In ancient Manobo culture, wisdom learned through experience is expressed through the oral traditions of tod-om and gudgud. While the tod-om originates from the babaylan’s (high priestess) own words, the gudgud springs from the incantations of invisible abyan, or spirit guides. Living close to the land and intimate with the natural elements, many of the Manobo’s seemingly utilitarian practices possess a spiritual dimension. Such is the practice of the traditional Manobo embroidery—the vanishing art of suyam.
Today, in the town of La Paz in Agusan del Sur, less than a handful of women know and practice suyam, the art of block stitching that has adorned the traditional and ceremonial garments of the Manobos. One of them is the self-effacing 31-year-old Robelyn Coguit Canto from Barangay Kasapa 2.
She explains why the suyam is in danger of vanishing forever: “Ang suyam ay malalim na salita na ang ibig sabihin ay pagtulong sa kapwa. Hindi lahat ng babae ay marunong gumawa ng suyam, dahil ang espirito ang pumipili sa babaeng p’wedeng gumawa nito. Ang mga espirito rin ang gumagabay sa paggawa ng suyam, kaya hindi ito natututunan sa paaralan.” (“Suyam is an ancient word that means ‘to help another.’ Not all women know how to do it because it is the spirits who choose who can do this. These spirits also guide in making suyam, that’s why this is not learned in school.”)
Robelyn’s mother was one of the foremost suyam embroiderers in La Paz who still continues the practice. But time came when she felt the need to find somebody who can continue the practice, someone favored by the spirits. She gathered all her daughters and asked them if anyone felt the calling to undertake the task. Only Robelyn answered in the positive, albeit with much hesitation.
She tells, “Nung una naguguluhan ako kasi hindi ko pa nasusubukan na humawak ng karayom at tela. Pero nung pinagawa ako ng suyam sa damit, nagulat ang mama ko. Sabi n’ya, parang nalagpasan ko pa raw ang kaalaman n’ya sa pagbuburda.” (“I was confused at first because I never used a needle and fabric before that. But when I was asked to do suyam on a dress, my mother was astonished. She said that it looked as if I exceeded her knowledge in embroidery.”)
From then on, Robelyn felt the guidance of the spirit. She describes the experience as similar to watching TV—she would see the design in her mind, and when she picks the needle and thread she would know exactly how to do the embroidery on the fabric, almost on instinct and without hesitation. She would also dream awake, sit in a corner, and proceed with her work. Today, Robelyn’s handiwork will have a chance to be better appreciated as she lends her talent in embroidery to fashion components under the Wear Your Culture label.
WYC, as the brand is also known, is the brainchild of the husband-and-wife team of Alvin Degamo and Evita Bunyi-Degamo. Both former top fashion models, Alvin and Evita have decided to pool the vast experience and knowledge they have gained from the fashion industry to create a line that proudly showcases the rich Filipino heritage in the field of weaving and textile design.
But rather than look into the wholly modern process of fabric making, the two thought it best to look at tradition and gather the wealth of materials and technology inherent in indigenous weaving practices. They traveled to nearby and far-flung provinces to do their research, interface with weavers, and observe time-honored methods and processes in thread making, dyeing, and weaving. With the knowledge they have gained, they are able to apply traditional Filipino handwoven fabrics to contemporary designs as they seek to marry the old with the new, the traditional with the modern.
“We use handwoven fabrics such as the inabel from Ilocos, hablon from Iloilo, and patadyong from Antique. We also use the textiles from the Cordillera like Sagada, Ifugao, and Kalinga. We also have designs that use the tribal cloths from the Yakans of Basilan,” Alvin informs.
Alvin, who designs YWC’s line of shirts, jackets, blouses, and dresses, utilizes these fabrics as accents to add texture, color, or a point of interest. “We wanted to give these handwoven fabrics a fresh purpose by using them as accents to highlight the design. These fabrics have long been used as costumes, which are not widely used nowadays, so they are in danger of extinction. By incorporating them in contemporary wear and modern designs, the younger generation will better appreciate these homegrown fabrics and, hopefully, save these fabrics from vanishing forever,” he adds.
“WYC is our tribute to Filipino weavers and to the artistry of our own native fabrics,” says Evita. “Through our humble efforts, we hope to show the world how creative Filipino weavers are. We also want to highlight the fact that these fabrics have a place in the modern Filipino fashion clothing industry—that they are versatile and still useful in the way we dress up.”
Happily, Robelyn’s ingenuity in making the age-old art of suyam will continue on to survive the passing of time and find a younger generation of admirers. In WYC’s line of fashion, suyam and our own Filipino fabrics will continue to embellish the clothes we wear and bring delight both to the wearer and the beholder.
Fabrics We Use
INABEL Long used as sailcloth for Spanish galleons, the inabel fabric is a durable textile made by the women of Ilocos. In the olden days, cotton planted the foothills of the province were separated by hand, treated with rice starch, and boiled with honeycombs to make them more durable. The resulting thread are then fed into looms, which the women work tirelessly to produce the beautiful inabel fabric. The inabel has withstood the taste of time and has acquired widespread popularity because of its versatility, durability, and beauty. The most popular patterns still being utilized in inabel weaving include the “dinapat” (overall pattern with no breaks or spaces), “pinilian” (linear patterns with spaces in between), and “barong” (with two parallel stripes and used exclusively in the making of barong Tagalog). Apart from being used in the creation of various clothing components, the inabel is also fashioned into bags, shawls, scarves, blankets, and shoes.
