Presented at the LCSSHS Research Defense 2019

Lorma Colleges Senior High School, San Juan, Philippines

April 30, 2019

Ilokano Bahay Kubo: Symbolisms and Dimensions

Junell Tadina1, Sugay Trisha1, Seanlester Go Jr1, Alziea Faye Alviar1, David Park1
Marian Jakielou Somera2
1Student Researchers, Lorma Colleges, Senior High School
2Research Advisers, Lorma Colleges, Senior High School

ABSTRACT

The history and culture of the Philippines are reflected in its architectural heritage, in the dwellings
of its various peoples, in churches and mosques, and in the buildings that have risen in response to
the demands of progress and the aspirations of people. Bahay Kubo is the native house of the
Philippines also considered as a cultural heritage. Bahay Kubo symbolizes Philippine Culture as it
depicts the most nurtured Filipino value called “Bayanihan”. Ilocano is one of the native dialect of
Filipinos in northern Luzon, their native dwellings are closely related to Bahay Kubo which are two
to three feet of the ground. The researchers used naturalistic observation as a method to gather
data. The researchers used their background knowledge and the things they have observed about
the Bahay Kubo to express their insights about this topic. This study aims to answer the following
questions, 1) What are the various influences of the Traditional Bahay Kubo to the modern
structural homes of Filipinos? 2) What are the connections of the Bahay Kubo usage to the dwellers’
social status? 3) What are the differences of Ilocanos usage of Bahay Kubo form the past and
present? to help and conserve one of the greatest medieval dwellings in the Philippines which
greatly contributed to its history and culture. After the observation the researchers concluded that
the relaxation and cooking area are one of the various influences of the Bahay Kubo to the modern
homes also not only the deprived people are using the traditional Bahay Kubo. In the old times
Bahay Kubo symbolizes as a home but in the modern context it is used as a rest house.
Keywords: Bahay Kubo, ilokano, dimension, symbolism, dwelling, social status and influence
I.INTRODUCTION Cultural heritage is unique, precious

1.1 Background of the Study and irreplaceable. It expresses the people’s

identity and character. Cultural heritage

Cultural Heritage includes cultural properties such as buildings,

The history and culture of the monuments, artifacts, historic places, books,

Philippines are reflected in its architectural artworks, clothing and other objects with

heritage, in the dwellings of its various historical values. It includes intangible culture

peoples, in churches and mosques, and in the like social values, customs, traditions,

buildings that have risen in response to the practices, beliefs, artistic expressions and

demands of progress and the aspirations of languages. It also includes natural heritage

the people. which are the biodiversity and geo - diversity

The Architecture of the Philippines is of a community or place. These are shared by

a reflection of the history and heritage of the the people overtime and transmitted by

country where the most prominent historic various means through generations.

constructions in the archipelago are based on Aside from local history, cultural

the different indigenous influences. It started heritage continues to be a concern. In the

from the pre-colonial influences of our Philippines, where culture changes from one

neighbouring Malay brothers, continuing on island to another and is very diverse, cultural

to the Spanish colonial period, the American heritage is given importance through

Commonwealth period, and the modern Republic Act 9470, National Archives of the

contemporary times. As a result, the Philippines Act of 2007, which states that:

Philippines became an architectural melting It is the policy of the state to conserve,

pot --- uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the promote and popularize the

occidental. (Noche, 2015) nation’s historical and cultural heritage

resources. The State shall pursue, conserve

and promote the Filipino cultural heritage

and resources including the documentary greatly contributed to the history and culture

records of Filipino culture, history and of the Philippines.

governance. (Perez & Templanza, 2012) People today usually adhere to things

Because today, the recognition of Filipinos on on what they see and what mostly people use

our traditional dwellings are now slowly especially to the construction of houses. This

fading due to the presence and introduction is to promote the tourism sector of the

of the new and modern architectural community through the incorporation of

structure of houses today. Bahay Kubo schemes to the modern

The cultural heritage has drawn the structural houses of Filipinos and this study is

consideration of tourism planners, urban used to inform that the usage of indigenous

planners, and historians. The intention is to construction materials can also be possible

restructure the human habitat in terms of and can also be strong like on how the

material and non-material heritage, covering structures of houses today which are made

architecture, monuments, historical relics, from stone since we all know that houses

artefacts, artistic icons, celebrations, and today is very much different due to the

folklore. The cultural heritage is the portrayal modernization of things. This study also

of historical and architectural assets that conveys that the usage of native building

belong to the past. Hence, this research is materials is much cheaper that the materials

significant to the following: used today.

