PERSONAL ADORNMENT

Beautifying oneself is a universal preoccupation. Objects worn on the human body which may either be natural or handcrafted as jewelry Commonly known as alhajas/alahas Functions of Personal Ornaments -To enhance a part of the wearers body -To signify prestige, rank, status, and wealth -To symbolize ritualistic and emotional states such as happiness, mourning, triumph, celebration, and solemnity General Properties of Philippine Personal Ornaments -Dominant in symmetry and natural proportion -A strong sense of rhythm -Distinctive rather than specific emphasis -Sizes: either minute or oversized -Predominant in primary colors -Combination of basic forms: square, triangle, ellipse, and circle

Manobo personal ornaments: Observing basic circular shapes, and symmetry Neckwear: Beads observing the property of using the primary colors Bontoc Silver "Linglingo" Fertility Charm (A Stylized Representation Of The Female Clitoris) showing symmetry and natural proportion Oldest jewelry of the Philippines to date was found in Duyong Cave, Palawan (C-14 dated 2680 BC) The earliest jewelry are believed to have functioned as amulets and charms against evil spirits Early jewelry were mostly made of shells, metal, jade, and gold. Examples of Early Personal Ornaments The Isneg menghal or warrior wore elaborate necklaces of capizshell discs to sign headhunting feasts. The Ifugao and Bontoc wore boartusk necklaces and armlets on the biceps on every successful war expedition. T Boli women wore brilliant inchthick chokers with geometric

designs, convince that these pleased the gods. Mansaka had prized necklaces, called balliug, string of beads dangling to the waist sometimes containing animal teeth. Among the Aeta, leglets were worn so that the wearer could have a wild-boars strength, stamina, and speed. The Bagobo and T Boli groups also attached bells all over their body. Four basic types of earrings o o o o Plug Chandelier Graduated-ring series Ear-with-bib combination

Ancient Stone Ornaments -Developed in Philippine prehistory during the Neolithic Age, the same period when polished stone tools were also used in agriculture -Such as beads, bracelets, and ear and neck pendants -True jade or nephrite was the material of which the working tools of prehistoric Filipinos were made.

Most beads recovered from archaeological sites were glass beads. Pang-aw o Rarest and most highly-priced heirloom bead among Bontoc and Ifugao o Cylindrical bead with gold leaf embedded between layers of clear glass Batek o common in Bontoc province o small, round, or cylindrical monochrome glass beads Lang-at (red) Impokon (white) Fa-king-i (yellow) Gusao (black)

Mapula (pink) copper Berde (green) - silver

o o

Lipa, Batangas century)

(19th

Abaloryo o fine glass beads o for embellishing garments and objects o body ornaments o rosaries for the masses Gintong pula o ancient Philippine gold o comb, hairpins, earrings, etc. Dilaw (yellow) - silver + copper

Filipinos are skilled goldsmiths. Vigan & Bantay, Ilocos Sur were the centers of gold jewelry in Luzon Ilocos became known for the highquality and intricate technique of its products. Pantoche or Tusok - hairpins Alakdan - scorpion necklace Alaphor - double-linked flat necklace o symbolic of the pride and power of the elite Krus na baligtad o earliest design of the cross ornament o functionally inverted so it would be right-side up when the wearer is praying Other places in the Philippines came to be associated with jewelry-crafting and goldsmithing: o o o Santa Cruz, Manila (mid18th century) Platerias St., Quiapo area (mid-19th century) plateros - jewellers

peinetas, gold chains, diamond rings, etc.

American colonization brought a change of style in jewelry. Present jewelry-smithing centers: o o o o Baguio City Meycauayan, Bulacan Manila Makati

Tattoo Art From the Maori ta, to sear, and the Tahitian tatu pricking Is a decoration inscribed permanently on skin with a sharp instrument Uses plant dyes or inks Functions: o Serve as a type of clothing o Enhance physical beauty o Create a ferocious appearance to drive away enemies and evil spirits o To distinguish a brave warrior o Convey certain social attributes and values

o o

Serve as a sign of sexual maturity and prowess Record the designs of tribal hosts in the travels of early mariners

How is it made? o Cut designs into the skin with small chisellike blades o Pigment is rubbed into the grooves *The pigment is from the dung of dogs fed with fat meat until the oversecretion of bile, which colored their dung black

