CHAPTER I

GROUP 2.1 Belarmino, Ariel Angelo Boquecosa, Divah Insao, Mary Angel Morigo, Ma. Jessilou Ponla, Nia Lyn

Physical AppearanceDescriptions of the color of Filipinos by Spaniards in the 16th century were often contradictory. Medium staure and dark skinned- by the first Sparniards in the Visayans in Homonhon, Limasawa and Butuan Olivasiri- by Pigafetta meaning olive skinned or tanned Tawny- by English corsair Thomas Cavendish for the Capul Islanders

But the most frequent designation was the color of cooked quince .

On the other hand, Father Alcina said he did not think they were really that dark. Mailum- by Mentrida who defined Visayans as a color a bit darker than that natural to the Visayans, thought not as black like the Ate ( Negritos) Darker than the indios of Mexico- by Juan de la Isla (but a contemporaneous account written in Mexico said that they were lighter.

Sympathetic accounts regularly refer to Filipinos as light skinned. Thus, the natives in Leyte were reffered to as white. Loarca said the Visayans were well-built good-looking and not very dark. Chirino said the same thing in the case of the Boholanos, were not only whiter and more handsome than the other Visayans but braver and more spirited too.

Decorative DentistryHuman beings were thought to be diustinguished by cosmetic refinements like filed and stained teeth. Sangka (tooth filling leveling) The Visayans who are expert with a slender stone file. Once filed the teeth were colored in different ways: Regular chewing of Anipay root made them black or the application ofr a tar-based coating called Tapul gave them the appearance of polished ebony. Red lakha ant eggs and kaso flowers were used to give a deep red color by habitual betel nut chewing.

Pusad was the general term for teeth goldwork and Mananusad was the dental worker. Gold-pegged incisors were noted by Pigafetta in Limsawa and by Urdaneta in Lianga bay. Bansil were gold pegs inserted in the holes drilled with an awl called ulok, usually in a thumbnailshaped field that had been filed into the surface of the incisors beforehand.

Tatooing Pintados is a Spanish term on which they called the Visayans because of the tattoos and paintings. These tattoos are applied for warriors or for those men who fought in battle. were symbols of men valor. were required for public esteem by either sex. Tattoo work was done by a skillful artist who was well paid for his services. Tools for tattooing were basically a set of small or short needles like the teeth of a comb and then rubbed soot into the fresh wounds.

The first tattoos a person received were applied to the legs beginning at the ankles and ending at the waist. Chest tattoos which looked like breast plates less frequently, tattoos on the abdomen only came after further action in battle; and still later, those on the whole back, widest field for the tattooer's artistry. Facial tattoos from ear to chin to eye were restricted to the boldest and toughest warriors. If the illustration in the late sixteenth century Boxer Codex accurately portray Visayan tattoos , these were characterized by bold lines up legs and back,and matching geometrical floral designs on both pectoral and buttocks.

Early Spanish descriptions give the impression that Visayan men wore long robes which covered them from neck to ankle. These garments such existed, sometimes cut from expensive textile imported from mainland Asia, but it is hard to believe any pre -Hispanic dress code would have dictated the hiding of those prestigious decorations so painfully acquired. Filipinos quickly learn to adjust to colonial requirements.

Skull MouldingAncient Visayans :Receding forehead Flat noses

Cebu Bohol Surigao Davao

Discovered Sites:Albay Marinduque Samar

In Butuan: graves with reshaped skulls with black teeth filed to points

Characteristics:Some had normally arched foreheads but were flat behind Others were flattened at both front and back Few were asymmetrical because of uneven pressure All were short and broad: one even rated a cephalic index of 100 (which means it was of equal length and width, or isocephalic)

How it s done Tangad comblike set of thin rods bound to a baby s forehead by bandages fastened at some point behind Prevented the forward growth of the frontal bone and directed it backward so that the head grew higher than the rear. tinangad , adults with the desired tangad profile puyak , flatness of the back of the head ondo , unmoulded skull, flatness of the back of the head.

Penis PinsBefore men wore these pins to further stimulate their sexual partners and those who have witnessed it before even called it satanic. The pin was called tugbuk and was inserted during childhood. Pigafetta examined it and said that this tugbuk penetrated the urinary canal and were made from small bars of brass, gold, ivory or lead.

This was placed on the head of the penis that penetrated to the end far enough to be decorated, with these decorations also serving as anchors to a kind of ring called sakra . Reports received that they discovered Pins with a diameter of 5 cm to as long as 7 cm with a weight of 230 gms.

During intercourse the woman has to manipulate the penis herself to be inserted in her reproductive organ and it could not be withdrawn out until the male organ was completely relaxed, a condition they termed as kinamakawing . Aside from the devices mentioned above, there were also reports that the people before implanted pellets beneath the skin by men in surigao or the tagalog mountaineers east of laguna de bay.