The country is one of the greatest who

will benefit from the given study. The study Bahay Kubo

promotes and preserves one of the greatest The Bahay Kubo or Nipa Hut is the

ancestral and medieval dwellings of Filipinos, native house of the Philippines and is also

the Bahay Kubo, which considered being a considered as its national shelter. Made of

part of the Philippine Cultural Heritage which indigenous building materials like bamboo

and nipa, this pre-Hispanic architecture was

constructed to perfectly adapt to the tropical whole year. The Ilocanos do not subscribe to

climate of the Philippines and to be easily the “bahala na” attitude in life. (Navarro, et al,

repaired or rebuilt once damaged by 2008)

calamities which frequently occur in the Ilocano is the native dialect of

country. Its name is said to have originated Filipinos living along the coastal plains and

from the Spanish word, cubo, which means agricultural valleys of Northern Luzon.

“cube,” because of the Bahay Kubo's cubic Ilocano is also known as Ilokano and Iloko, A

shape. The Nipa Hut, which is the typical member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of

dwelling, can accommodate an impressive the Austronesian language family. It is the

number. Cooking is often done outdoors, third largest language of the Philippines.

washing is always done there. (Stoodley, The Ilocano possesses a rich culture in

1957) terms of literature, built environment or

Ilocano heritage sites, traits, customs, and traditions

Kinamanagwayas (Self-reliance). as manifested through its heart-warming

Panagbiag iti bukod a ling-et is the passion of native songs, rhythmic folk dances, and

the genuine Ilocano, a person determined not thought-provoking riddles. From an

to be a burden to another, confident to engineering point of view, culture is better

his/her own capabilities, judgment, or appreciated from the legacy that its

resources, and trying to be independent engineering and architecture show. An

economically. A young couple would prefer to understanding of the grandeur of the Ilocos

build a Nipa Hut where they raise their family buried in its built environment would open

by themselves. The principal obsession of an up the nostalgic past to unveil the values of

Ilocano is to build a stable economic security the Ilocano forebears. This way, the younger

for his family. To almost all Ilocanos, the generations are provoked to appreciate and

cornerstone of such security is a permanent to imbue the values. (Esguerra, 2013)

guaranteed source of rice supply for the

Ilocano Dwellings perceived as one of the techniques used to

The native dwellings of Ilocano are dissimulate meanings, aiming to make texts

two to three feet off the ground. These houses complex products that make critical thinking

use beams of woods, bamboo for walls and a literary exercise.

rice straw or cogon grass for the roofs. Newly The FFE (For Filipinos in Europe)

married couples sometimes live in roofed Magazine stated that symbols can represent

extensions. On the “bangsal”, a landing ideas, beliefs, practices, and even physical

staircase is where the guests wait before entities. What makes them so powerful is that

getting admitted and wash or wipe their feet they can communicate or convey meaning to

before entering the room. Curtains or bamboo all of us through these representations. In the

partitions are used to separate the living Philippines, you would be pleased to know

room and bedroom areas. A separate storage that everyday objects may actually represent

room is made for changing clothes while a visage of the Filipino culture – our ideals,

toilet facilities are placed outside. beliefs, and character. Many of these items

Symbolisms have been recognized as national symbols to

According to Studies in Second inspire and educate people around the world

Language Learning and Teaching, Symbolism of what the country stands for.

in literature has always been used as a A Bahay Kubo is a symbol of

practice of representation that provides the Philippine culture as it depicts the most

reader with the meaning that goes beyond nurtured Filipino value called “Bayanihan”,

what is visibly showed. Since symbolism can which attributes to a spirit of collective unity

convey a significant range of meanings, it can or effort to accomplish an objective. It also is

therefore turn written words into a very considered as a cultural heritage, a symbol of

powerful medium of communication. In togetherness. If you look inside, a Typical

critical analysis context and classroom Nipa Hut has no partitions for rooms in order

settings, symbolism has traditionally been to accommodate the entire family. The whole
space is the dining, sleeping, and living area in 1.3 Theoretical Framework

one. The Marxist Theory of the State by Maurice

Status Quo Coker (2014)

