The document discusses basketry from the Philippines. It provides details on basket construction techniques like plaiting and twining used to make baskets from materials like bamboo and rattan. It notes that baskets serve many functional purposes for Filipino communities like transporting food and goods, storing items, food preparation, hunting and more. The Milwaukee Public Museum collection contains over 200 baskets from the Philippines representing different regions and ethnic groups.

1. BASKETRY
-Michelle D. Tuguinay

2. BASKETRY
Basketry – the art and craft of
making interwoven objects,
usually containers, from flexible
vegetable fibers, such as twigs,
grasses, bamboo or from
plastic or other synthetic
materials. The containers made
by this method are called
baskets.

3. BASKETRY
Basket weaving is the process
of weaving or sewing pliable
materials into three-
dimensional artifacts, such as
baskets, mats, mesh bags or
even furniture. Craftspeople
and artists specialized in
making baskets may be
known as basket makers and
basket weavers. Basket

4. ★ The Philippine collection at the
Milwaukee Public Museum
offers 235 basketry items, a
selection of which is shown
later on. Ten islands and 27
municipalities of the Philippine
archipelago are represented in
the collection.

5. Is the largest art museum in the state of
Wisconsin, housing collection of more then
30, 000 works and hosting an impressive
lineup of internationally regarded exhibitions.
The primary purpose of the Milwaukee Public
Museum is to preserve our historical and
scientific heritage through collection and
exhibition.

7. Nearly half of the
basketry in the
Museum's collections is
from Luzon Island,
though all the major
islands are represented.

8. Numerous indigenous groups
make up the Philippines. The
majority of the collection
comes from Luzon Island and
within Luzon; most of the
basketry comes from the
"Igorot" (Mountain) groups,
including the Bontoc, Kalinga,
Ifugao, and others.

9. ★ The collection consists of
baskets, traps, and hats.
Baskets served to transport
food to and from the fields,
as well as to store food and
clothing.

11. Basketry styles differ by
island, region, and ethnic
group:
★ the baskets from Mindanao,
for instance, are often very
distinctive from those of
Luzon. As objects of practical
art, however, Philippine
baskets are defined by
function rather than form

14. Multiple uses
★ Baskets range in form and size, from
portable lunch containers to woven jars.
Winnowing trays, carrying baskets, and
covered containers allowed people to
harvest, transport, store, and serve food
and crops. Basketry hats and rain capes
protected against sun and rain.

16. Backpack with lid
(sangi)
A plaited backpack with a lid, features
a heavy, rattan shoulder strap. Men
normally use the sangi for carrying a
wide variety of items: rice, meat,
beans, lunch, tools, and even on
occasion, small children. Cordillera
men find it especially handy for
carrying needed items when going on
trips or to work.
Luzon Cordillera, Philippines
plaited construction
rattan

18. Carrying basket for sweet
potatoes (balyag) 20th century
★ Balyag is a tall quadriform burden basket
with a square profile and whole rattan
post at the base as extended feet.
★ The balyag serves as a transport basket
for different types of produce like camote
(sweet potato)
★ It is similar to the ibaloy’s kayabang.
Ifugao, Luzon Cordillera, Philippines
plaited construction
rattan

19. Backpack Pasiking Sangi
20th century
★ Late 20th century Bontoc Igorot
backpack locally known as "Sangi"
or "Pasiking" made from split rattan
with bamboo reinforcements at the
base. This is an everyday
backpack used to carry man's
belonging, food and etc.
Bontoc Igorot
split cane

20. Basket for roasted unripe rice
(kulikug) 20th century
★ Bontoc, Luzon Cordillera, Philippines
plaited construction
bamboo, rattan
This uniquely shaped basket is designed to
store roasted green rice, a popular snack.
Rice grains are harvested before fully
ripened while still soft. Next, they are roasted
and pounded in the rice mortar to remove
the hull. This flattens the soft grain, which is
eaten without cooking. The closed form of
the basket helps to keep the grains soft, as
they quickly harden with exposure to air.