Kalinga, Kankanay, and Ifugao -Women: thickly decorated with tattoo along the vertical and horizontal sections from the shoulders to the wrist -Men: Consists of a series of geometric designs on the chest extending to the upper arms -chest tattoo: indicates valor of the wearer -During headhunting times: signifies he had taken a human head Visayans -The people once called Pintados -Traditional tattooing is now all but dead, practiced only by small reclusive mountain groups -Traditional tattoos have been replaced by anting-anting (amulet) tattoos with motifs derived from Christianity Tboli -Hakang or tattooing -Tattoos: o Repertoire of stylized animal or human motifs o Zigzag patterns o Men: tattooed on the chest and forearm

Women: on the calves and forearms

Scarification -Sometimes practiced by Aeta groups -Live coals are applied onto skin to create raised patterns of scars -A proof of physical endurance for men and young boys Tattoo during the Spanish colonization -Persisted on a limited scale -Indicated brotherhood among the revolutionary movements -Like the Pulahanes of Samar and Leyte Tattoos were believed to endow the wearer with: -Invincibility -Invisibility, against bullets and weapons -Immunity from illness Revolutionary tattoos -Featured orasyon (prayer) with esoteric symbols -Refers to incomprehensible words in pig Latin believed to possess magic powers, when tattooed on the body

Cordillera -Tattoo is considered a physical ordeal that accompanies rites of passage -Done with instruments of 4-10 steel needles held together at one end by a wooden handle -Design is drawn with a soot, pattern pricked onto skin, soot pressed onto open wound Ifugao -Common tattoo motifs are the dog, tinagu (man) and ginawang and ginayaman (centipedes).

-Such prayers are either kept in a small book called librito, written on a paper then placed in a container and worn as a pendant, or tattooed on the body Traditional tattoos Kinds: o Panlalaki- worn exclusively by men because they transmit manly powers o Pangontraprovide protection against evil spirits Examples based on occupation: -Farmers: safeguard against the evil spirits of the fields and wild animals -Tuba gatherers: for invulnerability against bladed weapons Icon tattoos -Solo mata o an open eye enclosed in an equilateral triangle o Symbol of Christian Trinity -Images of Mary, Christ, Sacred Heart -Geometric figures such as circles, square, triangle, pentagon -Cross

Tattoo as a prisoner art form -Can be a sign of membership -A way of remembering loved ones -A sign of machismo -Tattoo figures: o The Don Juan or Love tattoos o Names of loved ones o Animals like the snake and eagle Teeth Ornamentation

Teeth Dying

Some use lime (apag) or they chew betel to to make their teeth black.

Kinds of Ornamentation o Gold Ornamentation Head Ornaments Maranao o Maranao brass comb with floral patterns in silver inlay o These patterns are locally called okir o At the top are white horse hair and hanging from each side of the comb are tiny white glass beads o Marano brass comb variation: with multicolored glass beads

Bolinao people believed that having gold in your teeth represents that you are passing the puberty stage. They use it as an adornment by inserting gold plugs or disks into the labial surfaces of the teeth. o Tooth Grinding

Some Filipino clean their teeth with fine quartz sand to a point shape.

Gaddang o A Gaddang mans mall wooden hat called soklong It is carved from a solid block of narra hardwood Attached to the sides are two butterfly shaped mother-of-pearl shells Its top and shells are then decorated with multi-colored tiny glass beads o A Gaddang womans beaded comb locally called laggud A Gaddang womans forehead bead ensemble locally called galantia The centerpiece of which is a 12string collection of tubular and round

old agate, glass and ceramic multicolored beads Bontoc o A Bontoc mans basket hat called saklong o It is made of woven rattan, decorated with the black feathers of a wild rooster and two wild boars tusks Tboli o Tboli wooden comb made with muli-colored beads Ilonggot o Ilonggot head hunting headdress It is made out of the head of a hornbill (a type of bird) It symbolizes the success of its owner in his head hunting Agta o Agta decorative comb Incised, feathercrested combs that distinguished

hunters of high repute Ifugao o Ifugao headdress with Bulul Worn by Village Chief during planting and harvest rituals for a good harvest. Bul-ul is the rice god of Ifugao. o Ulo Di Kang-o This Ifugao headdress worn by a groom during a wedding. This is made with a piece of blue cloth wrapped in a hornbill.