ILOCOS

LOCO – the root word for Locong or Lusong; meaning “A land depressions or the
lowlands”

I – prefix added which means “inhabitants of”

Ilocos = “Inhabitants of the lowlands or plains”

The natives of Ilocos, set up their communities in the narrow coastal plains

Municipalities, Towns and Cities in Ilocos Norte

• Adams • Carasi
• Bacarra • Currimao
• Badoc • Dingras
• Bangui • Dumalneg
• Batac • Espiritu
• Burgos • Laoag City – Capital City
 • Marcos • Pinili
• Nueva Era • San Nicolas
• Pagudpud • Sarrat
• Paoay • Solsona
• Pasuquin • Vintar
• Piddig

LANDSCAPE

- The land was described thick and fertile, suitable for the cultivation of rice, wheat,
indigo cotton, coffee, black pepper and vegetables

- There was abundant water supply to effigiate the rice fields

PRODUCTS

- Sugar Cane was planted for the manufacture of vinegar and basi (local wine)

The colonial authorities insisted on stopping the manufacture of basi by the ilocanos –
Basi Revolt (an uprising of the natives)

- Cotton weaving – principal industry of the province

The Ilocanos produced plain and embroidered clothes out of cotton, wove blankets and
canvas for ship sails

Products from Ilocos had a certain roughness attributed to the mode of spinning

- Tobacco

LIFESTYLE OF THE ILOCANOS

- Ilocanos were said to be fond of comedias, entertainment, fiestas and drinking

- The penchant of the Ilocanos for “bagoong” – appetizer for main dish

- Clannish Lot = preferred to live beside each other

- Houses were built side by side

BRIEF HISTORY

Long before the coming of the Spaniards, there already existed an extensive region
consisting of the present provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and La Union)
renowned for its gold mines. Merchants from Japan and China would often visit the area
to trade gold with beads, ceramics and silk. The inhabitants of the region, believed to be
of Malay origin, called their place “samtoy”, from “sao mi toy, which literally meant “our
language”.

In 1571, when the Spanish conquistadors had Manila more or less under their control,
they began looking for new sites to conquer. Legaspi’s grandson, Juan de Salcedo,
volunteered to lead one of these expeditions. Together with 8 armed boats and 45 men,
the 22 year old voyager headed north.

On June 13, 1572, Salcedo and his men landed in Vigan and then proceeded towards
Laoag, Currimao and Badoc. As they sailed along the coast, they were surprised to see
numerous sheltered coves (“looc”) where the locals lived in harmony. As a result, they
named the region “Ylocos” and its people “Ylocanos”.

CULTURE AND THE ARTS

DAMILI - The town of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte is known for its Terra Cotta pottery, called
Damili after the Ilocano language word for pottery. San Nicolas' pottery tradition has been
declared part of the Philippine National Commission for Culture and the Arts' School of
Living Traditions program.
INABEL - Ilocos Norte is a center of the Inabel weaving tradition, whose cloths are well
known for being soft but sturdy, with a wide range of pattern designs drawn from Ilocano
culture and experience.

“Abel” is the Ilocano word for weave, and “Inabel” can be interpreted to mean any kind of
woven fabric.
 Traditional designs:

1. Binakol
- A textile pattern handwoven on a small scale in ilocos
- Uniform, interlocked geometric pattern that result in psychedlic optical art designs
– which represents the waves of the sea and, among indigenous people of
cordilleras, protection against malevolent spirits

2. Pinilian / brocade weave

- Means “divided” or “separated” referring to the grid or checkeredboard style of
the design
- Motifs of the pattern are horses, guava leavs and blossoms
- This is associated with the less wealthy class
 3. Suk-suk (discontinue supplementary weft technique)
- Inlaid

4. Ikat
- Refer to which threads are dyed

MYTHOLOGY

According to one Ilocano origin myth, a giant named Aran built the sky and hung the sun,
moon, and stars in it. Under their light, Aran's companion, the giant Angalo, could see the
land, which he then molded into mountains and valleys. The giants found the world they
had created windswept and desolate. Angalo spat on the earth, and from his spit emerged
the first man and woman. He placed them in a bamboo tube that he tossed into the sea.
The bamboo washed up on the shore of the Ilocos region, and from this couple came the
Ilocano people.
Abra : who controlled the weather and is the father of Caburayan

Anianihan, : God of Harvests

Caburayan, : Goddess of Healing

Lady Makiling, : Caburayan’s mother

Saguday, : God of the Wind

Revenador, : God of Thunder and Lightning

Bulan, : God of Peace and Calm

Amman : his eye is the sun

Maria Makiling, : is Abra’s grandchild

RELIGION

Filipinos were converted to Roman Catholicism by Spanish colonial settlers. Catholicism

in the Philippines combines belief in patron saints with belief in supernatural forces. Many
people consult faith healers for herbal treatments of physical ailments.

ARCHITECTURE

Bahay na bato (Tagalog, literally "house of stone", also known in Visayan as balay na
bato or balay nga bato; in Spanish as Casa Filipino)

It is known for it's used of masonry in its construction, using stone and brick materials and
later synthetic concrete, rather than just full organic materials of the former style. Its
design has evolved throughout the ages, but still maintains the bahay kubo's architectural
principle.

Its most common appearance features an elevated, overhanging wooden upper story
(with balustrades, ventanillas, and capiz shell sliding windows) standing on wooden posts
in a rectangular arrangement as a foundation. The posts are placed behind Spanish-style
solid stone blocks or bricks giving the impression of a first floor.

Ground level - is actually storage rooms, cellars, shops, or other business-related

functions. It is usually made of stone/ brick masonry.

Second floor - is the elevated residential apartment, as it is with the bahay kubo. It is
made of wood with Capiz shells used as window lites.

Roof materials - either tiled or thatched (nipa, sago palm, or cogon), with later 19th-
century designs featuring galvanization. Roof styles, traditionally high pitched with, or
gable roof, Hip roof, East Asian Hip roof, simplier East Asian hip-and-gable roof, Horses
for carriages were housed in stables called caballerizas.
REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angalo

https://www.camella.com.ph/the-pamulinawen-festival-ilocos-norte/

https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Norway-to-Russia/Ilocanos.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_the_Philippines#:~:text=During%20three%
20hundred%20thirty%20years,all%20over%20the%20Philippine%20Islands.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahay_na_bato