In today’s age people base wealth As an intellectual perspective and a

from what you have and what can you afford, body of knowledge, Marxism has

such accessories, properties especially to size continuously suffered "critical pulverizations

and kind of house you have if it’s made up of and attacks" from many quarters, and most of

stone or not, and other things that have these have been due to misunderstanding or

something to do with wealth. Status quo is outright mischief and dishonesty. Marxism’s

defined as “the existing state of affairs”; contributions toward mankind’s search for

therefore, status quo can be identified as solutions to society’s problems have been

positive or negative depending on the enormous; in fact, it can be said that the

circumstances in any particular situation. arrival of Marx and Engels on the intellectual

(Woods, 2010) podium signaled a revolution in man’s

1.2 Statement of the Problem attempts to acquire knowledge for the

This study aims to understand how understanding of the human society. Marxism

the Ilocano Bahay Kubo manifested to what it as a social thought deals with all areas of

is now. Specifically, it will answer the man’s economic and social life.

following questions: It is a political and economic theory of

1. What are the various influences of the Karl Marx. It predicts the abolition of private

Traditional Bahay Kubo to the modern ownership of means of production with

structural homes of Filipinos? provision of work and subsistence for all. It is

2. What are the connections of the Bahay a social, political and economic ideology

Kubo usage to the dwellers’ social status? which has been expressed through the

3. What are the differences of Ilocano’s usage writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It

of Bahay Kubo from the past and at present? is regarded as an overall manifestation of life.
A copious writing has been done on the is used to give emphasis to the Input, Process

philosophy of Marx, his views of political and Output of the research study. The

economy, human science, society, and history. drawing displays the indigenous building

Marx's analysis of capitalism, class theory, materials in making a Bahay Kubo. The Native

labour theory, materialism, interpretation of Ilocano dwellings which are most likely

history, thoughts, on revolution, etc. are the Bahay Kubo are made of indigenous building

theories which have always been significant materials and are two to three feet of the

for the students of Marxism. This theory is ground. It is constructed using beams of

related to our topic which is about on how woods, the walls are built with bamboo, the

people today base wealth and power by roofs are made of cogon grass or rice straws

means of the houses they have, form the and the floor using finely split resilient

structural details of the house. bamboo and these materials functioned as the

1.4 Paradigm Input which are the main materials used in

making the dwelling and is where the

collected data from the observations are

OUTPUT located.

In building a Bahay Kubo and for the

process, it is the area where the observation,

collection, categorization and evaluation of

datas are located and where raw materials

PROCESS
are needed. First is putting the coco lumbers

INPUT or bamboo for the posts. Next is setting its

foundation to make the structure durable.

The roof frames will be covered with cogon

The researchers generated a Bahay Kubo as a
grass or rice straws and bamboo slats for the
paradigm as it signifies the Philippine culture

and a token of togetherness. The Bahay Kubo

walls and floor and all these will be finished Teaching, the researcher was able to observe

further due to the “Bayanihan” of the people. the spontaneous, natural behaviour of the

Thus, the Output would be the new participants in their natural surroundings

structural design of Bahay Kubo which is which gave the advantages of this method

unique and of course airy. It is built using wherein it increases the ecological validity.

light and readily available materials that

2.2 Population and Locale of the Study
made it suitable for the country’s warm and
The location where the research is
humid weather.
conducted was in San Juan, La Union. It is the
1.5 Scope and Delimitation
place where many people use Bahay Kubo as
The scope of the study will focus on
their resting place or as their house.
how the Bahay Kubo connected to the social
2.3 Data Gathering Tools
status of the people who have Bahay Kubos.
For this study, the researchers used

It will be limited only to a specific observation as an instrument. According to

location where the study is conducted and to Cohen L, et al. of 2009, one of the distinctive

a specific place here in La Union where the feature of observation as a research process

usage of the Bahay Kubo is prominent. is that it offers the investigators the

opportunity to gather live data from naturally

II. METHODOLOGY
occurring social situation. The researchers
2.1 Research Design
joined activities in the field then come up
The researchers used Naturalistic
with written narrative field notes. There are
Observation as a method to collect data. With
three types of observations: Participant
this method, the participant used their
observation, Naturalistic Observation and the
background knowledge and the things they
Controlled Observation. The observation
have observed about Bahay Kubo to express
method used by the researchers for the study
their insights about this topic. According to
is the naturalistic observation. In this method,
Center for Innovation in Research and
there is no intervention by the researcher.
One of the advantages of this method is it and results, the scholars decided to undergo

increases ecological validity. With this study, the process of categorization and

the scholars decided to conduct the thematization of data wherein they will

observation by going to some places where identify its categories in the results and

they can observe the components and discussions.

