Pre-colonial Architecture Lecture

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE University of Santo Tomas HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 4 2nd Semester AY 2007-2008 Lecture 2 PRE-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE BAHAY/BALAI • Bahay evolved from the word “BALAI”- which means house • Southeast Asian type of domestic architecture • Hill, sea, mountain, river, field, plains, etc. 1. BAHAY KUBO, Nipa Hut/House Lowlands all over the Philippines • •

“Kubo” derived from “cubo” , a Spanish word for “cube” Height of the walls is equal to its width - gives a boxy appearance or a cube-shaped housed.

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In the 16th c. bahay kubo were used for only a few years then abandoned. Examples: 1. Tagbanuas of Palawan • Agricultural soil wear out • Abandon the house when a member dies to avoid misfortune 2. Lingayen Gulf, Laguna de Bay, Northern Mindoro, Eastern Shores of Cebu - had taken root in a fixed spot Varies across regional and ethnic lines Structure of light materials supported by posts elevated from 2.5 m. to 5.0 m. from the ground. moist ground and the flood protection from vermin and other animals of the low ground Built close to each other as a community and to serve the defensive need of the inhabitants. Construction method and features: 1. Assembling is like basket making 2. Parts are woven, fitted, inserted, coiled, tied or basket. stitched together using nearly the same materials in producing a basket. 3. Consists of various kinds of wood, rattan, cane, bamboo, palm, nipa, bark or cogon. 4. Roof can be assembled on the ground 5. Steep roofs either of gable (dos agues) or hip (quarto agues) type made extensively of nipa shingles or cogon thatched 6. Molave is the favored wood for house post (haligi)

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7. Posts stand in a variety of ways: - Holes may be dug and posts inserted in, sometimes kept firmly in place by a circle of buried rocks - Mount the posts on flat on stone slabs 8. Floor is of bamboo slats spaced from each other at regular intervals - Light and air to pass through even if the windows are closed - Vegetables to ripen - Conducive for sleeping - Even to throw waste matter out through the gaps

9. Wall sidings are assembled on the ground and are made of: - Flattened split bamboo woven together into herringbone patterns to form sawali - In Papangkol – two panels of vertical-split bamboo are clamped together for the panels to grip each other, keeping the rain from coming in - Samil refers to several layers of nipa leaflets that have been combed lengthwise over bamboo slats - Coconut leaves, cogon grass and anahaw palm leaves - Wall sidings surround the house posts and stand independently. - Sidings of the walls are kept in place with the help of the rattan lashings, horizontal bamboo studs clamp the sidings together on both sides and at the same time, the studs enter through holes into the sidings’ vertical support: the bamboo poles that stand between the roof beams and the floor sill. 10. Silong, the space underneath the house is an airy siding woven by passing bamboo strips that are long and thin over and under horizontal studs in alternate sequence, called “salá” 11. Doors are of “salá” and are attached to a post with rattan hinges 12. Windows of the awning-type have nipa or buri-palm window coverings that can either slide from side to side or pushed out by a pole that serves also as support when at rest.

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13. Usually no ceilings nor room divisions, however when required, room partitions are low and do not reach the underside of the roof or the ceiling to allow the circulation of air within the house. •

Terminology: Gililan – floor sills run around the outermost periphery of the soleras to support the walls Halige – house posts Kahab-an – connects the bottom ends of the rafters together Kilo – rafters Palatpat – bamboo strips tied on to the rafters with rattan vines as the mainsupports of the roofing Palupo – ridge pole Patukuran – beam laid over the yawi at right angle, thus completing the perimeter. Pawid – nipa shingles made by stripping leaves from the petiole and bending them Sahig – slatted floor. Rattan or bamboo strips tie the different parts to each other. Sikang – poles which cross the rafters halfway down the slope Soleras - floor joists are laid Tarugo – wooden peg over a narrow bamboo slats Yawi- master beam which runs from one post to the other and is lashed to with rattan

