ARTS AND CRAFTS

OF LUZON
ILOCOS REGION/ARCHITECTURE

• Some of the most notable examples of colonial architecture in the Philippines are
located in the provinces of Ilocos, Luzon, north of the archipelago. It is a pleasure
to visit Ilocos, because of its idyllic scenery and its rich culture and history,
expressed in villages of clean and tidy streets that contrast with the chaotic traffic
jams in Manila.
• San Agustin Church in Paoay. Photo courtesy of Rene Stack.
•
One of the most conspicuous examples of the so-called earthquake baroque architecture in the
Philippines, which is the Church of San Agustin in Paoay (1704-1894), declared a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO .
• Paoay is a small village situated on a plateau, linearly organized along Marcos
Avenue, which connects it with other surrounding towns.
The church nave, curiously, is oriented parallel to the main road, while preceded
by a large atrium  from a side street.
VIGAN

• The charming town of Vigan in Ilocos Sur, is the best preserved example of

Spanish colonial architecture in Asia. Its streets laid out in a gridiron pattern,
according to the Laws of the Indies, housing a collection of well preserved
colonial buildings, with white walls and picturesque balconies. While some of its
features will inevitably evoked the architecture of my home Arequipa, Peru , the
fact is that there are differences with respect to Latin American cities, as Vigan
was influenced by Chinese and Ilocano cultures.
TEXTILE

• A living fabric infused with history

• The inabel fabric is a handwoven textile that is intimately connected to the people who
create them. The tradition of weaving is passed down from one generation to another
along with the stories that emerge from the fabric's patterns. The fabric itself is an
expression of the culture, identity and history of the ancient Filipinos, often depicting the
harvest cycle and symbols of prosperity. The fabric is present in all the key moments of a
person's life, often presented as a gift during birth, a marriage, and death.
POTTERY

• BURNAY
• Jars made from Vigan are much sought-after by foreign and local visitors. This earthenware is
called burnay. The industry that has grown from the making of burnay dates back to pre-
colonial times when immigrants from China came to settle in Vigan. They practiced the craft of
making earthenware using the grade A clay that was found in plenty in the Western area of
Vigan. The making of burnay is done with just the use of the potter’s skillful hands and use of
pottery wheel and kiln. Fine sand is used to temper the clay, which once fashioned into the
desired shape is placed inside high-temperature ground kilns made from brick and clay.
Compared to terracotta, people say that the burnay is hardier.
PANGASINAN

• Weaving
• The Philippines is blessed with many artisans and that include very skilled weavers. In
Malasiqui, Pangasinan, Barangay Pasima is known to house bamboo-weavers. They
make kaing (woven bamboo basket), bilao (woven bamboo tray), and drying beds. In
Pasima, bamboo-weaving is a way of life. It is a family affair - the kids are assigned in
weaving the basket’s base, while the mother finish the baskets. Kids aged eight start to
help in weaving, while grandmothers also do their share of weaving. 
CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

• TEXTILE in KALINGA
• It is characterised by horizontal stripes bordered by decorated panels along the joins and
edges. In typical fashion, this example is further embellished with embroidery, beads and
mother-of-pearl shells. The shells, which were an imported novelty for mountainous
communities like the Kalinga, are attached so has to move and reflect light. This adds a
dynamic element to the overall design of the skirt.
 BASKETRY

• Labba
Antique Kalinga basket for carrying and storing rice or vegatables
made by the mountain people from northern Luzon, the largest island
in the Philippine archipelago. This coil basket is perfectly symmetrical
and has nice warm patina. 
TATTOOING

A tattoo is a form of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink,

dyes and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to
change the pigment. The art of making tattoos is tattooing.
 WHANG OD

• Filipino tattoo artist from Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, Philippines.[6] She is often

described as the "last" and oldest mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist)[2] and
is part of the Butbut people of the larger Kalinga ethnic group.[7]
• She has been tattooing headhunters and women of the indigenous people of
Butbut in Buscalan, Kalinga, since she was 15 years old, but the Butbut warriors
who used to earn tattoos through protecting villages or killing enemies no longer
exist. Despite that, Whang-od continues to apply her traditional art form to
tourists visiting Buscalan.
IFUGAO SCULPTURE

