Philippines.
These differences lie primarily in the
manner of construction, the style of
playing them and the sound they
produce. By and large, however,
instruments found all over the Islands
are strikingly similar.

Aerophones (air)

Lip Valley Flute - Two by two

fingerholes. Protruding mouthpiece
with a hole. The instrument is
decorated with carvings blackened by
burning.
Nose Flute - The northern tribes call
this kalleleng (Bontoc and
Kankanai), tongali (Ifugao and Kalinga)
and baliing (Isneg). In the Central
Philippines, it is known
as lantuy among the Cuyunin, babarek
among the Tagbanua and plawta
among the Mangyan.

Suling of Maguindanao - so called

because the blowing end is encircled
with a rattan ring to create
mouthpiece
Sahunay of the Taosug - Tube with six
fingerholes; mouth piece of bamboo
with cut out reed; mouth shield made
of coconut shell; bell made of leaf
(probably bamboo) and blue plastic
ribbon.

Chordophones (strings)

Zither - a stringed instrument made

from a single bamboo section, around
three to four inches in diameter, with a
node at each end. Serving as strings
are raised narrow strips of the outer
skin fibers of the bamboo itself, with
the ends still attached to the body of
the instrument.
Kudyapi/Kudlung - Two stringed lute
made of wood, one string for the
melody, one for the drone. Eight frets
originally held in place placed on the
neck of the lute by a sticky rubbery
substance. The lute is decorated with
floral motives; the tail is carved to
represent a stylised crocodile head.

Idiophones (vibration of itself)

Kulintang ensemble - is often
considered as the most
cultivated of the regions
musical expressions. Aside from
being a medium of
entertainment and hospitality,
the kulintang also serves as a
vehicle for social interaction and
group solidarity and for learning
ethical principles

Membranophones (vibrating
stretched membrane)

Spanish European Influenced

Harana - traditional form of courtship
music in which a man woos a woman
by singing underneath her window at
night
Structure based on the plosa
Pananapatan, pasasalamat,
pagtumbok, paghilig, pamamaalam
Kundiman - a lyrical song made
popular in the Philippines in the early
19th century. Almost all traditional
Filipino love songs in this genre are
heavy with poetic emotion
Rondalla - patterned after
estudiantina and comparasa plucked
string ensemble
bandurria, laud, octavina, guitar, and
bajo de uas
American Influenced
popularity of American rocknroll, pop
music, dance, and disco

Post Liberation

Original Pinoy Music

Filipino Hip Hop and RnB

Contemporary Philippine Music