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Parts of the House: 1. Bulwagan (Living Rm) The custom was to sit on mats spread out on the floor, sometimes around the dulang, low table. Chairs and tables were still unknown. 2. Silid (Sleeping Area) Sawali partition divides the bulwagan and silid where chests and woven trunks (tampipi) keep clothes and personal belongings. Some houses have no furnishing except for a few – papag or built in bed, dulang, a low table , bangko or bench, 3. Paglutuan or “gilir” which may sometimes be a separate structure where food is prepared Dapogan – consists of table, river stones and a shoe-shaped stove (kalan) 4. Bangahan later hispanized into a banguerra – pots, dishes and other utensils are kept 5. Batalan – porch which opens from the paglutuan 6. Silong - Lower part of the house (silong) is used as an enclosure for keeping domesticated animals such as swine and fowl and storage for household implements, goods, crops and is some cases as burial grounds for the dead 7. Kamalig – separate storehouse on stilts where unhulled rice is kept Summary: • The bahay kubo is well adopted to the tropical condition • Although small has many kinds of edible plants – song of bahay kubo • The idea of a Bahay Kubo connotes a one-room or an open space which can be transformed into different spaces at different times of the day • It is common to see an altar with religious icons and photos of deceased family members adorned by candles, flowers and other offerings • Bahay Kubo has evolved during the Spanish Period and at present

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VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN MINDANAO People of Mindanao: 1. Lumad 2. Muslims LUMAD • Katawhang lumad - Cebuano term meaning native or indigenous. • Group of non-Islamized (neither Muslim or Christian) indigenous peoples of the southern Philippines. • Considered as "vulnerable groups", they live in hinterlands, forests, lowlands and coastal areas • 18 Lumad ethno-linguistic groups in 19 provinces namely: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Ata Bagobo Banwaon B’laan Bukidnon Dibabawon Higaonon Mamanwa Mandaya

10. Manguwangan 11. Manobo 12. Mansaka 13. Subanon 14. Tagakaolo 15. Tasaday 16. Tboli 17. Teduray 18. Ubo.

Descriptions of selected Lumads: 1. Bilaan or B'laan • Concentrated in Davao del Sur and South Cotabato. • Practice of indigenous rituals despite adaptation to the way of life of modern Filipinos. 2. Manobo • Cotabato Manobo is a language spoken 3. Subanen • First settlers of the Zamboanga peninsula • River dwellers or Suba-nuns. • Family is patriarchal while the village is led by a chief called Timuay. He acts as the village judge and is concerned with all communal matters. 4. Higaonon • located on the provinces of Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Iligan City, and Lanao del Norte. • means "people of the wilderness". • Traditional way of living. • Farming is the most important economic activity. 5. Kalagan • Majority of the inhabitants of the region are of Visayan lineage. • Ethnic residents include the Manobo, the Mamanwa and other tribes. 6. Kamayo • refers to as a group of people or as a society in a certain place in mindanao means "A Way of Life" or Pamaaging panginabuhi-an in kamayo term. • peacefull, kind and loving people. • Located in the municipality of ,Bislig, Hinatuan, Tagbina, San Agustin, Lingig and other part of Caraga region, Compostella Valley and Davao provinces. 7. Tasaday 4

