UNIVERSITY OF CEBU - MAIN CAMPUS
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTANCY
Name: LIBA, PIOLA MARIE Task: FINAL ASSIGNMENT
Course: BSA-2 Date: May 26, 2022
MAKE A SUMMARY OF GROUP 4 REPORT (INDIVIDUAL)
SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIGENOUS ART IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY
Indigenous arts are important and provide a link to the past and a shared culture that helps in
understanding one another. It also can lead in many touristy places to a source of income for
practitioners.
Culture, art, history, and tradition. This is important to the families within the Filipino
community. These are the things that define a nation of people and capture the essence that makes
them so special. This information shall and will be passed down for years to come.
Materials, Functions, and Weaving Patterns of Philippine Indigenous Baskets
Art and craft are forms of human creativity. Art is an expression of feelings and emotions; craft
is a form of work with the use of available materials. Art and craft can be different, but these two can be
similar in some ways. For instance, in basketry, baskets symbolized the long years of art and craft
tradition. Aesthetics of the baskets and analyzing the durability of its materials reflect the significance in
both concepts.
Basketry
Each indigenous group around the globe has a story to tell. The different creative crafts among
indigenous groups provide rich culture carried through generations. One of the significant indicators of
Indigenous Filipinos’ craftsmanship is the basketry.
Indigenous Baskets in the Philippines
Begias- this basket is mainly used for agricultural crops, rice and edible non – timber forest
products as well as snails and other aquatic organisms such as shells. The body of this basket is mainly
made up of Bamboo Schizostachyum lumampao (Blco.) Merr. (Poaceae). The bamboo is particularly
abundant in seasonally dry, monsoonal forests.
Cradles- a specialized basket used as sleeping basket for babies or a crib for infants.
Materials used in Baskets
Baskets were made from a single or combinations of different indigenous materials common to
the place of origin.
• Rattan belongs to the Palm family (Palmae or Arecaceae) and characterized as climbing, spiny
palm. It is typically found in tropics and subtropics regions of South and Southeast Asia including
the Philippines.
• Bamboo is the tallest perennial grass that belongs to the family Poaceae and subfamily
Bambusoideae. It is used as material for handicraft such as basket due to its strength, lightness,
flexibility, hardness and versatility.
• Nito, a type of climbing fern that grows in parts of the Philippines is the name used for different
species of Lygodium. It is also used in the production of baskets and bags.
• Pandan leaves as well as the wood of some species are made into splints which are used for
making coarse and fine baskets and bags.
• Buri is another plant material for baskets, the largest palm species in the Philippines, with trunks
that can grow a diameter of 1 meter and a height of 20 meter. It is widely distributed in the
Philippines specifically in places at low elevation. The immature leaves, mature leaves and even
mid- ribs of mature leaves are used in the manufacture of baskets and other handicrafts.
Functions and Usage of Different Baskets
➢ Storage. Baskets are primarily used for storing agricultural products, crops including fruits and
vegetables, beans, and rice grains. They are also used for storing clothes, fire-making devices,
spinning materials and personal effects.
➢ Carrying. Baskets are used to carry crops and agricultural products including fruits, vegetables,
and freshwater fishes. Baskets are also used for carrying tools including knife and other blade
forms. It is used for carrying clothes and personal items.
➢ Ritual use. Philippine Indigenous baskets can be classified according to the following cluster of
purposes or function: Baskets are also utilized in carrying food for rituals and other ceremonial
paraphernalia.
➢ Auxiliary Household Use. Uses of baskets also extend to kitchen utensil such as plates, strainer,
steamer, food tray and winnowing tray. Some baskets are designed for other utilities such as in
poultry and fishing equipment.
Weaving Patterns of Baskets
▪ Checker weave is also known as plaiting. It uses a straightforward technique in which the weft
(horizontal elements) crosses over and under one warp (vertical elements) at a time.
▪ Twill is a decorative pattern in which the weft passes over or under more than one warp at a
time.
▪ Wicker weave is done when the weft material is woven over and under a stiff foundation or
warp of rods or bundles of fiber.
▪ Twine pattern is achieved when two wefts cross over each other between warps.
▪ Coiled weave is done by a technique which involves sewing. Coiling begins at the center of a
basket and extends upward and stitched in spiral rounds each being attached to the round
before it.
Baskets with wide range and forms are produced from plaiting and twining. They are utilized for
different purposes such as transporting products, food service, storage of food and clothes and as fish
trap for fishing.
Tampipi is a type of baskets being used for storage of household items such as clothes and blankets.
Topil, is a tightly woven basket which serves as lunchbox carry meals. Other important items such as
jewelry are kept in small, covered baskets with subtle design.
Baskets become the most common carriers use for storage or transportation of farm yields. These
baskets made of bamboo strips called by the locals bakat. The local residents in other towns of Cebu and
the nearby islands of Bohol and Leyte call these baskets a’at or bukag. While bakat symbolized the long
years of art and craft tradition, not only to the history of Cebu; but to human development as well,
dating back in the early part of the thirteenth century during pre-colonial times in the Philippines. This
study unveils bakat art and craft and its economic significations by tracing its origin; describing its
processes of weaving in terms of materials and sizes; analyzing its principles of aesthetic design;
determining its functionality; ascertaining the weavers’ profile; and describing its trading system –
essential in the process of documentation, preservation and development.
The unveiling of the art and craft of bakat in the town of Barili, Cebu opens to more opportunities of the
BANIKA and MANABU bakat weavers to take advantage of the long traditions of bakat craftsmanship.
The simple ways from the weaving of vines to bamboo strips produce different sizes of bakat for
different uses. It offers understanding and windows of opportunities for educators, artists and cultural
workers on the intricacies of bakat weaving. Its economic and commercial 462 JCHMSD 9,4 impact
measure the weavers’ values of resiliency to hardships, adaptation to change, passion for craftsmanship,
strong sense of community and family centeredness.
