Bisaya pre-colonial clothing advocates in “Where the Leaves Fall” magazine
I was lucky to grab the last copy of Where the Leaves Fall #16. The magazine features part of the Karakoa Productions crew based from Cebu. I first learned about them a year or two ago when they began online workshops on pre-colonial/Philippine Visayan fashion. I then took another online class of theirs, this time on Suwat Bisaya or Badlit. This class was a collaboration between Minxie Villaver and Baba Bisaya, another group which is composed of both diaspora and Philippine-based Visayans.
Where the Leaves Fall is a magazine that “explores humankind’s connection with nature.” It features writers, photographers, and stories from around the world, centered on people and their environment.
Karakoa Productions gets its name from the karakoa, a large outrigger warship used by Visayans and Kapampangans in the Philippines. It’s the perfect namesake for a team of Cebuanos fighting historical tropes and misconceptions about pre-colonial/Philippine people. And they do it head-on, by wearing headwear, clothing, and jewellery inspired by what was written of “Filipino” clothing and adornments before and at the start of Spanish arrival. “Filipino” is in quotation marks here, because people before and at the start of Spanish arrival didn’t call themselves Filipino until much later. We were called “Indios” by the Spanish.
The article and photos that feature the Karakoa team is by Celine Murillo, a nature storyteller known for her TikTok videos about Philippine biodiversity, particularly birds and trees.
My favorite quote in her write up connects the environment with the “fashion heritage” of our ancestors. Championed now by a new generation of Visayans bringing back what was forgotten and bringing it forward.
“Adorned with the Earth’s bounties were our bodies: gold for our limbs, crushed pearls for our skin, vines and root crops for our teeth, the flower essence of Styrax for fragrance, and silk and cotton for our garbs…”
Celine Murillo
Celine adds, “…Towards knowing what it means to be a Filipino – to be human – in search of a brave, better, and kinder new world.”
Sometime after taking the online workshop with Karakoa Productions, I was inspired to create artwork of a character named Nimona dressed in pre-Philippine attire. Nimona is an animated film about a shape-shifting character who assists a wrongly-accused soldier fighting for his innocence. I endowed my Nimona fan art with kasikas or arm bands, a kamagi chain worn as a sash, a lambong top, and a few other adornments worn by 17th century chiefs and “Indios.”
“Adorned with the Earth’s bounties…”
Fashion is a funny thing. We are not only judged by how we look and what we wear, but what we wear is also a reflection of what is accessible to us. For many Filipinos these days, ukay-ukays are places where we find our clothing. Ukay-ukays are shops that sell used clothing in the Philippines, most of which are from abroad like the United States and China. The term ukay-ukay is from the Tagalog word “hukay” or dig, which refers to the digging up/through piles of used clothing either for yourself or for your own ukay-ukay shop.
It is in these ukay-ukays that Filipinos apply their creativity. They choose or “curate”, the clothing that looks best to them, and on them. Many items in ukay-ukays are “branded” or from companies that create longer-lasting items. Originally for people from wealthier neighborhoods in wealthier nations, items from brands like J-Crew, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, and even Dolce and Gabana can be found for as much as $4 a piece or P200 pesos. Diamonds in the rough. The new “gold” Filipinos now adorn.
In the past, we were once adorned in hand-made fabrics. Those of us of privilege wore gold that was once dug up by us, and for us. Whether you “care” about how you look or not, what we wear says something about the world we live in. What do your clothes say about your world?
Read the entire article here: https://wheretheleavesfall.com/stories/in-the-beginning-there-was-the-forest
Links on fashion and Philippine weaves
- Speaking of ukay ukay, a Swahili term for used clothing markets in East Africa is mitumba, which means “bundle”. This refers to the bundles of used clothes brought in. At the moment Kenyan business owners are voicing out their objections against reduced exports of used clothing by the EU.
- A shortlist of Philippine weaves by NoliSoli: https://nolisoli.ph/26741/philippine-weaves-habi/
- HABI, The Philippine Textile Council, is an NGO that aims to spread awareness of Philippine textiles while modernizing it to bring it to more people. https://www.habiphilippinetextilecouncil.com
- Lake Sebu School of Living Traditions, in South Cotabato: https://www.facebook.com/LakeSebuSLT
- Anthill fabrics, based in Cebu: https://anthillmarkets.com
- Featured collections of textiles and weaving at the National Museum of the Philippines: https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/our-collections/ethnology/textiles-and-weaving/
- “Introducing the Sustainability Challenge of Textiles and Clothing”: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10603-016-9336-6
- “Why clothes are so hard to recycle”, BBC: Future, 2020: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle
More topics on pre-colonial society, particularly on Baybayin and Badlit writing:
- Bakunawa in Badlit: https://filipeanut.art/bakunawa-in-badlit-or-sulat-bisaya/
- Book review of Surat Bisaya: https://filipeanut.art/surat-binisaya-by-rolando-o-borrinaga/
- More posts about Baybayin, a pre-colonial/Philippine writing system.