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group of about two dozen people living within the deep and mountainous rainforests of Mindanao. • Called "Linat Batang“, though not a "Stone Age People," they continue to hunt and gather, dwell in caves, use stone tools and wear garments of curcoligo (a kind of fern plant). 8. Mamanwa • Belong to the Negrito tribe and are nomadic. • Vanishing tribe who could be traced only in the deep and distant mountains like the Mandajas who inter-marry with the Manobos. • Believe in a collection of spirits, which are governed by the supreme deity Magbabaya. • Produce excellent winnowing baskets, rattan hammocks, and other household containers. • Deeply routed in the indigenous culture • Transfer from place to place - usually happen in case of deaths for it was the old customs to pack up and leave the place when death occurs even if their plants are ready for harvest. 9. Mandaya • "the first people upstream". • Refers to a number of groups found along the mountain ranges of Davao Oriental, as well as to their customs, language, and beliefs. • Found in Compostela and New Bataan in Compostela Valley Province (formerly a part of Davao del Norte Province). 10. Mansaka • "the first people to ascend the mountains or go upstream." • found today in Davao del Norte, specifically in the Batoto River, the Manat Valley, the Marasugan Valley, the Hijo River Valley, and the seacoasts of Kingking, Maco, Kwambog, Hijo, Tagum, Libuganon, Tuganay, Ising, and Panabo (Fuentes and De La Cruz 1980:2). 11. Sangir or Sangil I • Located in the islands of Balut, Sarangani, and the coastal areas of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur. • Sangihe - an archipelago located between Sulawesi and Mindanao, their original home but they migrated northwards. 12. Subanon • suba, "river," means a river people. • Originally from Misamis Occidental and are seafaring people but were forced to retreat deeper into the interior because of sea pirates in search of slaves. 13. T’BOLI • • • • •

Known as Toboli, T'boli, Tböli, Tiboli, Tibole, Tagabili, Tagabeli, and Tagabulu; Lives in the high elevation of the mountain ranges of South Cotobato and Sultan Kudarat Provinces, south of Mindanao Live in harmony with nature with a colorful lifestyle through their outfits, dances and music Tiboli women are fully ornamented - Tinalak - unusual tie-dyed and woven abaca cloth used for dresses during ceremonies and festivities. Use a variety of musical instruments: 1. drum, 2. agong, 3. kulintang, 4. bamboo zither, 5. flute, 6. hegalong (a long, slender and spindle-shaped two stringed guitar). 5

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Women are not allowed to flirt or they will be killed – express it in music, and with their body movement. Men can have 5-6 wives, depending on his income. - Wives can all stay in one house together. - If a wife wants to be independent, she may move to a different house. T’boli house in general - Located near the banks of scenic Lake Sebu or on a hilly portions - House vary according to difference in economic stability - Polygamy is practiced and adds to the number of residents in a house. - Three or four houses form a cluster - Remains cool in tropical weather because it is elevated on stilts and has a roof with overhang.

GUNU BONG – T’boli house - Located near the banks of Lake Sebu or on a hilly portions; - House vary according to difference in economic stability; - As polygamy is practiced - adds to the number of residents in a house; 3 - 4 houses form a cluster. Large two-level house is home to an extended family averaging between 8-16 persons. - Remain cool in tropical weather because it is elevated on stilts and has a roof with overhang. - 2.0 m. above - bamboo stilts or timber post support with additional poles for stability - Tree stumps - used posts in the interior. - Laid out on rectangular plan of about 14.0 x 8.0 m. - Lower central space is integrated with the elevated side areas • Area for honor • Sleeping • Vestibule - Shape of house is appropriate for the weaving area of the sacred tinalak fabric

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Animals are kept underneath the houses such as chickens and pigs. Dos aguas roof made of bamboo frames and thatch, not steep Walls are made of split bamboo finely worked into a flat wall Few openings. Awning doors and windows opening outward with hinge at the bottom Ladders - made of bamboo or wood are drawn up at night to keep animals and intruders out.

MUSLIM/MORO • Multilingual ethnic group and the largest mainly non-Christian ethnic group in the Philippine. 6