21. Woman’s basket and rain cape
(tudung) 20th century
★ Women in many parts of Luzon use a trough-shaped carrying
basket or tudung constructed of a layer of pandanus leaves
(ga-ad in Ifugao) sandwiched between inner and outer
frameworks of rattan. In most places in the Cordillera, women
are primarily responsible for planting and transplanting rice,
weeding, and harvesting. Tudung are particularly useful for
transporting wet rice seedlings at transplanting time. These
baskets are also made in smaller sizes for carrying a variety
of produce.
Ifugao, Luzon Cordillera, Philip
sewn construction
pandanus leaf, rattan

23. Locust storage
basket (iwus) 20th
century
★ In the past, swarms of locusts frequently appeared in the
highlands. Armed with nets, men, women, and children
would capture the insects. The locusts were kept alive in jar-
like baskets with open-slatted sides or net-like bottoms for
ventilation. Locusts were then roasted or boiled and the
insects’ wings and legs removed; finally, they might be dried
in the sun. This Bontoc iwus has tightly-slatted sides with
ventilation provided at the top of the basket.
Bontoc, Luzon Cordillera, Philippine
twined construction
bamboo, rattan

24. BALANG- a large insect found in hot areas that
flies in large groups and destroys plants and crops.

26. Hunter’s backpack
(inabnūtan) 1982
★ Basketry containers historically played an important role not
only in agriculture, but also hunting and gathering. Hunters
embarked on their expeditions with plaited backpacks. One
version of the Ifugao backpack, called inabnūtan, is covered
with a thick overlay of palm fibers that repel rain. On the
outbound journey, the pack held the hunter’s provisions,
including, perhaps, a jar of rice beer with which to make an
offering to insure a successful hunt. If luck and skill prevailed,
the men returned to the village with their packs filled with meat.
Ifugao
Luzon Cordillera, Philippines
plaited construction
rattan, abnut fiber from the bangi palm

28. Chicken coop
(ubi)
★ Baskets used in the Cordillera often protect and transport domestic
animals. Commonly raised animals in the region include chickens,
pigs, goats, and cattle. Chickens and pigs, considered the most
important of these animals, are carefully tended. Among the Ifugao,
for example, the owner knows every single chicken in his flock.
Chickens roam freely during the day; but at night, their owners gather
them in special basketry coops called ubi . They hang the basketry
coops high above the ground under the eaves of the house to protect
the chickens from rats, cats, and thieves.
Ifugao, Luzon Cordillera, Philippi
plaited construction
rattan, wood

31. Basket (kamuwan)
★ After rice is processed, it is either cooked
in boiling water or stored for later use.
This Kankanay kamuwan has lizard-
shaped handles, a decorative touch
widely copied in recent years by basket
makers in the commercial trade.
A kamuwan of this size can hold more rice
than is needed for daily consumption; so it
most likely was used in preparation for a
celebration involving many guests.
Kankanay, Luzon Cordillera, Philippines
plaited construction
bamboo, rattan

32. Carrying basket for
sweet potatoes
(kayabang)
★ KAYABANG is a carrying basket
originally woven and worn by the
women in Benguet, Philippines. It is
made of rattan and is strapped at the
back of the women head and is used
to carry root crops, vegetables and
fruits harvested from the farm.
Ibaloi
Benguet, Luzon Cordillera, Philipp
plaited construction
rattan, wood

34. “TINGKOP” It is a type of
Palawan traditional basket
made by the “Palaw’an
tribe”. It is one of the unique
heritage art and craft
original in Palawan and
mostly seen in the
mountains of the south, like
Bataraza, Rizal, Quezon,
Brookespoint, Palawan.It is
made of hard-strip bamboo.

