VISUAL ELEMENTS IN PHILIPPINE DECORATIVE MOTIF AND SYMBOL This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY. Decorative designs in traditional Filipino handiworks which include woven fabrics, potteries, wooden carvings, jewelries, and metalcrafts, feature visual elements which may be analyzed. These lines, colors, shapes, patterns, and symbolisms can give us understanding about the meaning and purpose of such creations. We will begin to deeply appreciate our identity when we have learned to decipher their beliefs, values, and ways of living as we look at their works closely. Motif, an element of an image, may be repeated in a design, or may occur once in a work. VISUAL ELEMENTS • LINE – the foundation of drawing; used to portray shape, pattern, form, structure, growth, depth, distance, rhythm, movement and a range of emotions. • SHAPE – may be natural or man-made, regular or irregular, 2-dimensional or 3dimensional, representational or abstract, geometric or organic, transparent or opaque, positive or negative, decorative or symbolic, colored, patterned or textured. • TONE - the lightness or darkness of a color; used to create a contrast of light and darkness or create a pattern within a composition This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND. • COLOR – has the strongest impact on our emotions; used to create mood in our artwork. • PATTERN - made by repeating or echoing the elements of an artwork to show a sense of balance, harmony, contrast, rhythm or movement. Natural patterns are observed from nature while man-made patterns are planned compositional works done to develop a more decorative design • TEXTURE- is the surface quality of an artwork the roughness or smoothness of the mate rials from which it is made. FORM- is the physical volume of a shape and the space that it occupies. • has depth as well as width and height. Three-dimensional form is the basis of sculpture, furniture, and decorative arts. Threedimensional forms can be seen from more than one side, such as this sculpture of a rearing horse. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC. Soul and Space This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY. “There is no place like home,” –a cliché resounding the idea that the home is where the heart and soul live. Creating a space for the soul or inner being is something that can be emotional, for we attach meaning to objects that surround us maybe for inspiration or spiritual support. Although material things do not define who we are, they can be reflective of our being –our cultural, religious, or philosophical identities. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC. Architecture in the Philippines today is the result of a natural growth enriched with the absorption of varied influences. It developed from the pre-colonial influences of our neighboring Malay brothers, continuing on to the Spanish colonial period, the American Commonwealth period, and the modern contemporary times. As a result, the Philippines has become an architectural melting pot– uniquely Filipino with a tinge of the occidental. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA. ➢ It really means a “place for sleeping Torogon ➢ It is stately house for the elite members of Maranao tribe in Mindanao ➢ It is symbol of status of leadership ➢ It also serve as a courthouse, hall for community meetings and its courtyard as ritual areas for weddings The Torogon is the traditional residence of the reigning Sultan of the maranaw people and his family. Its is where the community traditionally gathers for wedding, thanks giving rites, enthronements, and vigils for the dead. It is a master piece of Filipino craftsmanship . Carved on the Torogon wooden posts is the niyaga, a stylizes mythical snake design that can be found in many Muslim artworks. The okil carvings on a Sama-Bajau vinta • The geometric designs of the Sama were adopted and refined by the Maranao to decorate the torogan houses of the ruling dato class. • The most prominent parts of the torogan are the panolong, the carved floor beams modeled after awang boat prows. • These protrude in the front of the house and styled with elaborate okir designs, usually that of a naga (a sea serpent or dragon). • These were meant to drive away evil spirits. • Okir were also featured in the central housebeam, the tinai a walai ("intestine of the house"), which had ritual significance • vinta is a traditional outrigger boat from the Philippine island of Mindanao. • The name "vinta" is predominantly used in Zamboanga, Basilan, and other parts of mainland Mindanao. It is also known as pilang or pelang among the Sama-Bajau of the Tawi-Tawi islands; dapang or depang among the Tausug in Sulu; and balanda or binta in Yakan in Basilan. It can also be generically referred to as lepalepa, sakayan, or bangka, which are native names for small outrigger vessels ➢ It is a one room house with an attic for storage Bale of Ifugao House ➢ The exterior of the house looks like a pyramid resting on four posts. ➢ The interior is enclosed by slanting walls and ceiling that appears to be spherical that are formed by the loft. About half of all Ifugaos have embraced