Precolonial Architecture (Cordilleras)

Northern & Southern

2 Strains of Architectural Styles

Northern Strain

• Apayao, Kalinga, Isneg

• Elongated, rectangular plan

• High gabled roof

• Roof = bowed rafters + tired Wallboards

• Roof and floor have separate upright supports

Southern Strain

• Ifugao, Benguet, Bontoc

• Square floor plan

• Pyramidal/conical roof “resting” on top of the house

• Posts reach no higher than floor joists

Kankaney

• built sloping terraces to maximize farm space in the rugged terrain of the Cordilleras

Northern Kankanay

• Also known as Bakuo

• Wall + roof have separate frames

• Enclosing wall

Southern kankanay

• Post + lintel support

• Extra angled supports for roof

• No perimeter wall

Bakuo house

• High, steep, hipped roof with the ridge parallel to the front

• Roof conceals house cage

• Roof rests on the upper frame of the house cage

• Made of narra or pine

Baey/Babayan

• Elevated

• Square, 1-room plan

• 4 posts

• Angled supports for the roof

Batawa

paved court with sacrificial fireplace

Dap-ay

men’s dormitory ; civic center

Ebgan

girl’s dormitory ; courtship between young men and women took place

kalinga

• occupied interior and central portions

• Known as headhunters

• Security is important = bamboo stockades are built around the village houses:

  • Rectangular

  • Octagonal

Ifugao

• Pugo = from the hill

• Ipugo = humans; as distinguished from spirits and deities

Pugo

• from the word ifugao, ____ means “from the hill”

Ipugo

from the wod Ifugao, ____ means “humans; as distinguished from spirits and deities”

Palan

• Part of Ifugao house

• attic storage

Nundatu

• Part of Ifugao house

• male side space

Halipan

• Part of Ifugao House

• rat guard

Hagabi

• Part of Ifugao House

• bench, status symbol

Punchapalan

• Part of Ifugao House

• fireplace

Na-ulya

• Part of Ifugao House

• female side space

Panto

• Part of Ifugao House

• Door

Teteh

• Part of Ifugao house

• Ladder

Abong

• Ifugao dwelling

• Poor man’s dwelling

lizard or serpent

Ifugaos believe that spirits dwell in all natural things and they try to keep the evil spirits by engraving on the door or any conspicuous part of the house with the figure of a ____________ for protection

Carabao’s skull and Pig Jams

• Imagery

• used as indication of status and keeping peace with the gods

Ambubulan

• placed on top of the roof used as protection against evil spirits ; sign of asking a favor from the god Kabunyan

Inalahan

public forest/hunting ground

Hinaob

forrest adopted by terrace communities

Uma/kaingin

swidden farm cultivated by a rotation of farmers

Payo

stone-walled terrace pond fields

Latangan

residential area below the terraces

Magulon

grassland

Kaingin System

derived from a filipino word ‘———’ that means clearing ; cutting/burning down trees and plant growth for cultivation purposes

Wet method

building dikes to collect and manage water ; planting rice

Ibaloi

• also called Nabaloi or Inibaloi

• Location: Southern Benguet

• Agricultural people cultivating rice in terraced fields

Nabaloi or Inibaloi

Other term for Ibaloi

Baguio City

the Cordilleras’ lone city and known as the “Summer Capital of the Philippines” which is also situated in Ibaloi country

Pesshet

Ibaloi festival where the public prestige feast of the wealthy that could last for weeks which involves butchering and sacrificing dozens of animals

Bendiyan dance

Ibaloi festival where the a victory dance; could be participated by as many as hundred men and women dancers; challenge of resistance (unang mapagod, talo)

Bontoc

only known groups who sleep and eat on the ground floor

Fa’rey / Fay’u

• bontoc

• rich families house

  ■ Has a steep roof

  ■ Walls are not fully covered

Kol-ob

• Bontoc

• poor people’s house

  ■ Walls are fully covered

Ato

• bontoc

• boys’ dormitory

O’lag

• bontoc

• girls’ dormitory

Fawi

• bontoc

• council house (men only)

Chila

• bontoc

• open court used as meeting space

Tungfub

• bontoc

• vestibule in front of the Main entrance

Mindoro

7th largest island in Philippines

Mangyans

generic name for the ethnolinguistic groups inhabiting most of the highland region of Mindoro

Hanunuo Mangyans

“true” ,“pure”, “genuine”, (strict in ancestral preservation of tradition and practices)

1. Communal Long House

2. Gabled Type (similar to bahay kubo)

3. Barangas - temporary lean-to

3 Types pf Mangyan houses

Batanes

lies at the northernmost tip of the Philippines, where Pacific Ocean merges with South China Sea

Savitug Iljang

• Eastern coast, Sabtang island

• Biggest and best preserved site

Sinadumparan

• batanes

• One-storey main house with a partially submerged basement used as storage

Rakhu

• Batanes

• Two-storey house

• Chavayan, Sabtang Island

  • Walls are constructed of lime

  mortars binders with stones of

  graduated sizes

  • Bigger in floor area with the lower

  level used as storage

  • Two doors and windows are

  located on the three walls

  ■ Abbu - basement

  ■ Sahad - upper storey

Jinjin

• Batanes

• Made of light materials compared

  to previous two types

• Walls are of woven cogon

  thatched with bamboo or wood

  frameword

  • Roof is of multi-layered cogon

Chivuvung

• Walls of this structure are made of

  thatched cogon on all sides

• Hearth is on one end opposite the

  sleeping area

Kamadid

• Low structure made of wood, reeds, and cogon

• Triangular shape when viewed from the front

• Trapezoidal when viewed from the Side

Mayhurahed

• Resembles the chivuvuhung, only it has a low wall made of stone, chopped cogon, mud, lime, and sand (hurabed)

Nituavan

• 4 sides taper towards the top to from a trapezoidal shape

• Has a low basement