 LESSON 2: CONARTS

 Contemporary arts are works that are being revived or improved in today’s world as
these are arts produced by our ancestors that were preserved and enhanced. As time
changes, the people’s cultures as well as its traditions are coming to face its extinction
thanks to the improvisation and creativeness pf the human mind to portray such arts
blending with the trend of the new day’s world.
 Nevertheless, as we dwell with the past and marking their contribution in today’s
community, we will discover the importance and the legacy that contemporary arts
havegiven to the society. Different forms and reflections of the past artists have given
life tothe improved works of our fellow Filipino on its continuation of the Philippine’s
culture.This lesson will provide a more detailed discussion of Philippine Art History
showing its major periods, artists and their crafts.
 Was there “art” before colonization?
 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
 Pre-Conquest (890 B.C – 255 A.D)
- In art historical terms, we refer art before the coming of the first colonizers as “pre
conquest”. In stylistic terms, we refer to it as “indigenous” to emphasize the idea that
our ancestors have been making art even before colonization.
- It is also describe in cultural terms as “pre-colonial” as a term to use for the
general way of life before colonization. Although terms are interchangeable, it is
also useful to keep these distinctions in mind when studying the art of the past.
Prior to colonization, art of the ancient Filipinos were woven into fabric of everyday life.
Everyday expressions were all integrated within rituals marked significant moments in a
community’s life like:
 Planting and harvesting
 Rites of passage
 Funerary ceremonies
 Weddings.
 RITUALS
Our ancestors, just like all others in the world during those times, were hunter-
gatherers. Before there were cities and large monuments, the pre-colonial Filipino hunted
food and game that were shared among members of a community in a gathering where they
are told stories about the hunt.
 They imitated the movement of animals and prey, and the sounds that they made.
 Prepared themselves for the hunt and prayed to be endowed with the strength of the
animal.
 They form an oral storytelling which marks the beginning of literature.
Many of these rituals, which we can consider as the earliest forms of theater, are still
alive in the various regions.
  NATIVE DANCE
1. KANYAW - Cañao or Kanyaw is a festival or a ceremony of the indigenous mountain people
of Northern Luzon. It is a socio-religious ritual where chickens,pigs and/or carabaos are
butchered as asacrifice and feasted on. It is found inthe Cordillera Autonomous Region.
2. KASHAWING – Is a known ritual for the Maranaos. A ritual to ensure abundance during rice
planting and harvesting. The ritual involves reenactment of the pact made by the ancestors
of the community and the unseen spirits that inhabit the lake.
3. TAGBANWA - Are the more dominant of the ethnic groups of Palawan. The Tagbanwa
believe that every thirteenth moon, three goddesses descend from heaven to bless the
planting of rice. The shaman goes into a trance amidst ritual chanting and dancing and is
believed to be taken over by the goddesses themselves.
4. PANGALAY - Pangalay is the traditional"fingernail" dance of the Tausūg people of the Sulu
Archipelago and eastern coast Bajau of Sabah. A dance form traditionally performed by the
Tausug people of the southern Philippines, this dance is distinct because it is characterized
by hand movements that resemble the movement of ocean waves, enhanced by long,
metal fingernails worn by the dancers.
5. TALIP DANCE - According to the National Library of the Philippines, “Talip” is a dance done
after a courtship dance. The man lures a woman with an attractive blanket to place on her
shapely shoulders, the Ifugao celebrate the intaneg or wedding with the festival dance
called dinnuyya.
 Aside from the communal functionality of
indigenous art, creative forms also embody
aesthetic, technological, and ritual values that exist in various region forms with the
present such as the following:
 Pottery
 Weaving
 Carving
 Metalwork
 Jewelry
 CARVING
Pre-colonial Filipinos have been making images before colonization. This is exemplified by the
country’s rich tradition in carving.
1. BULUL - Bulul, also known as bul-ul or tinagtaggu, is a carved wooden figure used to guard
the ricecrop by the Ifugao peoples of northern Luzon. The sculptures are highly stylized
representations of ancestors and are thought to gain power from the presence of the
ancestral spirit.
2. HAGABI - Hagabi are traditionally large ceremonial benches carved for wealthy Ifugao
families as a symbol of wealth, power and prestige. The bench serves as a symbol of a
prestigious "hagabi feast" in which the carving of the bench marks the beginning of the
celebration. The geometric bench with stylized animal head ends.
  POTTERY
1. MANUNGGUL JAR - The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic
burial site in the Manunggul cave of the Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point in Palawan,
Philippines. It dates from 890–710 B.C. and the two prominent figures at the top handle of
its cover represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife.
 WEAVING
- Another cherished living tradition is weaving. According to Respicio, textile weaving has
a long history that Philippine ethnolinguistic groups have a rich textile weaving tradition.
Textile are not only functional, they also impart knowledge about people’s belief system.
- A backstrap loom or a pedal loom is used to weave design that hold special meaning
for a particular cultural group.
1. Pis Siyabit - The pis syabit is the multi-colored woven cloth of the Tausug. It IS traditionally
worn by Tausug men as a headdress or clothing accessory,folded neatly and draped over
the left shoulder. It is worn along with the lapi or upper garments and the sawal or loose
trousers.
2. Malong - The malong is a traditional Filipino rectangular or tube-like wraparound skirt
bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is traditionally used as a garment
by both men and women of the numerous ethnic groups in the mainland Mindanao and
parts of the Sulu Archipelago.
3. Tepo Mat - A Tepo is a colourful hand-woven mat made from the Dwarf Pandan leaves
which grow abundantly on the coasts of Tawi-Tawi. Traditionally an exclusively female
activity amongst the Sama-Bajau, the mat-weaving is an important facet of their cultural
identity.
4. Bubo Traps - The fish trap, pamurakan, now upturned for the collection of the catch. Bubo
can be 160 centimeters in length and 113 centimeters in diameter and is provided with
nine small, rounded entries leading to funnel- shaped entrapments. A hefty catch can be as
much as 10-12 kilos.
 BODY ORDAMENTATIONS
1. Boxer Codex - The Boxer Codex depicts the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanes or
possibly Ibanags, and Negritos of the Philippines in vivid color. An upper class Tagalog
couple was portrayed wearing gold jewelry while the Visayans are shown full covered with
tattoo is what they referred to as “Islas de los Pintados”.
2. JEWELRY
- Makes the wearer more attractive and pleasing to the gods.
1. T’boli – wear brass chains, bells, and colorful beads.
2. Betel nut Boxes or Maranao "Lotoan" - are heavy brass boxes with compartments for the
main ingredients: betel nut, lime, areca leaves and cloves , cinnamon and tobacco. The
container is in the form of a mythical bird known as a karaweik.
3. Cire Perdue - a process used in metal casting that consists of making a wax model (as of a
statuette), coating it with a refractory (as clay) to form a mold, heating until the wax melts
and runs out of small holes left in the mold, and then pouring metal into the space left
vacant.
Long before the coming of the Spaniards, the pre-colonial people of the Philippines
already possessed a vibrant and varied musical culture. The country’s indigenous
cultures through the existence of ethnic
 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS:
1. Kudyapi - is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument
among the Palawano people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao
and Manobo.
2. Kulintang – is a set of eight gongs made of bronze, on a wooden stand in the shape of a
Sarimanok. Accompanied by one larger gong and two drums.
3. Gansa – is a single hand-held smooth- surfaced gong with a narrow rim. A set of gangsa,
which is played one gong per musician, consists of gangsa tuned to different notes,
depending on regional or local cultural preferences.
4. Agong – The agong is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the
Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive
instrument in kulintang ensembles.