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Moor – Spanish word who lived in a region dubbed as Bangsamoro. Led by the sultans or datu. Islamic influence brought the concept of having a sultan as leader in the community. Polygamy is permitted but rarely practiced Pork is not eaten, considered as taboo under the Quran MORO ETHNCI GROUP 1. Badjao – archipelago of Sulu, Tawi-tawi 2. Iranun – coasts of Illana Bay and border towns between maguindanao and Lanao del Sur 3. Jama Mapun – Cagayan de Sulu ad South Palawan 4. Kalagan – Davao del sur 5. Kalibugan – Zamboanga del Sur and Norte 6. Magindanao – Pulangi valley , Cotobato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotobato. Coasts from Tamontaka down to Glan, South Cotobato and cost of Zamboanga del sur from Sibugay eastward to Tukuran 7. Maranao – Lake lanao region faling within the Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte 8. Molbog – South Palawan 9. Palawani- South Palawan 10. Sama - Archipelago of Sulu 11. Sangil - davao del Sur and South Cotobato 12. Tausug – Archipelago of Sulu 13. Yakan – Island of Basilan

MARANAO • Ma + ranao (lake) - "lake-like“, "by or near the lake, " or "lake dwellers". • term refers to the native people living around Lake Lanao. 7

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Live in settlements of the shores of Lake Lanao, or an the hilly ‘dry rice areas” near a water source; REGION 10 - Pagalunan, Taraka, Marantao, Lanao del Sur Homes are lined along rivers, lake shores and roads; Three major typology of a Maranao House: 1. Lawig – small houses; 2. Mala-a walai – large houses, a necessity in the polygamous culture; 3. Torogan – ancestral home of the upper-class. Ranggar/langgal– small Islamic prayer housed would be located in the community. Kota/Kuta or fortress – early Filipino constructed forts in Mindanao, Sulu as well as in Manila and Mindoro against enemy attacks. Inside the Kota is the Torogan

MALA-A-WALAI • Made of lumber and raised on piling from 0.3 – 2.10 m. above ground. • Roofs, walls, floorings, doors and windows are made of bamboo materials latched together by rattan strips. • Usually has 9 to 12 posts and a rectangular room covered by a steep roof sometimes shaped like a carabao horn. • Rectangular measuring about 7.5 x 18 m. (25 x 60 ft) • One big room with no ceiling and no permanent partitions. – Spatial divisions and functions are marked by movable objects such as chest, mats, brass trays. – Sleeping area is filled with bundles of rice stalks which are changed every harvest, covered with riyara (woven mat) to prevent mildew. – Diverse spaces are created by means of several chest used as dividers or by using sapiyay (wooden split rattan) and the kulambo (mosquito bar or screen) • Porch (kinansad) – usually fenced with bamboo to prevent children from falling off. • Silong (space below the house) – walled with split bamboo woven in crisscross pattern. – Women weave mats during daytime when it is hot upstairs – Storage for farming and fishing equipments, plow, harrow, mortar and pestle and big vessel for storing rice. • Steep roof – thick cogon grass – sometimes bamboos which are cut into halves called rangeb – Wood shingles but uncommon today. • Two windows – Front – watch neighbors pass by – right side. – to check on the carabao which isusually kept in the corral below the house at night. Kota/Kuta or fortress - early Filipino constructed forts in Mindanao, similar to Sulu as well as in Manila and Mindoro against enemy attacks • Inside the Kota is the TOROGAN TOROGAN - Ancestral home of the upper class People. o Kept their young daughters hidden o Exclusive right to the okir - Residence of the Muslim chief – datu or sultan o Sovereignty over the sultanates includes: 1. Pegawidan (royalty) 2. Pegawid (governed) 3. Oripen bisaya (slaves) - No structure should be larger than the torogan - Large, noble and dominating house with a single large room 8

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Torogan (place for sleeping) - serve many purposes such as the residence of the royal family, the warrior’s den, storage house, ammunition areas as well as ceremonial Character and Construction Method • Appearance of floating like a royal vessel. • Sculptured to look like the prow of a boat. • Has a soaring, salakot-shaped or ceremonial umbrella design roof, ornate beams and massive posts, to identify status of its occupants.