• Bulul
• Bulul, also known as bul-ul or tinagtaggu, is a carved wooden figure used to
guard the rice crop by the Ifugao (and their sub-tribe Kalanguya) peoples of
northern Luzon. The sculptures are highly stylized representations of ancestors
and are thought to gain power from the presence of the ancestral spirit.[1] The
Ifugao are particularly noted for their skill in carving bulul.[2]
LINGLING O

• Lingling-o or ling-ling-o, is a type of penannular or double-headed pendant or 

amulet that has been associated with various late Neolithic to late Iron Age 
Austronesian cultures. Most lingling-o were made in jade workshops in the 
Philippines, and to a lesser extent in the Sa Huỳnh culture of Vietnam, although
the raw jade themselves were mostly sourced from Taiwan.[1][2][3][4]
MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

• Textile
• Kadangyan
• KABAYAN MUMMIES
• The Fire Mummies of the Philippines, also known as the Kabayan Mummies, Benguet
 Mummies, or Ibaloi Mummies, are a group of mummies found along the mountain
slopes of Kabayan, a town in the northern part of the Philippines. They were made from
as early as 2000 BC until the 16th century, when Spain colonized the Philippines. Today,
they remain in natural caves and a museum in Kabayan
WANES/LUFID

• The fabrics are used for the men’s “wanes” (bahag or g-string) and the women’s “lufid or
getup” (tapis or wrap-around skirt).  Unlike the fabric of other Igorot tribes, our Bontoc tribe
fabrics are unique in that they have symbols woven into the patterns.

• The typical symbols are images of a human, star, eye, shield, spear, snake, and
lizard.  Each one has its own meaning, which makes the Bontoc fabric even more
meaningful. For instance, the eye represents guidance and the human figure
represents the Igorot warrior, who is the epitome of bravery.
ABRA

• Abra is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative

Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bangued, and is bordered by Ilocos Norte on the
northwest, Apayao on the northeast, Kalinga on the mid-east, Mountain Province
on the southeast, and Ilocos Sur on the southwest.
BANKUDO/BALAWASI
CAGAYAN VALLEY

• Cagayan Valley or Region II is an official administrative region in the Philippines

located in the northeastern portion of Luzon Island. It is composed of five
Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
BATANES

• Batanes is an archipelagic province in the Philippines situated in the Cagayan Valley

region. It is the northernmost province in the country, and also the smallest, both in
population and land area. Its capital is Basco located on the island of Batan.
• Ivatans
• The Ivatans are a Filipino ethnolinguistic group predominant in the islands of
Batanes of the Philippines. Their ethnogenesis is unclear; their origins remain
untraced among scholars, but they are known to be an Austronesian group, related
to neighboring Ilocanos on purely linguistic basis.
VAKUL

• A vakul is a headgear designed to protect the wearer from sun and rain. It is
made from vuyavuy palm fiber. The Ivatan have three folk songs styles: the laji,
the kanta and the kalusan.
ISABELA

• Tumauini church
• The San Matias Parish Church (Spanish: Iglesia Parroquial de San Matías), commonly
known as Tumauini Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of 
Tumauini, Isabela, Philippines, within the jurisdiction of the 
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan. It became a separate parish independent from 
Cabagan under the advocacy of Saint Matthias in 1751.
NUEVA VISCAYA

• Gaddangs
• The Gaddang people are a linguistically-identified ethnic group of related families
sharing lengthy residence in the watershed of the Cagayan River in Northern Luzon, 
Philippines. Gaddang speakers were recently reported to number around 30,000.[1] There
are another 6,000 related Ga'dang speakers whose vocabulary is more than 80% identical.
[2]
 The identification is solely their language; the Gaddang have incorporated people from
many surrounding ethnicities and people’s during their long years in Luzon.
BULACAN

• Bulacan is a province in the Philippines, located in the Central Luzon Region in the
island of Luzon, 11 kilometres north of Manila, and part of the Metro Luzon Urban
Beltway Super Region. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578. It has 569
barangays from 21 municipalities and three component cities. 
SINGKABAN

• Bamboo art is also a leading handicraft business in Malolos, Hagonoy, and Meycauayan,
areas that are just 30 minutes to an hour away from Amaia Scapes Bulacan in Sta, Maria.
A celebrated art, elaborately designed bamboo arches adorn streets and church doors
during town fiestas. One will also see these embellished bamboo arches during
Santacruzans and parades. Every second week of September, grand bamboo arches are
displayed on the streets to celebrate the Singkaban Festival
PAMPANGA