35. The tingkop also wields a
significant role in ritual use.
Small tingkops carrying
amulets are worn by
Palawan hunters around
their neck to attract success
in their hunts. It also used in
rituals to call upon spirits for
the Palawan believe that
only smaller tingkop can

36. Iraya baskets made of nito vine,
this handwoven product serves as
a multipurpose basket or
container. Produced by local
craftspeople of the Iraya-Mangyan
community of Puerto Galera.
Baskets can be functional and
aesthetical in usage. Practically, it
is commonly used for storing,
containing, and carrying several
objects that can fit in it.

38. BASKETRY
TECHNIQUES &
MATERIALS

39. Philippines baskets are
constructed from bamboo and
rattan and often a combination of
the two
★ Philippines baskets are constructed from
bamboo and rattan and often a
combination of the two. Plaiting and
twining produces a wide range of sizes
and forms. Filipinos use baskets for
transportation and farm work, food
service and storage, fishing and trapping,
clothing, and to carry personal items.

40. PLAITING WEAVING
★ The plaiting weaving process
consists of passing thick strips of
basket materials under and over
each other, making for an elegant
pattern that resembles a
checkerboard pattern. Unlike other
basket weaving techniques that
result in round baskets, the plaiting
technique breeds rectangular or
square ones.

41. Twining weaving process
★ Warp twining is a weaving technique in
which two or more warp threads twist
around each other as they interlace with
the weft. Warp twining can be done in two
ways: using both hands when twisting
warp threads or using tablets (tablet
weaving)

43. Tablet

44. Storage baskets

45. TAMPIPI
★ -native, small clothes
trunk or chest, made of
bamboo, rattan, or a
certain kind of palm
leaves.

46. Tampipi (storage)
★ Household items are
secured in baskets.
Clothing and blankets are
kept fresh and dry in lidded
containers. A tampipi is a
common basket type for
storing clothing and
blankets.

48. Food Gathering & Preparation

49. Winnowing trays (Food Gathering &
Preparation)
★ Winnowing trays are used to
separate rice from its hull. Serving
trays present rice and other foods
for consumption. The baskets
shown here are from the Bontoc
Igorot people of the mountain area
of Luzon Island. Fish traps are
placed in swift flowing streams and
simpler baskets are used to carry
crops from the field to home or
market.

51. Personal Baskets

52. Topil/tupil (Personal Baskets)
★ Bontoc men carry tobacco and other
personal belongings in small bags
shaped to fit beneath the arm (upper).
Often compartmentalized, these bags
include a "secret" compartment where
valuables can be stored. Meals are
transported in tightly woven lunchboxes
called topil. Jewelry and other personal
items are stored in small, covered
baskets of subtle design.

53. Inabuntan or hunter's pack (Transportation)

54. Inabuntan or hunter's pack.
(Transportation)
★ Unique to northern Luzon
Island is the inabuntan or
hunter's pack. It is
constructed to be rain
resistant, providing a dry
storage space for hunting
gear and game.

55. Hats
★ Bamboo and rattan
hats vary in shape,
size, and design, but
all function to protect
the wearer from sun
and rain.

56. Suklang or Falaka
(hats)
★ These small, round hats were worn not on
the top, but at the back of the head. To
hold them in place, a fine cord went under
the front of men's hair fringe (until the
early twentieth century, Bontok men wore
their hair long with a fringe). Their primary
function was to serve as a pocket or bag
to hold matches or flint, tobacco, pipes,
betel nut, leaves, lime, etc.

58. Sulpak (Hat)
★ Hat with simple weave of jute.
Only bands (are) brass. Holes
for stringer of beads, which are
wanting Small flat pill box. With
decorative bands of brass. On
edge of outside is an added rim
of 3 bands of brass held on rim
of bamboo with wrapping of jute
fibers.

59. ★ Suklong or Sulpak,bachelors
hat for the unmarried man for
the Gaddangs,but for the
kalinga's,it is used as hat for
the rich man.

60. Salakot (hat)
★ The salakot is a traditional,
wide-brimmed hat worn in
the Philippines. They were
made with many different
materials and worn by all
classes. This example is woven
from rattan, bamboo, and nito
vines, and decorated with a
silver spike and mounts.

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