Pre-Hispanic Era Philippine Vernacular Architecture Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering prehistoric shelters, regional indigenous house typologies, and traditional Muslim architecture of the Pre-Hispanic Philippines.

Tabon Cave

Located at Lipuun Point in Palawan Island, it is dubbed the Philippines' Cradle of Civilization and named after the Tabon Megapode/Scrufowl bird.

Manunggul Jar

A secondary burial jar excavated from Manunggul Cave in the Tabon Cave complex, dating from 890–710 B.C., featuring two top handle figures depicting the soul's journey to the afterlife.

Tau’t-Batu

Meaning 'People of the Rock', the last discovered tribe in the Philippines living in cave shelters within Singnapan Valley in southern Palawan.

Datag

The basic sleeping platform of the Tau't-Batu made from tree branches and dried leaves, built inside caves and raised slightly above the ground.

Angono Petroglyphs

The oldest known work of art in the Philippines located in Rizal province, featuring 127 human and animal figures engraved on a rockwall dating back to 3000 BC.

Callao Man

Fossilized human remains (specifically a 61-millimeter metatarsal discovered in 2007 by Armand Salvador Mijares) found in Callao Cave, Peñablanca, Cagayan, dated to about 67,000 years old.

Ephemeral Architecture

Temporary shelters made of readily available materials requiring minimal investment in time and energy, representing one of the first human-created architectural forms.

Hawong

A type of lean-to shelter constructed by the Pinatubo Aeta featuring a ridge pole supported by forked stakes or limbs.

Panahang

A simple flat lean-to shelter made of grass on a bamboo frame used by the Agta people of Pampanga, Zambales, and Casiguran, Aurora.

Dait-Dait

A temporary hunting lean-to shelter used by the Mamanua Aeta of Mindanao, made from wild banana leaves, coconut fronds, grass, or rattan.

Alligang

A small nocturnal tree house built 18–24 meters above the ground by the Tinguian of Palan, Abra, designed to safeguard occupants against nighttime ambushes.

Vernacular Architecture

An architectural category derived from 'vernaculus' (domestic, native, indigenous), built by non-professional builders using local materials and traditions without blueprints.

Idjang

Early defensive rock and hill structures developed by the Ivatan settlers in Batanes for defensive engineering.

Fango

A mortar mixture composed of mud and cogon grass, used by the Ivatan people to bind stone walls together.

Panpet

A roof net made of ropes fastened securely to the ground with strong pegs to prevent Ivatan roofs from being blown away by typhoons.

Rakuh

A two-storey Ivatan house featuring two windows and a door built across three stone walls, with a fourth windowless wall facing strong storm winds.

Sinadumparan

A traditional Ivatan house typology defined by its gable roof configuration.

Maytuab

A traditional Ivatan house typology defined by its hip roof configuration.

Binuron

The traditional Isneg house in Apayao characterized by an elevated floor, low walls, and a high bowed gable roof shaped like a boat (baranay).

Tarakip

An extension structure attached to the Isneg Binuron house.

Binayon

An octagonal traditional house plan created by the Kalinga people featuring three interior floor levels with the center floor being the lowest.

Foruy

A square-plan, elevated one-room house of the Kalinga people made of timber with a roof formed by 8–10 layers of cut bamboo and removable wall panels.

Ato

A communal open court, council house, men's meeting place, and dormitory for unmarried males in a Bontoc village (Ili).

Ulog

A public dormitory structure in a Bontoc village designated for young women of marriageable age.

Afung

The traditional family residence of the Bontoc people built directly on the ground, featuring a steep cogon roof extending low over the walls.

Katyufong

A small, enclosed, stone-walled Bontoc house built for poorer families, widows, and unmarried elderly women.

Fayu

An open and relatively large Bontoc house constructed for wealthy families.

Fale

The traditional windowless Ifugao dwelling featuring a square plan, three-level structure, pyramidal or conical thatched roof, and pile foundation.

Halipan

A cylindrical wooden disk 2–14 inches thick and 36–40 inches in diameter fitted on upper house posts to prevent rats from entering the Ifugao house.

Bul-ul

Carved wooden granary guardian figures sacred to the Ifugao people.

Hagabi

A wooden prestige bench symbol of high social and economic standing in Ifugao society.

Binangiyan

The traditional single-room dwelling of the Kankanay people, featuring a box-like compartment, pyramidal roof, and a spacious attic (baeg).

Masjid

A large, permanent Islamic place of worship built with a stone foundation, featuring a bulbous dome, minaret, and an ablution area.

Langgal

A small, light, semi-permanent place of worship used in rural areas by the Tausug and Yakan (known as Ranggar among the Maranao).

Sheik Karimol Makhdum Mosque

The oldest mosque in the Philippines, built in 1380 in Barangay Tubig Indangan, Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

Kota

An early Filipino fortified settlement enclosed by a palisade of long, strong wooden stakes with pointed tops set closely together.

Lawig

A small Maranao stilted dwelling with an outdoor cooking area, primarily used for sleeping by a single family.

Mala-a-walai

A single-room, partitionless house belonging to a well-to-do Maranao family, embellished with okir carvings but lacking panolong end-beams.

Torogan

The multi-family residence and official building of a Maranao Sultan or Datu, distinguished by large load-bearing posts and extended carved panolong end-beams.

Panolong

An elaborately carved and painted wing-like beam extension on a Maranao Torogan, typically featuring Naga (sea serpent) or Pako Rabong (growing fern) motifs.

Bay Sinug

The traditional Tausug house constructed over nine structural posts that symbolically correspond to parts of the human body.

Tajuk Pasung

Carved bargeboard end decorations on the roof of a Tausug Bay Sinug, usually depicting a sea serpent (naga) or bird (manuk-manuk).

Lumah

The traditional single-room Yakan house in Basilan built on piles, featuring a steep ridged roof, no ceiling, and almost no windows.

Lepa

A lighter, faster houseboat without outriggers (katig) used by the Badjao as a dwelling and transport vessel.

Jengning

A larger, heavier Badjao houseboat equipped with outriggers (katig).

Gunu Bong

The large traditional house of the T'boli people in South Cotabato, raised on 2-meter bamboo stilts to accommodate extended families of 8 to 16 people.