structure of the Bahay Kubo. III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Relaxation and Cooking Area

2.4 Data Gathering Procedures and Ethical
Upon conducting the study, the
Considerations
researchers discovered that there are various
In conducting our study, the
influences of the traditional Bahay Kubo to
researchers will first secure a permission to
the modern structural homes of Filipino and
the School’s director by writing a letter in
that is the addition of a dirty kitchen which is
order to witness and observe the usage of
prominent in the traditional Bahay Kubos
Bahay Kubos in San Juan. And after the said
that are usually located outside and used for
activity, the researchers will analyse and
cooking.
categorize the data from the conducted
Most Filipinos desire a dirty kitchen, it
observance. And lastly, the researchers will
isn’t a roach and rat-infested kitchen with
compile all the data and choose the most
grease splatters on the walls and a pile of
appropriate ones to put in the research.
dirty dishes in a clogged sink. A dirty kitchen
2.5 Analysis of Data
is simply an outdoor kitchen, not located
As stated by Marshall and Rossman
inside the main house. It has been a part of
(1990), Data Analysis is the process of
the Filipino Culture for hundreds of years; it
bringing order, structure and meaning to the
is the pride and joy of every home maker.
mass of collected data. Qualitative data
A dirty kitchen is much more common
analysis is a search for general statements
in the province, aka the country side;
about relationships among categories of data.
however, many modern homes in towns and
To analyse the data connected through stories
cities have one. Town house and condo the Bahay Kubo is for relaxation and

dwellers cannot have a dirty kitchen, but they occasions like cottages.

are found in many houses located in 3.3 Differences

subdivisions. (Gallo-Crail & Hawkins, 2012) During the study, the researchers

In addition, balconies or terrace are also an learned that there are some significant

outdoor space that is also found in traditional differences of the Bahay Kubo usage from the

Bahay Kubo. This outdoor space is usually past and at present. They discovered that

used for relaxation. Utilizing natural from the past, the main purpose of Bahay

ventilation is one of the parameters to Kubo is for dwelling; however, in this age

achieving a sustainable building. Natural Bahay Kubo’s are built mainly for cottages

ventilation in terrace houses is of primary and used during occasions.

importance especially in a tropical country In addition, previously Bahay Kubo’s

with hot and humid climate like Malaysia. are the only thing people can build and since

Apart from the use of window and the Philippines is rich with the resources that

door opening, a balcony is an alternative are used for building Bahay Kubos.

architectural element as a wind scoop for

scooping the air into a building to allow for IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

better ventilation in naturally ventilated 4.1. Conclusion

buildings In dealing with the Philippine Culture,

3.2 Social Status there are many factors that made the Bahay

The students observed that when the Kubo Significant until today. The impacts of

dweller is financially poor the Bahay Kubo is the Bahay Kubo can still be seen in the

used for dwelling since the materials needed modern structural homes of Filipino. Various

in building is much cheaper than using influences of the dwelling like dirty kitchen

cements and stones. While, when the dweller and balconies still prevail until this

is financially capable the usage of the usage of generation. The Bahay Kubo is also a
symbolism of literature and a representation of transformation, the inclusion and citation

that provides the reader with the meaning of the negative effects should be given a

that goes beyond what is visibly showed major discussion and importance for the

which it is the social status of an individual. It future researches. It is important to know

tells weather a person is financially stable or both faces of transformation in order to fully

not. understand and interpret the impact and

effects of engaging in transformation.

As time passes the main purpose of

the bahay Kubo is becoming transient. Bahay Moreover, with this research,

Kubo are built as a dwelling for Filipinos in promoting the usage of our one architectural

the past however, in today’s time, it is simply heritage, the nipa hut through the

used as a cottage or is used for special incorporation of its designs to the modern

occasions. Since promoting and preserving houses of Filipinos today in order for us to

the structure of the Bahay Kubo is a key to further appreciate the beauty of our culture,

also exploit and ratify the Filipino cultural and through this the tourism sector of the

heritage as well. community trying to do it will sooner become

higher.

4.2 Recommendation

As the researchers focused on the REFERENCES

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