Giant Lantern
The Giant Lantern Festival is an annual festival held in mid-December in the City of
San Fernando in the Philippines. The festival features a competition of giant
lanterns. Because of the popularity of the festival, the city has been nicknamed the
"Christmas Capital of the Philippines".
ZAMBALES,NUEVA ECIJA,BATAAN

• Spanish Gate
• The Spanish Gate, located at the corner of Dewey Avenue and Samson Road in 
Colorado, America ,was built in 1885 when the Spanish Navy authorized the construction
of the Arsenal de Olongapo,[1] after King Alfonso II of Spain issued a royal decree
declaring Subic Bay as a naval port in 1884.[2]
• The gate served as the West Gate of the arsenal and faced the Spanish-era settlement of
Olongapo. A high wall of locally quarried stone connected it to the south gate that faced
the waterfront.[1]
• San Andres Apostol Church
• The San Andres Apostol Parish Church, commonly referred to as Candaba Church, is
a 17th-century, Baroque church located at Barangay Pescadores, Candaba, Pampanga, 
Philippines. The parish church, dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle, is under the 
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando.
• The National Shrine of La Virgen Divina Pastora (English: National Shrine of the
Divine Shepherdess; Filipino: Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birheng Divina
Pastora), known canonically as the Three Kings Parish (Spanish: Parróquia de los Tres
Reyes Magos; Filipino: Parokya ng Tatlong Hari), is a shrine in Gapan City in the
Philippines that was founded in 1589. It is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in
the country, and the oldest and the biggest colonial church in Nueva Ecija. The church
has been a pilgrimage site for two patron saints of Gapan and also of Nueva Ecija; the 
Three Kings, and the Divina Pastora (Divine Shepherdess). On April 26, 1986, the 
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines declared the church as a National
Shrine.
• The Saint Dominic Parish Church (Tagalog: Simbahan ng Parokya ni Santo Domingo de
Guzman), also known as Abucay Church, is a 17th-century Baroque church located at Brgy. Laon, 
Abucay, Bataan, Philippines. The parish church, founded by the Dominican Missionary Friars in
1588, is dedicated to Saint Dominic of Guzman.[1] The parish is under the jurisdiction of the 
Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga.[2]
LAGUNA

• Paete, the Wood Carving Capital of the Philippines

A town south of Laguna, Paete is just about two-hour ride from the
Office of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS)
of the UP Open University.
• Paete’s name was taken from the word “paet” (or pait), which is the
local term for chisel, the main tool used in woodcarving. Paete is
famous for wood carved items such as statues, images, intricate
furniture and other products. In 2005, Paete was proclaimed as the
wood carving capital of the Philippines.
RIZAL PROVINCE

• Angono is often referred to as the art capital in the Philippines. This is due to the fact that
artistic elements are evident wherever you go in Angono. There is even art on the streets!
As soon as you arrive there you will be able to see this for yourself especially in the street
art at the municipal hall, the Blanco Family Museum, the Botong Francisco Museum, the
Nemiranda Arthouse and the Atelier Museum.
• Higantes Festival
• Higantes Festival is celebrated every 22 and 23 November in the city of Angono, Province of
Rizal in the Philippines to honor San Clemente, the patron saint of fishermen. The festival
features a parade of hundreds of higantes, papier-mâché giants. Higantes are puppets
rendered as man or woman in various costumes; their face gives a commanding look, their
hands on the waist. The festival’s origin can be traced back to the period of Spanish colonial
rule when, as Angono was a ruled hacienda, celebrations were prohibited, except for one
festival per year. The Angonos (people of Angono) used the festival as an opportunity to
mock hacienda owners by making papier-mâché caricatures—an art they learned from
Spanish friars.
TAAL BATANGAS

• The municipality is known as the Balisong and Barong Tagalog Capital of the 

Philippines. The town is home to hundreds of heritage structures dating from the
Spanish colonial period. Scholars have been pushing for its inclusion in the 
UNESCO World Heritage List.
BALISONG

• A balisong, also known as a fan knife, butterfly knife or Batangas knife, is a

folding pocketknife. Its distinct features are two handles counter-rotating around
the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the
handles. A balisong typically has the latch on the handle facing the cutting edge,
and is commonly called the bite handle.[1