Another practice made was circumcision, this is still performed until now and still has been called tuli . This practice was widespread in the visayas and is performed by cutting the prepuce lengthwise. The uncircumcised were called pisot , a term that still has been used up to now. The operation was performed informally with no particular ceremony and was thought to serve hygienic purposes.

This operation were concluded by the Spanish missionaries that it was introduced by their muslim competitors but the visayans claimed that their custom was of aboriginal origin. In the 17th century, however, the word islam came to be used in visayan for circumcision according to the muslim rite, and magislam meant to perform the ceremony.

The last tradition is pierced ears. Men before had 1 or 2 holes per ear lobe while women had 3 or 4 to accommodate a variety of ornaments. Earring with or without pendants were held by thin gold pins. The holes termed as hogar or tosok were made with a copper needle.The 1st holes in the earlobes were made soon after birth while the rest are before the 2nd year.

Persons without pierced ears were called bingbing . Those whose earlobes were naturally too short for successful piercing and distending were bitbit .

Hairstyles Hairstyles usually differed between one community and another could go in and out of fashion quickly. In the Visayas, the people need to have long hair because cutting it would be a sign of deepest mourning, or a punishment. 1520s Visayans in Homonhon had hair down to their waist King of Butuan wore his hair at shoulder length Men on the coast of Surigao pulled their hair back into a knot at the nape of the neck

1560s Cebuanos are gathering their hair up in a headcloth They only cut their hair when Spanish influence was the greatest. However, facial hair and in some places of the body too was removed with tweezers or a pair of clamshells. Both men and women had their eyebrows shaved into thin arcs likened to a crescent moon. 1580. Women took pride in a great mass of hair, gathering up ankle-length tresses into a chignon as large as the head itself, with curls over the forehead, together with additional switches called panta or talabhok which were considered their crowning glory.

For a man to touch such hairdo was a terrible offense, but they were a handy target for other women: sampalong meant to grab somebody by the locks, especially the chignon. Flowers were worked in for fragrance. Datus, however, preferred the bolder scent of mammal excretions like ambergris, civet, or musk. Spanish observers were impressed with the amount of time and care the Visayans gave their hair.

ClothingThey rarely used these tunics, or baros; what was common for going out and for working was the bahag only, except for old men who would cover up with these baros against the cold or extreme heat or the flies and mosquito that bit them. Father Alcina, 1668.

Basic Garments: G-string or bahag Tube skirt or lambong (what the Maranaw call malong) More prestigious garments: Lihin-lihin blouses and tunics, loose smocks with sleeves, capes, or ankle-length robes Saob-saob ankle length garment worn with or without sleeves that open down the front like a cloak on formal occasions. Rajah Humabon put on a silk one at Magellan s request to take his oath of vassalage to the Spanish king. Baro a Tagalog tight-sleeved tunic that Visayans have no term for

Others: Singal blanket or cloth used to put on like a G-string, tampi is used to simply wrap it around the hips, tied with a knot in front and not passed between the legs Fine Pintado ankles Textile: Abaca Abaca decorated with colored cotton thread Cotton Cotton decorated with silk thread Silk Imported printstuffs Elegant abaca woven of selected fibers almost as thin as silk

G-string or bahag piece of cloth 4-5 meters long and something less than a meter wide it can be the natural color of the cloth or, in the case of men who had personally killed an enemy, deep red The ends hanging down are called wayaway ampis in front, pakawar behind Bikinsi - expensive bahag with fancywork called gowat

Called lubitan if it has a fringe of three-strand lubid cords Watid G-string dragging on the ground Deliberate sign of mourning All royal datus who had dealing with early Spanish commanders were clothed only in tattoos and G-strings Kolambu of Limasawa Awi of Butuan Katuna of Bohol Tupas of Cebu

How one wears a G-string One end is held against the chest while the other is passed between the legs, pulled between the buttocks The back end is wrapped around the waist several times, binding the front flap and thus allowing it hang down as ampis The back end is then knotted behind and let fall as pakawar One wayaway must be longer than the other, wearing both of equal length is considered ludicrous

Women s wear: Tube skirt lambong A piece of material closed like a sack that could be fastened under the armpits or over the shoulder, or even around the head. (Juan de la Isla, 1565) The Spaniards call it sayo The same term was extended to include any garment tailored to the body like the sinulog or sinina (Chinese), a short jacket that exposes the midriff and more when the wearer raises his arms. [ sina : foreigner] (Father Sanchez) Pandong untailored lady s cloak

Any natural covering like the growth on banana trunks Tabas any short skirt or blouse, some made of imported chintz or calico kurong in Panay Habul woven stuff, wraparound skirt; halong (abaca) or hulun (sash) tapis : tagalong balikuskus , the knot which women make in their blanket when they wrap it around instead of a real skirt. (Father Sanchez, 1617)

