SULUDNON

Background
• also known as
the Tumandok, Panay-Bukidnon,
or Panayanon Sulud
• a culturally
indigenous Visayan group
• reside in the mountainous areas of
Capiz-Lambunao and the Antique-
Iloilo mountain area of Panay
• the only culturally Visayan indigenous
group of Visayan language-speakers
in the whole of Western Visayas
 Background

• conservative in their ways

• have retained many beliefs and

traditional practices

• community leadership among the

mountain people is based on age,
relative wealth and knowledge of
the traditional lore
 Family Customs

• all members tend to care deeply about the welfare

of one's community
• Community gathering
• strengthens group integration
• requires intensive participation of non-family
members in drinkfests, weddings, religious
celebrations, etc.,
 Family Customs

• Community gathering
• interaction involves patterned socio-ritualistic
formalities
(ex. offering of food to the spirits before starting the feast, and in
having the older men drink or eat first)

• wine jars become the focus of interacting subgroups of

competitive drinkers which are structured by sex and
age, not by family affiliation.
 Culture

• Labor among the members of the community

is a universally shared activity
• no hired laborers among them
• no concept of compensation, monetary or in
kind, for any kind of work rendered
 Culture

Baheg - approaching the neighbors for help

• labor is reciprocal and accompanied by

drinking and feasting
• further reinforces the kinship ties
within the community.
 Culture
The Sulod – were known for their practice of keeping
“binukot”, a Filipino cultural practice that secludes a young
woman with the expectation that seclusion will result in a
higher value placed on the girl by marital suitors in the future.
Few of the Binukots

 Lola Conchita, whose real name is

Conchita Gilbaliga is Panay
Bukidnon’s binukot from Nayawan,
upland Tapaz, Capiz.
 According to Lola Conchita, a binukot
is kept isolated in a room so that her
family can then demand a high bride
price when she is of marriage age.
 Was 83 as of 2009
 Culture
Because of this isolation, she learned and mastered the Panubok,
Panay Bukidnon’s traditional hand embroidery. Bangkaw or spear
made of pilak (gold), money or properties as dowry to the highest
bidder and consent by the bride’s father are among the
requirements for a man to be assured that he could marry the
binukot, Lola Conchita shares.
The binukots are treated like princess with a servant combing her
hair. She was only allowed to wear the best clothes and eat the
best foods from the mountain.
 Culture
 Rosita Silva Guillermo Caballero
was the last secluded “maiden” or
“binukot” of the Panay-Bukidnon tribe
in Calinog, Iloilo. She passed away on
July 23, 2017 at the age of 74.
 Elena Gardoce was also once a
binukot, known in cultural circles
because of an award from the CCP for
story telling in the dialect.
 Courtship

 During Indigenous People’s Day in Calinog, Iloilo, members

of the famous Panay-Bukidnon tribe, locally known as
Suludnon, showcased their unique ritual of courtship and
marriage, to highlight the celebration.

It is a one-hour stage presentation that shows how a male

tribe member makes a proposal to marry a “binukot,” a
woman that has been kept from the public eye since early
childhood.
 Courtship
 A man has to undergo a series of test before marrying a
binukot.
 One of the scenes included in the famous presentation is the
selection process in which the binukot is auctioned to the
highest bidder.
 The man or the bidder has to select virtually blindly among
the binukots that will be lined up before him by the parents
and the Suludnon elders.
 Even after choosing the woman, the bidder is not allowed to
see the face of the binukot until they are wed.
Marriage

 Marriages are contracted by the

parents, often even before the
children are born, the agreement
being conditional upon the favorable
sex outcome of births.
 Important decisions in life are
governed by customary laws, which
have the strength of today's written
law, and are arranged by both
parties in the presence of an arbiter.
 Marriage

• Precious material objects (called tuos) are used to seal an

agreement, and there are serious consequences if customary
laws aren't abided; when conflicts arise, they are taken to a
manughusay (arbiter) for advice and help in creating
resolutions.

• But as customary law has a punishment for defying an

agreement, it also provides a way out by making an
acceptable payment or substitution to avoid further
conflict.
 Beliefs

• persistence of ceremonies in every facet of life

• ceremonies are associated with the belief that:
• the relationships between the living and the spirits of the dead
continue
• environmental spirits have influence over daily affairs

• world is not only inhabited by humans, but also by

deities and ancestors who inhabit the upper layer of the
world above us (langitnon), and the world below called
(idalmunon)
 Beliefs

• hierarchy of good and evil spirits (ex. Diwata)

