RESEARCH DATA:

This textile from the collection is an example of the Bontoc skirt called lufid. It is a wrap-around skirt with three panels, where the side panels are identical in size, design, and structure, while the middle panel is narrower and features a different design. The side panels are primarily composed of indigo and red stripes, with traditional motifs woven into the indigo stripes. The middle panel combines indigo and white colors, with indigo and red motifs near each warp edge. Each of the two warp edges is stitched to a band of textile strip woven with indigo and red stripes and white dashed lines.
The panels of the lufid skirt symbolize the topography, people, animals, and various aspects of daily life in the area. The white middle panel, known as the pakhawa, represents the Chico River (ARM-The Bontoc Culture, 2011, as cited in Gayagay, 2021). This pakhawa divides the two red side panels, called paikhid, with the right panel referred to as Kidla-a and the left panel as Churya-a, symbolizing the two villages or barangays separated by the river (ARM-The Bontoc Culture, 2011, as cited in Gayagay, 2021). Additionally, the warp edges of the skirt are adorned with strips of woven textile, representing the langkit, or the boundaries of Bontoc (ARM-The Bontoc Culture, 2011, as cited in Gayagay, 2021).
Furthermore, the side panels, particularly the indigo stripes, feature woven motifs of human figures, mortar-like shapes, and snake figures. The human figures are locally referred to as tagtakho, while the snake figures are called u-uweg (Gayagay, 2021).

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.