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With okir designs: o Internal and external beams, o Posts, o Floor panels and sidings of windows - sometimes painted. Windows are narrow horizontal slits from 2 m. long and about 15 cm. wide between the panalongs. Floor beams are supported by around 25 thk posts or trunks not buried into the ground but are freely standing on large stones to allow the house flexibility to sway with earthquake tremor. o Bunga trees – posts o Barimbingan – flooring o Gisuk - walls Center post or tapuwilih is put first followed by the ffour big tukud (corner posts). Center beam or tinai a walai or “intestine of the house” holds up the king post of the roof. Cloth that hangs from the rafters were used as ceiling which also absorbs heat from roof. Huge posts made from tree trunks signify power. Plain and massive or may be carved to look like clay pots or huge chess pieces. Panolong - one of the most important feature. 9

o Row of carved projecting beam ends in ornate motifs usually five in front and two smaller ones on the sides, o Protrude from the side with the configuration of giant nagas (snakes) outline in fernlike motifs. Appear in high spirited wavelike patterns of okir/okil/okkill design and are sculptured to look like the prow of a boat. It gives the torogan the appearance of floating like a royal vessel.

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High steep roof similar to a Malacca house at the Batak and Minagkabau houses of Sumatra. o Ceremonial umbrella design for its roof, soaring and flaring to identify status of its occupants.

TOROGAN’S ADDITIONAL FEATURES • Gibon – special space for the daughter of the datu. – 5.0 x 10 m. temporary room, has one entrance (front) and exit (back) near the kitchen. 10

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Lamin – lady’s dormitory which serve as another hideaway for the datu’s daughter and her manga raga or ladies. – Used only when there are important gatherings in the torogan. – Way of announcing the presence of a royal lady in the community and serves to preserve and protect the girl’s modesty, virtue, virginity and chastity. – Constructed atop the torogan. Entrance is located near the datu’s bed.

OKIR, OKIL, UKKIL • Central to all visual arts of the Muslim groups; • Refers to both the act of carving or engraving and to a particular type of curvilinear design which combines scrolls, leaf and vine elements organized in varying methods of abstract compositions; • Include geometrical and angular decorative woven designs on various surfaces. - Siyabit design on cloth and mats from Sulu • Two types 1. Okir-a-dato (gentlemen’s art) – curvilinear motif on a man’s work on wood and other hard surfaces and engraving on metal. o Motifs found carved on houses, boats, working tools, weapons, grave markers, saddle looms. 2. Okir-a-bai (ladies’ art) – geometrical configurations found on the hand-woven textiles or mats produced by women. o Motifs embroidered on blankets, pillow cases, and canopies, or painted on various surfaces

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Abraham P. Sakili, SPACE AND IDENTITY, 2003

Abraham P. Sakili, SPACE AND IDENTITY, 2003

Elements of Okir (Ukkil)

Abraham P. Sakili, SPACE AND IDENTITY, 2003

Basic Maranao Okir (Ukkil) compositions

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The Philippines being an archipelago have naval architecture • Inhabitants who live in maritime regions have for centuries constructed boats and water crafts for travel and fishing purposes • Houses varies among the different Muslim communities in the form of houses: • On stilts along the shoreline; • Land houses built completely over the sea with no attachment to the shoreline; • Houseboats which is home and fishing boat. • SEA NOMADS: • Tausug • Sama/Samal • Yakan • Badjao TAUSUG • Settlements vary according to: 1. Interior farmers (tau gimba) 2. Shore-dwellers (tau higad) - along the coasts ƒ Cluster housing are typical and may have more than 20 -100 or more houses. ƒ TAUSUG HOUSES OR BAY SINUG - Single rectangular room raised on 6 to 8 piles and surrounded by a series of elevated porches leading to a separate kitchen. - Constructed from lumber, bamboo and sawali (bamboo matting) materials. - House in the interior towns is surrounded by a bamboo fence (larang) for protection against intruders and enclosing the animals. ƒ