• Communication with whom is held through the mediation
of the baylan or medium
• sacrifices are given to the spirits for their good graces
• ceremonies and rituals play an important role in day-to-
day life for interacting with the unseen world
• many Panay Bukidnon have converted to Christianity
 Death and Burial
When a Sulod dies, everyone in the community condoles the
bereaved family by contributing material things needed for the
balasan, "wake of the dead." If the deceased is an ordinary man, he
is simply buried in the ground, to one side of a kantang.
If the deceased is an important man, a baylan or parangkuton for
example, he is not buried in the ground. A coffin is prepared for him
by chopping down a large tree, cutting it to a convenient length,
shaping it like a boat and hollowing it out. Carvings are made on the
cover and on the sides. The corpse is encoffined and the slits glued
with a gumlike sap. .
 Then the coffin is placed underneath a special shed made of
cogon grass, called the kantang, which has been built on top
of a solitary hill. Finally, a hole is bored in the bottom of one
end of the coffin and a small bamboo tube
called pasuk inserted to facilitate the flow of the tagas or
decomposing body fluids. After two or three months, the
bones are removed, washed, wraped in a black cloth, and
suspended under the eaves of the house.
 Economic
Livelihood
Their economic life is largely dependent on ka'ingin agriculture,
supplemented with hunting and fishing.

Subsistence is chiefly by shifting cultivation of:

 Upland rice,
 maize,
 sweet potatoes and
 other edible tubers
 Arts

• Tumandok people are very into

arts
• they love embroidery and are
known for it
• native name is panubok
• heritage of the panubok is
celebrated in the Tinubkan
fashion show in Iloilo City
 Arts

Embroidery is the handicraft of decorating fabric or other

materials with needle and different coloured thread or yarn.
 Arts
Embroidery is broken down into whether
or not the design is made on top of the
material or through it.
* free embroidery - no pattern or need to
have any regard to the fabric being
embroidered. Ex: needle point

* counted thread embroidery – patterns are made by counting the

threads that you are to go over from the foundation fabric.
 Dance

• Binanog is an indigenous dance

from the Philippines that
features the movement of an
eagle/hawk synchronizes the
pulsating movements of the feet
and the hands of the lead and
follow dancers, which makes it
The group is known for their an interesting performance to
Binanog dance. witness.
 Dance

• The Binanog dance is inspired

by the “banog,” a Filipino
term for hawk.
• The dance imitates the
movement of a hawk, which
makes it an interesting
performance to witness.
• The physical movements, from wing flaps or interpreted
locally as the Binanugan variety which imitates the
movements of the birds.
 Costume

• The Binanog costume reflects the popular culture,

indigenous customs, local habits and social lifestyles of the
indigenous inhabitants of Panay.

• Most of the local inhabitants of Panay Bukidnon prefer to

wear colorful traditional attires. Very colorful and
attractive look with its multi-colored needlework locally
known as Tubok is done with their own deft hands.
Gong, drum and wooden percussion ensemble are used to
accompany a dance movement imitating the flight of the hawk
and synchronizes the pulsating movements of the feet and the
hands of the lead and follow dancers.
 Festivals

• The Binanog Festival is a yearly festivity that happens from

January 10-16 in Lambunao, Iloilo.
 Costume
• The dominant color of the tribe is red
and is designed with panubok and
adorned with jewelries. Panubok is
the traditional embroidery of the
Panay-Bukidnon women, which is not
only found in their native costumes
but also in bags, handkerchiefs,
headgears and bracelets.
 Costume

1. Bali-og. Worn by a Panay-Bukidnon woman; a choker-type

necklace for women designed with panubok and coins.
2. Panyo (handkerchief) which is usually used in Binanog. The
panyo is designed with panubok like a combination of
matangpunay and fishbone.
3. Koton is a blouse embroidered with designs that shows the
community’s traditional life.
4. Patadyong is a skirt worn by women.
 Costume

5. Pudong is worn by Panay-Bukidnon women. The headdress

is designed with old coins and serves as an heirloom from their
grandmothers. Pudong is also called as “tangko” designed
with panubok.
6. Sinumbrahan na Pula is the traditional red blouse worn by
Panay-Bukidnon women.
7. Walcos is Panay-Bukidnon’s belt embellished with coins.
 Costume

8. Biningkit is a jewelry made from coins and beads. The

necklace uses coins to show his or her family's wealth. The
traditional necklace, biningkit, is an heirloom from their
grandmother.
9. Polceras na Tinubkan is a wristband or armband designed
with panubok. The wrist/armband takes about 3 days to
finish because of its complex embroidery.
 Costume

10. Maram-an is a pouch bag made of woven dried pandan

strips.

11. Handbag. Like the maram-an, the handbag is made of

woven dried pandan strips that were dyed using tree sap. (sap is
a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve
tube elements of a plant.
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