BINAKOL Binakol (or binakul) is an eye-catching textile pattern employed in the weaving of inabel. It became popular towards the end of the 19th century and was originally used in weaving as a representation of the waves of the sea. Among the highland tribes of the Cordillera mountain range, the binakol pattern was used to protect the wearer from spiteful spirits. Also known as binakel, or binakael, binakol (meaning “twill” in Ilocano), has a modern appeal because of its uniform, interlocked geometric patterns that result in psychedelic optical art designs. The most popular binakol designs include whirlwinds, stars, fans, cat’s paw prints, and capiz windows.
IFUGAO Characterized by the traditional diamond stripes of white and red, the Ifugao fabric is also known as ikkat. Ikkat, which means “to tie” or “to bind”, is an ancient style of weaving that uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft. The threads are then woven to create a pattern or design. The resulting fabric features a motif that is “cloudy” in appearance. This comes from the slight bleeding of the dyes into the resist areas. In “weft ikkat”, the variance in color in the weft makes the precision in the delineated patterns very difficult to weave. In “double ikkat”, both the warp and weft are dyed together, requiring an almost perfect precision and skill in weaving. Weaving in Ifugao is an exclusive responsibility of the women. It is a task girls learn at an early age by helping their mother, or elder sister, and by actual training. They weave G-strings, skirts, upper garments, belts, hip and hand bags, and blankets. The more common blankets, called bayaong, are dark blue with narrow red stripes and broad white bands covered with designs. These designs may represent “linuhhong” (mortars), “tinatagu” (men), “inulog” (snakes), “bittuon” (stars), “bannia” (iguanas), and “hinolgot” (spears).
YAKAN The Yakan women weavers of Basilan island have often been hailed as the most creative weavers of Mindanao. Using their looms, they deftly weave fabrics, which are treasured for their vivid colors and geometric patterns. The Yakan fabric is a versatile work of art that can be used in a variety of ways. Traditionally used as garments, square cloths of
the fabric, called “seputangan”, are often used by Yakan women as a head cover or as belt. Ornamented with gold, silver or bronze buttons, the “badju lapi” is a tight, long- sleeved blouse. Characterized by its vertical stripes design, the “sawal” is the traditional tight-fitting trousers made. The trousers are then covered by the “pinalantupan” skirt. Yakan weavers take inspiration from nature to create patterns that they incorporate into the weaves. Some of the most popular patterns include the “paipattang”, which is inspired by the rainbow, and the “bunga-sama”, which mimics the intricate pattern of the python’s skin.
HABLON Taken from the Hiligaynon word “habol”, meaning “to weave”, the hablon fabric was traditionally locally available fibers such as piña, abaca, and cotton. In the late 18th century, textiles were Iloilo’s main export, earning for the province the title “textile capital of the Philippines”. As such, the weavers of the town of Miagao took advantage of the economic trend and vigorously took to their looms to create the hablon. Other nearby towns such as Arevalo, Janiuay, Jaro, Mandurriao, Molo, Sta. Barbara, and Tigbauan also engaged in the industry of weaving hablon. Because of its beauty and versatility, the hablon found an infinite number of uses. It was used a clothing material, as a hammock, bag, and shoulder sling, among others.
SINALUAN The sinaluan is a Yakan fabric with bright colors and the signature repetitive pattern of small bands of bisected and quartered lozenge shapes. Originally from Basilan, the Yakan tribe, including its skillful weavers, has migrated to Zamboanga due to unrest and conflict. Apart from the sinaluan, the Yakan fabric also incorporate such traditional patterns as the “bunga sama” (based on the diamond), the “pussuk labbung” (saw-tooth pattern), and the “kabban budi” (triangular-rectangular design).
SAGADA The fabric woven by the highland weavers of Sagada is known for its strength and durability. The patterns employed in the weaving traditionally came from the lowland Ilocanos who engaged in trade and commerce with the people of Sagada. The women of Sagada used to weave using a backstrap loom, but the more modern convenience of a stand-alone loom is now mostly utilized. Before the arrival of the Americans in Sagada, the natives dress themselves up in traditional attire that include the “wanes” or g-string for the males, and the “tapis” (woven skirt) and “bakget” (belt with a tail) for the females. These garbs were woven using 2 distinct patterns—the simpler “kinayan” and the more elaborate “pinagpagan”. Motifs from the older generation include the zigzag lines to represent rivers, and triangles that take inspiration from the surrounding mountains and rice paddies. The Sagada weavers also use traditional, intricate Cordilleran designs, which consist mostly of vibrant red and black stripes on a white center panel with additional red, yellow, black and green. Running through the patterns are such native motifs as “oweg” (snakes, a fertility symbol) and “tekka” (lizards, a symbol of longevity).
PATADYONG
The art of patadyong weaving is a painstaking process. The weavers start by determining how many meters and pieces can be made with or without the design. Then, they combine different colors of the threads according to the color combination of the design. For the standard patadyong design, the weavers mix the threads to capture the tones of nature and also to show personal status. The weaving is done by interlacing the different colors of threads through a wooden handloom called the “teral” or “habulan”. In Barangay Bagtason in Bugasong, Antique, weavers produce the plain patadyong known as “yano”, “tubao” (handkerchiefs), and the “pinilian” (patadyong with embroidery). The patadyongs are also made into shawls, leis, scarfs, wallets, hats, bags, and table runners.
KALINGA Like most highland weaves, the Kalinga textile is characterized by dominant red stripes and motifs of geometric patterns. Kalinga weavers also use nature symbols interlaced with white, yellow and black fibers. One of the more prominent uses of the Kalinga fabric is in the creation of the “gilamat ka-in”, a skirt traditionally woven in Lubuagan, but has become universally used all over the province. Colors in Kalinga weaving also depict meanings based on tradition. The colors of indigo and red—the national colors of Kalinga—represent the sky and the earth. Yellow, on the other hand, represent the mountains that surround the province, and symbolizes wealth and stature. The embroidered plants are visual interpretations of growth and fertility.