Ifugao Crafts

Ifugao Ikat

Torajan ikat funeral shroud, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Ikat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing
and weaving the fabric.
In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarns or bundles of yarns with a tight wrapping applied in
the desired pattern (ikat means "to bind" in the Indonesian language). The yarns are then dyed. The
bindings may then be altered to create a new pattern and the yarns dyed again with another colour. This
process may be repeated multiple times to produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When the dyeing is
finished all the bindings are removed and the yarns are woven into cloth. In other resist-dyeing
techniques such as tie-dye and batik the resist is applied to the woven cloth, whereas in ikat the resist is
applied to the yarns before they are woven into cloth. Because the surface design is created in the yarns
rather than on the finished cloth, in ikat both fabric faces are patterned.
A characteristic of ikat textiles is an apparent "blurriness" to the design. The blurriness is a result of the
extreme difficulty the weaver has lining up the dyed yarns so that the pattern comes out perfectly in the
finished cloth. The blurriness can be reduced by using finer yarns or by the skill of the craftsperson. Ikats
with little blurriness, multiple colours and complicated patterns are more difficult to create and therefore
often more expensive. However, the blurriness that is so characteristic of ikat is often prized by textile
collectors.
Ikat is produced in many traditional textile centres around the world, from India to Central Asia, Southeast
Asia, Japan (where it is called kasuri), Africa and Latin America. Double ikats—in which both the warp
and weft yarns are tied and dyed before being woven into a single textile—are relatively rare because of
the intensive skilled labour required to produce them. They are produced in Okinawa islands of Japan,
the village of Tenganan in Indonesia, and the villages of Puttapaka[1] and Bhoodan Pochampally in
Telangana in India. In fact, many other parts of India have their indigenous Ikat weaving techniques.
Orissa’s Sambalpuri Ikat[2] is quite different from the sharp Ikat patterns, woven in Patan of Gujarat. The
latter, known as Patan Patola, is one of the rarest forms of double Ikat, which takes a lot of time and effort
in dyeing and weaving. A different form of Patola ikat is made in Rajkot, Gujarat. Telia Rumal made in
Andhra, Pasapalli[2] from Odisha and Puttapaka from Telangana are other Indian Ikats.

Ifugao Basket Weaving

Located between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is an archipelago of about 7,100
islands, of which, 2,000 are inhabited. The two largest islands in the Philippines, Luzon in the north, and Mindanao
in the south, comprise about 65 percent of the total land area of the archipelago. The mountainous northern part
of the Philippine island of Luzon is referred to as the Cordillera Central. For centuries, basketry formed an essential
part of all aspects of daily life in this area.
Baskets range in form and size, from portable lunch containers to woven jars. Winnowing trays, carrying baskets,
and covered containers allowed people to harvest, transport, store, and serve food and crops. Basketry hats and
rain capes protected against sun and rain. Traps and sieves helped in catching fish, shellfish, and insects. Assorted
basketry bags and pouches contained personal items, such as tobacco. Hunters embarked on expeditions with
woven backpacks filled with provisions to be consumed along the way, which they replaced with meat after a
successful hunt.

Basketmaking is gender specific among some groups. For instance, both Ifugao men and women engage in
basketmaking, while among the Kalinga, men do all of the weaving. Baskets are made of bamboo, rattan, or a
combination of the two. The most frequently utilized construction technique entails plaiting, although wickerwork,
twining, or coiling are also employed. Typically in plaiting, two elements are woven over and under each other at a
right angle.

Since the late 1950s, baskets have become less common in the daily lives of the people of the Cordillera.
Containers made from materials such as plastic or aluminum now serve the same purpose as traditional baskets.
These replacements are affordable, easy to obtain, and often regarded as superior or more practical. Presently,
many traditional basket forms survive solely because of tourists' interest in Philippine crafts.

This exhibition displays a selection of twentieth-century Philippine basketry of the Luzon Cordillera. Once created
for everyday use, here they can be appreciated for their exceptional beauty and craftsmanship. The groups
represented in the exhibition from this region include the Ifugao, Bontoc, Tinguian, Ibaloi, Kalinga, and Kankanay
peoples. Carrying baskets, backpacks, rice containers, hats, and rain capes are some of the many interesting forms
on display.

Kalinga Pottery

Philippine ceramics refers to ceramic art and pottery designed or produced as a form of Philippine art. The
tradition of Philippine ceramics dates back to the third millennium BCE. Pottery and ceramics were an essential
part of the trade between the Philippines and its neighbours.

Traditional pot-making in certain areas of the Philippines would use clay found near the Sibalom River. Molding the
clay required the use of wooden paddles, and the clay had to be kept away from sunlight.[1]

Native Filipinos created pottery since 3500 years ago.[1] They used these ceramic jars to hold the deceased.[2]

Other pottery used to hold remains of the deceased were decorated with anthropomorphic designs. These
anthropomorphic earthenware pots date back to 5 BC. - 225 A.D and had pot covers shaped like human heads.[2]

Filipino pottery had other uses as well. During the Neolithic period of the Philippines, pottery was made for water
vessels, plates, cups, and for many other uses.[3]
Ceramic vessels of Kalinga are divided into three types: rice cooking (ittoyom), vegetable/meat cooking (oppaya),
and water storage (immosso) pots. According to Skibo, the rice cooking pots are usually larger, thinner and have a
smaller opening than vegetable/meat pots. On the other hand, water storage pots have an average and uniform
size and a smaller neck size.

Except for water storage pots, which have a uniform size, the other two kinds can come in three different sizes,
large, medium and small. Although this is true in some cases, another larger type of vegetable/meat pot and
smaller water storage pot exists.

• Manufacture of Kalinga potteries

Group of Igorot pottery makers, from Samoki, Mountain Province (1910)

The first step in the manufacture of pots is the acquisition of the starting material, clay. The clay is then pounded,
added with enough amount of water, to reach the wanted flexibility, and placed in a rotating plate. Using the
hand-modeling and coil-and-scrape techniques, the height, thickness and shape of the pot is established. After
this, the rim is designed by placing a wet rag on top of it and then rotating it in the other direction. Furthermore,
scraping of the walls can also be done if the walls produced are too thick.

The pot, after the modeling stage, is then dried for a short period of time before the base is shaped. Also, after
additional heating, small amounts of clay are added inside and outside the clay to maintain the evenness of the
surface. A polishing step can also be done through the use of a polishing stone. In some cases, pots are also
painted with red hematite paint for some stylized design.