RESEARCH DATA:

This textile from the collection is a three-paneled lufid or wrap-around skirt from Bontoc, Mountain Province. It features an indigo background with pink horizontal bands of varying thickness. The skirt features three types of brocade motifs, embedded in a narrow band on both its side panels: human figures (tagtakho), Xs (fatawer), and diamonds (matmata) (Gayagay, 2021). These motifs may reflect the community's material culture and worldview: the Xs symbolize traditional tools or rods used for transporting materials, while the diamonds represent the eyes of Lumawig, their god who watches over the community (Gayagay, 2021). At the central section of the skirt (locally called pakhawa), two narrow pink bands outlined by yellow and pink linings are found.

REFERENCES:

Gayagay, G. (2021). Geometric designs in the indigenous attires of the bontoc tribe: an evidence of “ethnomathematics”. IJRDO-Journal of Mathematics, 7(3), 1-15.