Kapampangan Arts,

Crafts and Pottery

Group 5: A-122/ MWF 3:40PM-4:40PM
Rivera, April Jaira G. Sazon, Chloe
Sarmiento, Alexandra Santos, Ericka Joy
Peña, Jaymee Dionisio, Carl
 In the late 19th and early 20th century, a design trend
swept Europe and America called “Arts and Crafts”, a
Kapampangan movement that promoted handcraftsmanship over
Arts, Crafts industrial mass production. But long before that,
Kapampangans have been creating all kinds of
and Pottery objects with their hands, with utilitarian and
decorative functions, for their homes, work, leisure
and religion.
 1. KURAN AT PASU (Sto. Tomas) 2. PUKPUK (Betis, Apalit)

Betis artisans mastered the art, locally termed as

Utilitarian and decorative clay vessels and
‘pukpuk’ (to hammer) as designs were created by
containers were among the earliest crafted objects
chasing and using the repoussé method, in which
made by man. All sorts of earthenware—including
designs are raised on a metal sheet by pounding a
the ubiquitous ‘kuran’ (round-bottom cooking
pattern from the back using a sinsil (blunt chisel).
pot)—have been produced in parts of Pampanga, as
This is achieved by working on the metal against a
recorded by American Thomasite Luther Parker in
wooden block, on which designs have been incised.
the 1900s.
Artisans spread the art to Apalit which once had the
largest number of ‘pukpuk’ shops.
 3. DUKIT (Betis)
Betis is the town synonymous with quality carved
woodcrafts (“dukit” -to carve) —from church and home
furniture, decorative architectural pieces, to religious
statuaries and relief sculptures. One of its ancient
barrios—Sta. Ursula—was known as the premiere source
of such carved masterpieces
4. PARUL (City of San Fernando)
The lantern industry owes its popularity to San Fernando
lantern maker pioneers who evolved the parul from the
simple wooden and paper star lanterns for the “lubenas”
(procession) to the giant kaleidoscopic lanterns that the
world marvels at, every December’s Giant Lantern Festival.
The Christmas capital of the Philippines has parul stores all
over the city still selling traditional lanterns. The Dau
Expressway exit is line with lantern stores, hawking paruls of
all sorts—capiz, LED-lit, wire and plastic, and even “rope”
lanterns.
 5. BURARUL (Angeles)
In Pampanga, they are called “burarul”, from the Spanish
“volador”, one that flies. The basic “karang-karang” is
nothing more than a folded paper with thread. But the
more elaborate kites come in box (“tukong”) or diamond
shapes (“sapin-sapin”). There are high-flyers (“gurion”)
and competition fighter kites (“panyaklit”). The most
complicated ones are figural kites mastered by the
professional kite-maker Eulogio Catalan of Angeles City. A
former sepulturero, Mang Eloy won renown for his
imaginative, award-winning kite creations.
6. DASE (Candaba, San Luis, San Simon)
As early as the 18th century, dictioanarist Fray
Diego Bergaño made mentioned of towns lining the
Candaba Swamp that were known for weaving
house mats or “dase”. Made from “ebus” (buri palm
leaves) . These included weaving families from San
Luis and San Simon who are skilled in the art of
“pamaglala”, or weaving, usually done communally,
after the day’s work.
 7. KUPIA (Apalit)
An allied product from the province’s weaving tradition
are hats or “kupia”, an essential accessory for our tropical
climate, where wearing a head protection from the
scorching sun or sudden rains is mandatory.Before
commercial hat shops were established in Pampanga,
everday functional hats—"kupia"-- were made all over
the province. Apalit was once a hat center, and in Barrio
Sucad, ‘kupyang ebus’ by the thousands were woven and
commercially sold in town markets from as far as Tarlac,
Baguio, Bataan, Zambales and Manila.
8. SANTOS (Betis, Macabebe, Bacolor, Apalit)
Although Betis is the center of woodcarving in
Pampanga, it is Macabebe town which is known as the
home of santeros. A santero is a craftsman who uses
wood, ivory, cement or fiber glass to produce an
ecclesiastical art piece known as santo, in the image of
Christ, Mary or a Saint. Before the war, fishing and
farming were the only means of livelihood of the people
of Macabebe. Santo making was then merely an
expression of their ingenuity, and the products were
mostly for personal use.
 9. GITARA (Guagua)
The pioneer guitar maker in Pampanga is a Matuang
Bacani who managed to copy an old Spanish guitar. He
passed on his techniques to his son-in-law, Angel
Lumanog who mastered the craft of guitar-making,
opened a shop and started supplying Macabebe, Bacolor,
and San Fernando stores. Son, his guitars were being
sought after in Manila. Today, the Lumanog brand is a
name synonymous to fine guitars. Apart from the
Lumanogs, families like the Garcias, Dizons, Mallaris,
Jucos and Manansalas engaged in the production guitars.
10. GAWANG PANDE (Apalit)
The first cannon maker of the country was a Kapampangan
named Pande Pira, a smith who put up a foundery in Manila to
make “lantakas” or cannons, and other artillery to protect the
Intramuros and for use in Spanish galleons. Apalit takes pride in
continuing this smithing tradition, and is the leading source of
world-class steel crafts in the province, such as bolo, machete,
all types of knives and daggers, plus home and garden
implements like rakes, hoes, spades, and other tools. The
industry gave Apalit town its nickname, “The Blacksmith
Capital of Pampanga”.
 ING MANAGPE (1900, Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron)
KAPAMPANGAN ZARZUELAS The very first zarzuela in Kapampangan was written by
the Bacolor playwright, Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron
(2 Jul. 1862/d.1 Jan. 1904). Entitled “Ing Managpe” (The
Patcher), it premiered at the famed Teatro Sabina in
September 1900. “Ing Managpe” also earned for
Pampanga the distinction of being the first province to
have a zarzuela in the vernacular. In fact, it is much older
than Severino Reyes’ “Walang Sugat”. “Ing Managpe”
was last staged at Holy Angel University, Angeles City in
2006.

Zarzuelas were Spanish musical play productions that were introduced in the Philippines in 1879. Three years
later, the performing troupe of Sr. Alejandro Cubero staged a zarzuela in San Fernando that inspired
Kapampangan playwrights, poets, dramatists and musicians to create local zarzuelas. It is said that zarzuelas
spurred the golden age of Pampango literature, that saw the rise to prominence of great writers like Soto,
Galura and Pabalan Byron.
 THE END
Source:
• http://kaplistorian.blogspot.com/2018/12/103-
10-arts-and-crafts-of-pampanga.html
• https://www.hau.edu.ph/kapampangan_center
/publication/pdf/singsing/arts-and-crafts.pdf
• http://kaplistorian.blogspot.com/2017/06/52-9-
kapampangan-zarzuelas.html