P R E- S PA N IS H C O LO N IA L

A R T IN TH E P H ILIP P IN ES

H istory
The oldest human fossil

found in the Philippines

is the skull cap of a
Stone- age Filipino,
about 22,000 years old.
Discovered by Dr. Robert
B. Fox, an American
anthropologist of the
National Museum, inside
Tabon Cave Palawan on
May 28, 1962.

The N egritos
They came

during the
Paleolithic Age,
walking dryshod through
Malay
Peninsula,
Borneo

The Indonesians
First

Sea-

Immigrants
They
were
the
maritime
Indonesian,
who
belonged to the
Mongoloid race with
Caucasian affinities
They belonged to
the Neolithic Age

The M alays
They belong to the Iron

Age Culture
Daring and libertyloving
Belong to the brown
race
Prominent
contributions are Atiatihan Festival,
Maragtas Chronicle and
the code of Kalantiaw

M usic
The
Ancient
Filipinos
had music
practically
for
all
occasions,
for every
phase
of
life, from
birth
to
death.

M usic
Natives were without a doubt, music- lovers. Each
community had their own sets of musical
instruments. In the account of Pigafetta, the official
historian of Magellan Expedition, women from Cebu
were harmoniously playing

Cymbals (platiles)
Nose flutes, bamboo mouth organ (aphiw)
Brass Gong (gansa)
Flute (bansic)
Long Drum (colibao)
Bamboo Harp (subing)
Water Whistle (paiyak)
Guitar (bugtot)
Xylophone (agong)
Drum (tugo)

Bam boo Zither

Ethnic

Dances
and songs are
usually
accompanied
by
chordophones
such
as
TANGKOL
or
Bamboo Zither
of Bukidnon.

G addang
Cordillera

Percussion
Flat gongs
made of
copper-andiron alloy

G ongs and D rum

The Kulintang or

gongs of
graduated sizes
arranged in a row
Dabakan is a

conical drum
Both is from
Maranao

Ancient
Filipinos
had
first
dwelt
in
caves and
has
learned
the art of
architectur
e as they
move and
hunt
for
food

Architecture

Lean-to
Early

Shelters:
The
portable
lean-to
which
was both roof
and wall, suited
the lifestyle of
the
nomadic
Negrito.

Tausug H ouse
To

the
seafaring
Tausug of Sulu, a
house built on flat
dry land or a site that
slope towards Mercca
is lucky. The oneroom, gabled roof
house known as bay
sinug has a separate
kitchen
accessible
through a side porch.

Torogan
This

ancestral
house home of
the
Maranao
Sultan or datu has
a soaring, salakotshaped
roof,
ornate beams and
massive posts- all
proclaiming
exalted status
The carved beam
is called Panolong

Ifugao H ouse Bale

Sculpture
The ancient
Filipinos had
attained a
high artistic
level
through
pottery,
jewelry and
woodcarving.

Bul-ul
Are carved Anito

figures of the
Ifugaos
Represents
Ancestral
Spirit
and granary gods
Bul-uls are places
in rice garanaries
as Guardians of
the Harvest

Sarim anok
Most well-known of the old

designs
Represents a fowl with wings,
feathered tail, and a head
decorated with ornaments of
scrolled and painted motif of
leaves, spirals and feather- like
forms
Usually
perched
atop
a
bamboo pole, stands among
decorative
flags
during
weddings and other festive
occasions

H agabi
A wooden chair of

the Ifugaos
Made of Narra or Ipil
Signifies royalty and
power
Only the rich people
can have this chair
together with the
rituals celebrated
after the chair has
been made

Pottery
Palayok

M anuggulJar
Banga
Depicts on its lid

two
boatmen
riding a banca on
their way to the
great divide
Used for burial
rites by ancient
people
in
Palawan 890-710

W ood Carving
Ukkil

etched on
coral gives a grave
distinctive marker
known as Sunduk
Its Shape indicates
the sex of the
deceased:
hexagonal
posts
for males and flat
combs for females

Jew elry
Used by the people belonged in upper

class or royal families

Boaya
Bontoc

Warriors
Head
Hunting
Necklace
Made
of
shell,
boar
tusk, rattan,

Filipino Baw isak Earrings

Traditional

Ifugao
Tribe bead and shell
earrings
The bottom shell
designs have been
described as either
representing
butterflies
or
a
certain
item
of
male
generative
anatomy

W eaving
Weaving means

to make cloth
and
other
objects
Threads
or
strands
of
material
are
passed
under
and over each

M along w ith O kir D esigns

The

Maranaos
call
their
ornamental
design Okir, a
general
term
for both the
scroll and the
geometric form

PhysicalO rnam ents

Bontoc,

Ifugao
and Kalinga Tribal
textiles with a
variety of silver
and
brass
Linglingo
Fertility Charms

Paintings
The Ancient
Filipinos
had
expressed
paintings
through
tattoos and
cave
carvings

Tattoos
The Pintados (painted

ones), inhabitants of
the Visayan islands
as described by the
first Spaniards to set
eyes upon them
They
used
sharp
metal
instruments
previously
heated
over fire

Silup
The

tattooing
imitated the upper
garment worn by
the men of North
Kalinga
The
women
of
South
Kalinga
painted their faces
bright red

Petroglyphs
The

Angono
Petroglyphs
is
the oldest known
work of art in the
Philippines
There are 127
human
and
animal
figures
engraved on the
rock wall dating
back to 3000

Literature
The early form of literature during pre- Spanish

period was a classified into written or oral.

Written
Biag ni Lam- ang (Ilocano Epic)
Indarapatra at Sulayman and Bidasari (Muslim Epics)
Handiong (Bicolanos)

Oral
Maxims (sabi)
Bugtong (riddles)
Boat Song (talindaw)
Victory Songs (tagumpay)
Lullaby (uyayi)
Wedding Songs (ihiman)
War Song (Kumintang)

Alibata
Ancient
Philippine
Alphabet