Textiles: White kayo from China Thin red kalasumba from Borneo High-quality local abaca Cotton woven with alternating colored stripes (liray), or squares (sokat) like alemaniscos (German stuff) Decorative strips: Salukap checkered design Potak little rosettes Luray separately woven strips that looked like a banister of many colors Libot exquisite luray on all four sides

Headdress: Pudong male headdress, turban Potlong or saplong: headcloth or bandana of men and women in Panay Commoners wear pudong made of rough abaca cloth wrapped around only a few turns: Pudungpudong Magalong red pudong Insignia of braves who had killed an enemy Prestigious pudong - limited to the most valiant Made of pinayusan, a gauze-thin abaca of fibers selected for their whiteness, tie-dyed a deep scarlet in patterns as fine as embroidery, and burnished to a silky sheen.

Such pudong is lengthened with each additional feat of valor Kerchief tubatub Women generally wear a tubatub Women also wear a broad-brimmed hat called sayap or tarindak, woven of sago-plum leaves. Sarok: a deep crown used by both sexes for travel on foot or by boat.

JewelryVisayan men and women wore earrings,earplugs,necklaces and collars of beads or gold chain, bracelets,wristles,ankles,finger rings,brooches,clasps,gold sequins on clothes, and arm and legbands. They are made of tortoise shell, mother pearl,precious stones, giant clam shells(which the Spaniards mistook for marble) and gold. Vegetable fibers and seed s were used by poor for everyday wear and for male mourning but most of the jewelries were gold.

Magellan was struck upinsseing the jewelries and spear decorations in Homonhon not only because of the antiquities, amount and wide distribution but because they were a part of the normal attire of people otherwise almost naked. Iberein a Samar datu was rowed out to a Spanish vessel in his harbour (1543) by oarsmen collared in gold. While he was wearing earrings and chains which worth more than thousand pesos (estimated by Bernardo de la Torre). Bahandi is term for herloom wealth buried owned by ranking datus.

Legaspi with the knowledge of buried wealth issued orders to Filipinos that graves must not be opened except in the presence of His majesty s officers but more professional grave robbers have already recovered much of the buried treasures including world exquisite pieces. Father Alcina officiated a wedding ceremony of a twelveyear old visayan girl whom he thought was wearing no less than 25 pounds of gold.

Ear ornamentsPanika is the general term for rings and plugs worn in the lowerhole (panikaan).It is often decorated with burit granules of filigree.It was also the term for those finger-thick gold rings which were split on top to be fastened to the earlobe

Pamarang or baratThese were gold plugs that are sometimes wheel-shaped with a gem set in the middle.

Dalin-dalinThese are earrings that have simle loops.

PalbadThese are earrings that have delicate rosettes worn by ladies in the uppermost hole.

Dinalopang is an earring that is shaped like a yellow dalopang blossom. Kayong-kayong is the term for any pendant dangling from an earring Sangi is a single ring worn in one ear only

Necklaces They are in the form of strands, chokers and collars ranging from dried seeds to precious stones and gold beads. These include:panggi and tarlip beads that are deep red in hue aki and lasayon beads that are bright red in hue bair beads that are lustrous in hue

Carnelians are the most popular precious stones in meat-colored beads Taklay they are gems from china and were often strung in between gold beads Matambuakw four sided gold beads Tinaklum long hollow gold beads Poro these are finials with tiny granules added to their surface like tiny gold islands (poro)

Arlay beads shaped like fruit like Job s tears Tingbi shaped like a tigbi fruit bonganshapedlike betel nuts Rings are worn in the neck, wrists, ankles,calves are called kasikas. Binukaw bracelets made of gold or silver pikit rattan made which men tied around their wrist or ankle tied with an oath not to remove these until they had avenged some loved one s death

Dalak and karamkam are either bracelets or wristles that are actual cuffs Gails were shell barcelets that were so snug in fit that the hand had to be greased to slip them off on or off. Makalululu is the hour of theday when one s bracelets slid down one s arm if one pointed at the sun

Kamagiis the most spectacular item in the visayan inventory. It is heavy gold chain of such tightly interlocked links that it hardly looked like a chain at all but rather a solid and siuous as a golden serpent. These included what we now call as gear-bead and loop-in-loop chains. They are considered as the most socially significant display based on the number and quality a family could display.

Goaris the term used for their individual loops. But if woven is simplest form is called sinoyot but if it is woven in square is called pinarogmok or if woven in octagonal form with large round finials (tonton) is called siniwalo.

Saay is the term for a single kamagi strand Barbar is the term used for a long thin starnd with a length of 4 meters that swing grandly to the ground even when doubled or tripled.

-THE END