6. SULU HOUSES • The Philippines being an archipelago have naval architecture • Inhabitants who live in maritime regions have for centuries constructed boats and water crafts for travel and fishing purposes • Sea nomads – Samal, Tausog, Yakan and Badjao • Houses varies among the different Muslim communities in the form of houses: - On stilts along the shoreline - Land houses built completely over the sea with no attachment to the shoreline 13

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Houseboats which is home and fishing boat to the Badjao

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TAUSOG HOUSE • Tausogs are known as seafarers, but build their houses on land. • A site is considered lucky if it is flat and dry or gently slopes westwards towards Mecca • Traditional house rests on nine post each signifying a part of the body – neck, shoulders, navel, ribs, groin and hips • One-room house includes a porch and separate kitchen • Distinguishing feature of the house is an elaborately carved wooden finial - Tajuk pasung placed at one or both ends of the roof ridge

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YAKAN HOUSE • Majority Muslim group originally from the island province of Basilan. • Known for traditional hand-weaving skills that produced Yakan blankets • Lumah- traditional house is a rectangular 50 x 100 sq. m., elevated on timber posts about 2 m. above ground. • Cluster around the langgal or local prayer house. Houses face east and beliefs mandate that building materials be stockpiled also on the east. • Three major parts: - Main house – single room dwelling, partitionless with various functions such as a venue fro social affairs, weaving area for women and sleeping quarters. - Kitchen - both for cooking and dining. A bridge connects the kitchen to the main house. - Porch or pantan – main entry to the house which may be open or roofed. The main wooden ladder to the house is located here. Water jars and dagtung , large bamboo crafted as water containers are placed here. • Method of Construction - Sapiaw or roof is steeply pitched cogon on bamboo or timber frames. Walls are woven bamboo strips or sawali. - No ceilings and only one tandiwan or window is allowed int eh main house. Another tandiwan and another ladder are allowed in the kitchen house.

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SAMAL HOUSE • Source of livelihood and also their home • Build houses on stilts over water, along the shore or farther out • Supported by piles embedded into the reef floor • Joined together to the shore or to one another by a maze of catwalks and bridges of timber and split bamboo • Elevation of the house depend on the maximum high tide level in order to allow the storage of the outrigger boat underneath the house when not in use. 14

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After fishing, the Samal could easily enter the house from their boats Samal House - Recent houses – 4.0 x 6.0 m and 3.0 m high - Simply designed to have one single room and in the upper level – sleeping, living, cooking and eating - Silong or space underneath serve as shed for the boat and area for bathing - Pantan or open porch or terrace is important to the Samal tribe. Also used as a workplace, accept visitors, hold rituals and allow children to play.

BADJAO • True sea gypsies of the south • Spotted in channels of Tawi-Tawi province or where fishes and corals abound for their livelihood. • Use shelters as a means of travel which they usually do in groups • Mobile shelter which allows them to flee to safe grounds in the event of typhoon or pirate attacks • The dapang, one of the many types of house boats - comes in varied sizes and lengths and is fitted with outriggers and used not only for shelter but also for fishing • The boat prows are usually decorated with okir/okil designs • Unlike the Samal house, the Badjao land house stands alone on an expanse of water and is reached only by boat. It is not joined by bridges or catwalks to the shore or other houses.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Alarcon, Norma I. Philippine Architecture During the Pre-Spanish and Spanish Periods. UST Publishing House. 1998 Fernandez, Honrado. The Architecture of the Philippines “Traditions and Changing Expressions” Transforming Traditions. Asian Studies Publication Series. 2001 p.115-160 Hila, Ma. Corazon C. An Essay on Philippines Ethnic Architecture. CCP 1992 Tiongson, Nicanor, ed. Tuklas Sining Essays on the Philippine Arts. CCP, Manila 1991 Turalba, Maria Cristina V. Philippine Heritage Architecture before 1521 to the 1970s. Anvil Publishing House. Pasay City. 2005 http://www.filipinoheritage.com/arts/architecture/early-shelters5.htm

Prepared by:

ARCHT. CLARISSA L. AVENDAÑO November 2007

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