Christianity but their animist beliefs have been absorbed into their Christian beliefs. The Ifugao have traditionally believed their lives were ruled by spirits called anitos. BAHAY KUBO It also known as kamalig ➢ It serve as an icon to Filipino lowland and rural culture ➢ It is made up of bamboo rods and bamboo mats or sawali, and a thatched roof made of anahaw or nipa. The Bahay Kubo is one of the most illustrative and recognized icons of the Philippines. The name of the primitive Nipa hut is actually based on the Spanish phrase Cubo, meaning “cube” probably because of its rectangular appearance. The Filipino term Bahay Kubo literally means "cube house", describing the shape of the dwelling. The term "Nipa Hut", introduced during the Philippines' American colonial era, it refers to the nipa or anahaw thatching material often used for the roofs. The bahay kubo was the standard structure used for homes in the Philippines before the Spaniards arrived. A bahay kubo, also known as a NIPA hut, is a type of stilt house home to the cultures of the Philippines. The “NIPA HUTS” it’s made by light materials, with post, wall and floor istypically made of wood or bamboo and other light materials. Roof is made of Nipa; Anahaw or dried grasses “NIPA HUTS” it’s made by light materials, with post, wall and floor is typically made of wood or bamboo and other light materials. Roof is made of Nipa; Anahaw. Bahay na Bato ➢ typically house of noble Filipinos ➢ It is a mixture of native Filipino, Spanish and Chinese influence ➢ The apex in the development of indigenous Filipino architecture. ➢ Combined the elements of the indigenous and Hispanic building traditions. The 19th century townhouse, called bahay na bato, was a product of economic and social developments, as well as architectural evolution. With the opening of Manila to international trade in 1834 and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, trade and agricultural production roseto exhilarating heights and increased the fortunes of the native aristocracy, particularly in theprovinces. Wealth became the passport to higher education not only in Manila but also in Europe. The elite or principally included landowners and traders, as well as professionals physicians and accountants and the highly educated, cosmopolitan illustrado The lifestyle and aspirations, and even pretensions of the upper class demanded a new type of dwelling spacious, durable, comfortable, impressive, noble, and elegant the bahay na bato. This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND. Symmetry Art Okir/ Ukkil ➢ Is one of these tradition design that comes from an old Malayan word that has the same derivative meaning as the Tagalog word ‘ Ukit’ which means to carve ➢ Often rendered in hardwood and brass, depict animals, animals, plant mythical figures in highly decorative, long curvilinear lines secondary arabesques ➢ Okir is a Maranao pronunciation while OKKIL is Maguindanaon ➢ It refers to carving and consequently as to any type of design prominent among the Moro ethnolinguistic communities ➢ Middle Eastern Art of the 8th Century by Teodoro Agoncillo ➢ Okkil design is Found in Maranao ancestral home ➢ Maguindanaoan artist Al-Nezzar Ali Traced the long history of Okkil Art from Its Hindu Roots in India to Islamic Arabia to Muslim Philippines. ➢ This style is a Dialogue between ancient pattern and the modernist concept of minimalism and abstraction. History Of OKil/ UKKIL The origins of okir are pre-Islamic. They are believed to have originated from the much earlier okil or okilokil decorative carving traditions of the Sama (Badjao) people, which are often highly individualistic and geometric. The Sama are master carvers, and they made lavish decorations on ritual animistic objects, grave markers (both in wood and stone), and their houseboats. These precursor forms of the okir designs can still be found in the art traditions of the Maranao in the basak (lowland) regions of Lake Lanao, and they contrast markedly from the later flowing okir designs Okir or okil is the term for geometric and flowing plantbased designs and folk motifs that can be usually found among the Moro and Lumad peoples of the Southern Philippines, as well as parts of Sabah. It is particularly associated with the artwork of the Maranao and Sama (Badjao) people, although it can also be found to a lesser extent among neighboring Maguindanao, Iranun, Tausug, Yakan, and Lumad groups. The design elements vary among these ethnic groups, with the greatest refinement being found among the Maranao Geometry A European and an Arab practicing geometry in the 15th century. Westerner and Arab practicing geometry 15th century manuscript. Woman teaching geometry. Illustration at the beginning of a medieval translation of Euclid's Elements, (c. 1310) – Image: Woman teaching geometry Composite capital whose design includes acanthus leaf, and volute motifs – Image: Corinthian capital 1 Gebel el-Arak Knife with Master of Animals motif at the top of the handle – Image: Gebel el Arak Knife ivory handle (front top part) Elements And Motifs A Sama lepa with okil carvings • The older Sama carving traditions (okil or okil-okil, • sometimes spelled