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Arts
Second Quarter – Module 1
Characteristics of Arts and
Crafts in MIMAROPA and
Visayas Group of Islands
Lesson Characteristics of Arts and
Crafts in MIMAROPA and
1 VISAYAS

MIMAROPA REGION
MIMAROPA is an administrative region consists entirely of island
provinces located in the Southwestern Luzon. The term MIMAROPA is a
combination of the names of its constituent provinces namely Mindoro,
Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan.

MINDORO

 Ambahan is a traditional poetry of the

Hanunuo-Mangyans in Mindoro. It is
traditionally written with the point of a
knife on a piece of bamboo using the
centuries-old pre-Spanish syllabic script
called Surat Mangyan. Once the letters
had been cut, they took a handful of ash
and rubbed it into the thinly-carved An ambahan written in
letters to make them stand out more clearly. a bamboo container

 Basket weaving is the main source of

income in Puerto Galera, Mindoro. They
use Nito which refers to the special vine
that grows in the wild. They make only
what the earth allows because Nito vine
cannot be cultivated or planted, ensuring
the earth-friendly and sustainable nature IRAYA
weaving
of their art. Each Nito woven item is one-of-a-kind, with no single
design being exactly the same as the other. A large basket takes
roughly one week to complete.

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MARINDUQUE
 The Moriones festival in Marinduque
is a week-long commemoration of the
life and death of Jesus Christ every
Holy week. Morion means masks
that are made of wood or paper-
mache (papier-mâché). Some of
these woods come from Dap-dap or
Santol tree which are abundant in the
province. Mask makers get their Moriones festival
wood mainly in nearby forests. It takes months to carve each mask
which weighs at least two kilograms. The participants use these
masks to depict the Roman soldiers escorting Christ on his way to the
Calvary.

ROMBLON
 Romblon is known as the "Marble Country" because all the islands
comprising the province have marble. Quarries (the process of getting
marbles) on these islands produce raw marble for sculpture and
construction purposes. However, before the discovery of these
marbles, Romblon had been famous for its traditional weaving and
basketry. Handicrafts such as beautifully woven mats and bags are
major home industry for their women. 

Marble products Romblon baskets

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PALAWAN

 Tingkop is one of the unique heritage

crafts which are original in Palawan. It is a
cone-shaped colander harvest basket
which is made of hard-strip bamboo.
These baskets are occasionally made of
blackened and natural bamboo, which
make the designs stand out. The design
is created by an extremely refined Tingkop
changing of the under-over pattern of the bamboo strips.

 The Manunggul jar uncovered in

Palawan was a secondary burial jar that
has existed since the late Neolithic Period
(895-775 B.C.) in the Philippines. It
served as a container for the dug up
remains of the dead. It is largely made
from clay and the upper portion of the jar,
Manunggul jar
as well as the cover, is carved with curvilinear scroll
designs and painted with natural iron or hematite. There are two
human images riding a boat located on top of the jar’s cover. The first
human image, holding an oar with a missing blade, is situated at the
back area. He seems to be controlling the oar (bugsay) rather than
paddling the boat. The second human image, with arms folded across
the chest, is situated at the front. The manner in which the hands of the
front figure are folded across the chest is also a widespread practice in
the islands when arranging the corpse. These figures represent two
souls on a voyage to the afterlife.

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VISAYAS
Also known as the Visayan group of islands, Visayas is a collection of
large and small islands in the central Philippine. The seven main islands
are Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar.

TEXTILE

ILOILO

 Iloilo, tagged as the “Textile Capital of

the Philippines,” is known in weaving
patadyong, a native tube wrap-around
piece of cloth worn by women as a skirt
and is usually paired with kimona. This
hablon (handwoven fabric used for
clothes) is distinctly Ilonggo in color and
character. It is often colorful and Patadyong
features geometric designs. It is traditionally made of locally-made
fibers such as piña, abaca, and cotton.

AKLAN
 Piña weaving is an age-old tradition in
Aklan, the leading manufacturer of piña
cloth in the country. Known as the
Queen of Philippine Fabrics, Piña cloth
is one of the legacies left to us by the
Spaniards during their occupation of
our country. This was the prime
material used in making barong Barong Tagalog using Piña cloth
tagalogs and saya. Making Piña cloth is a careful process, sometimes
it takes months before it transforms into a wearable outfit.

NEGROS ISLAND

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  Sinamay, a term referring to woven
abaca, was the traditional clothing
material of Filipinos. This textile is
made from abaca twine and
indigenous plants similar to banana.
Sinamay is of thin-less tissue, but
almost transparent and far more
durable than the fabrics made from Sinamay textile

pineapple fiber. Sinamay materials are used in making gift boxes,

decorative accessories, wall covering, draperies, fashion accessories,
footwear, tabletop accessories and more.

