Folk Arts

from Panay
Island
 History about Panay
Island
Panay Island is one of the largest islands of the archipelago lying
south of Romblon. This triangular island is composed of the
provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz and the island of Guimaras.
The story of the ten Bornean datus who fled from the despotic rule
of certain Sultan Makatunaw relates that the first inhabitants of
the island were Ati headed by their chief known as Marikudo. In the
barter of Aninipay, Marikudo sold the island of Panay (the
lowlands) to the Bornean datus for a piece of golden salakot. The
barter is said to be celebrated in the fabulous and spectacular
festival called Ati-atihan in Kalibo, Aklan; Dinagyang in Iloilo; and
Binirayan in Antique. These fetivals showcase the products,
artistry, creativity and craftsmanship of the people of Panay.
Etymology
-The name of Panay island was given
by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi when his
team moved there after experiencing
food scarcity in Cebu. Panay literally
means ‘there is food’ in Spanish.
 Arts and
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Crafts
Weaving is the primary
form of arts and crafts in
Panay island. In Iloilo,
weaving patadyong is an
important industry.
Patadyong is a wrap-
around piece of cloth worn
by women. This type of
clothing is often colorful
and features linear and
geometric designs.
For a hundred years, the
manual and time-
consuming hand weaving
of patadyong and hablon
is still practiced in Iloilo
particularly Miag-ao. This
weaving practice uses
handlooms. In Badiangan,
weaving is called
paghahabol. Weaving
from indigenous textiles
such as jusi and pinya
become popular in the
later part of 19th century
• It is also combined with farming which is done in between
weeding the fields and feeding their animals. Once, Iloilo
was the thriving capital of textile industry in the Philippines
with weaving communities in Arevalo, Jaro and Molo.
Cloth weaving in Aklan
requires long hours of
laborious and painful
extraction of fiber from
pineapple leaves. It takes two
months to prepare a 10-
meter long cloth made from
pinya. In the process the
weaver will snap the short
leaves of the plant, remove
the thorny sides and scraped
with a broken china plate and
pummeled by hand to reveal
the first set of fiber called
bastos.
After this, it is then scraped with
a coconut shell to get the finer
linawan fibers. When about a
thousand leaves have been
scraped, it is then washed,
partially sundried, wrung ad
gently beaten by a bamboo
stick to separate the fibers. The
fine fibers are then line-dried
using an ordinary hair-comb.
The fibers are then tied on both
ends, cut by a sharp bamboo
stick and coiled by a clay pot
with sands to prevent tangles.
This process requires good
eyesight.
The pinya weaving of
Aklan requires a weaver
to become almost saintly
because of its delicate
and sharp fibers that
often cause multiple cuts
to the hands. In Aklan,
weaving baskets, trays,
and mats is popular.
Aklanons uses pandan
and bariw- a type of
pandan, to make their
products.
• In Aklan, weaving baskets, trays, and mats is popular. Aklanons uses
pandan and bariw- a type of pandan, to make their products.
Pagrarara it banig or mat weaving is often form of social
interaction. The tedious preparation to make a mat includes the
gathering of bariw using sangget- a cutting instrument similar to the
kawit o harabas in Southern Luzon provinces. The thorny sides of
the leaves are then removed using bukog- a simple stripping
machine made from bamboo. Then, the leaves are tied together and
sun dried for two to three days. When the bariw are already deep
brown it is pounded in a process called palpag until such time the
leaves becomes soft. Then they are tied into bundles, pounded
again before stripping them into simple machine with blades called
kulhadan. The strips are then arranged into a kiyapis (made from
four strips of bariw leaves) that will serve as a framework for the
mat called taytay before pagpaparas will take place. It is only after
this that the weaver can start the complicated process of pagrarara.
 Kapis (capiz) shell is also an important craft in Panay Island particularly
in Aklan and Iloilo. The shell are often collected from the sea, bleached,
and dried before pressing or cutting into desired shapes. The pearl-like
luster of kapis make it an ideal material for lamps, decors, trays and
souvenir items.