ukkil among Malaysian Sama) • differ markedly from the okir of the Maranao, although • elements of the okir were incorporated into later Sama • carvings. Sama okil aren't bound to rules like the okir, • and thus tend to be highly variable. Each artist carves • according to his own tastes. Despite this, there are still • shared motifs that bind them all together as SamaSama • sunduk grave markers Sama sunduk grave markers • Sama okil can be divided into two types. The most ancient okil which still survive among the animist Sama, usually the sea-going Sama Dilaut branches, feature representational artforms like human figures. These are absent in the okil versions of the Sama that converted to Islam. Sama okil also feature designs which are realistic copies of natural forms, rather than stylized designs like in okir. Marine themes are particularly common, including depictions of dugongs (duyong), usually with a person riding on its back. The three most common okil motifs used by the Muslim Sama are dauan-dauan (leaf motifs), kaloon (curlicues and curved lines), and agta-agta or buaya (fish or crocodile motifs). Okil are also highly important among Sama grave markers (sunduk) which are found in the ancient traditional burial grounds of the Sama people in some (usually uninhabited) islands of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. These include some of the oldest examples of okil, which are usually carved from coral and limestone. Wooden carved grave markers are common later on, usually made from or carved from the boat belonging to the deceased. These are usually carved into human figures that represent the deceased. With graves of women identifiable by the presence of combs and mirrors, and graves of men by the depiction of head coverings. Graves of children usually have smaller figures. A common relatively recent tradition is the carving of elaborate stylized bed frames as grave markers. These graves are often decorated with buntings and food offerings, again reflecting the ancient ancestor worship (anito) traditions of the Sama. A Maranao Spinning Wheel (note the panolong-shaped projection) A Sarimanok Maranao malong with a langkit (decorative strip) featuring female okir designs Maranao okir motifs • Maranao okir are so stylized that it is often easy to tell whether a carving is Maranao or not. Other ethnic groups usually introduce other elements or motifs that are non-traditional to the original Maranao okir designs. In the past, okir designs, particularly for textiles, are distinctive enough that a Maranao can usually distinguish which region someone is from based only on the patterns of their malong and their woven decorative strips (langkit). • Maranao okir can be divided into two traditions, the predominantly curvilinear "male" okir-a-dato, and the predominantly geometric "female" okir-a-bai. Unlike Sama okil, okir designs are deliberately stylized when depicting living things, due to Islamic beliefs against idolatry. Traditional creatures featured in okir are the naga (sea serpent) and the sarimanok (feminine papanok, a rooster-like bird with a fish in its beak and another fish in its claws). The naga is common in the panolong designs, while sarimanok are usually placed on top of poles during celebrations. Other creature motifs traditionally depicted in okir include crocodiles, parrots, grasshopper heads, and swallowtails. After contact with other cultures, okir has also depicted non-native animals, including lions, peacocks, and elephants. The most common individual elements of okir Male (okir-adato) • Dapal or raon - a leaf • Dianawi - a pattern resembling a nawi, a bladed carpenter's tool • Gaglat - a pattern resembling a glat, a small kitchen knife • Kianoko - fingernail-like patterns • Matilak - a circle • Naga - a sea serpent in the shape of an 'S' • Onga - fruit • Pako - a fern frond or a spiral • Pako lawi - a fern frond resembling a rooster feather • Pako longat - a fern frond with a cut at one edge • Pako nai - a fern frond with two or more cuts on one edge • Piowas - betel nut seed • Potyok - a bud • Todi - a flower This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC. Female (okir-a-bai) • Olan-olan - a circle or moon • Biangon - rectangle • Pialang - square • Katimbuang - diamond • Onsod - zigzag These elements can be put together to create motifs. Male • Armalis - a combination of a fern, leaf, and bud • Birdo - a motif of combined complex designs propagating horizontally, vertically, or diagonally • Magoyoda - a motif of simple elements repeating horizontally • Niaga - a motif which features the naga along with todi designs of leaves, vines, and flowers • Obid-obid or tiali-tali - rope-like designs that are usually used for borders • Pako rabong - a motif of a fern growing vertically, with a central point from which the design radiates outwards Female • • • • Binotoon - star patterns Pinagapat - four-sided designs in a series Pinatola - a pattern of squares of different colors Saragonting - a cross Complete designs using these motifs are usually given poetic names like sapak a madanding ("branch of happiness"), raon a kayo ("tree leaves") or tring indawa ("yellow bamboo").