CRAFTS

CAPIZ

 Capiz shell comes from a marine

mollusk which is abundant in the
province of Capiz. Its outer shells
are bleached and dried before
being pressed or cut into different
shapes. These shells are form into
various crafts products like
curtains, candle holder, chandelier, Capiz candle holder
windows and many more.

CEBU

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  Cebu is known as the "Furniture
capital of Southeast Asia." Most of
the products are made from local
and indigenous resources. The
materials used are readily accessible
in their environment like coconut,
cassava, waste wood or even used
paper. The furniture only uses Rattan chair
minimal amount of synthetic products and other materials for support
and structures which make them eco-friendly and sustainable. Their
craftsmanship is a combination of generations of know-how in
handicraft and weaving processes with a touch of the latest methods of
furniture creation.

BOHOL

 Antequera, Bohol is famously known for

its basket weaving industry. Antequera
baskets, including other native products
such as hampers, home furnishings,
wall decors, furniture, bags and fashion
accessories, come in all shapes and
sizes. These handicrafts are made out
of whatever native material is on hand, Antequera baskets
from bamboo, rattan, wicker, nito, buri, sig-id and other vines. For
years, this has been the town’s main source of income and earned
them the title “Basket Capital of Bohol”.

SAMAR

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  The banig or mats in Basey,
Samar measure around 2×3
meters. A banig is usually made
from “tikog”, a special reed grass
which grows in swampy (wet)
areas along rice fields and has
solid, jointless and usually
triangular stems. The colorful Banig

banigs are more expensive than simple ones. From sleeping mats, the
weavers have produced other products such as bags, decors, place
mats, furniture matting, and other decoration.

FESTIVALS

ATI-ATIHAN

 The Filipino Ati-Atihan festival of

Kalibo, Aklan is known as ‘the
Mother of all Festivals’. It is held
every third Sunday of January in
honor of the arrival of the Santo
Niño in Cebu. The highlight of the
festival is the street dancing
competition of the different groups Ati-Atihan festival
representing different tribes. They wear colorful costumes, including
the headdresses that are made of abaca fibers, shells, feathers,
bamboo, plant leaves, cogon, and sugar cane flowers. All the
participants cover themselves with soot (black powder) to look like the
Ati, natives of Aklan.
MASSKARA FESTIVAL

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  The Masskara Festival is celebrated
every October in Bacolod. Masskara
comes from two words, “mass”
meaning crowd, and “cara” which
means face. Bacolod City got the
nickname of “The City of Smiles”
because of the smiling faces of the
mask. During the old days, their Masskara costume
masks were adorned with locally found materials like coconut sprouts,
colorful betel nuts, violet, yellow or red San Francisco leaves and
annatto, more locally known as atsuete, serves as natural coloring.
Over the years, mask designs at present have evolved from plain and
simple to very decorative.

PINTADOS-KASADYAAN FESTIVAL

 The Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival of

Leyte is a cultural religious
celebration to honor Santo Niño or
the Holy Child. It features the unique
culture and colorful history of the
province through dance
presentations. The word “pintado”
refers to the body tattoos of the
native warriors. To resemble these
tattooed warriors, the dancers’ bodies Pintados- Kasadyaan dancer
were decorated with tattoos from head to toe with beautiful designs and
incredible styles.

ARCHITECTURE

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 Molo church is a famous Spanish-colonial church and heritage site in
the province of Iloilo. It is known for the famous red spires (pyramidal
structure on the top of the building) that crown its tall bell towers and as
“the feminist church” because of the all-women ensemble of saints
represented in 16 statues hanging on the aisle pillars. Built in 1831,
Molo church stands as a reminder of Iloilo’s rich history and a
monument for Ilonggo artistry. The church displays a fusion of Gothic
and Romanesque architectural styles. This church is Molo
madechurch
of coral
rocks glued with a mortar made from egg whites mixed with sand.

 The Ruins Mansion is one of the

most iconic tourist destinations in
Talisay City, Negros Occidental. It is
known as the “Taj Mahal of Negros”
and “Taj Mahal of the Philippines”
due to its romantic history. The Ruins
is said to be the remains of the ten Ruins mansion
bedroom Italianate mansion built by Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson in
memory of his wife, Maria Braga, who had died during the pregnancy
of his 11th child. During World War II, Filipino guerrillas, employed by
the US Armed forces, intentionally set the building on fire in order to
prevent invading Japanese forces from being able to use the building
as a headquarters. The intention was to burn it to the ground. Despite
being burned slowly for several days, the walls and foundation of the
mansion remained stable. Even today, the design is still evidently
elegant and the color changes from white to gray and orange to red as
the sunset touches the structure.
 The Baclayon church of Bohol is
considered to be one of the oldest
churches in the Philippines. According
to history, some 200 native forced
laborers constructed the church from
coral stones. They used bamboo to

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Baclayon church
move and lift the stones in position, and used the white of a million
eggs as to cement them together.

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