RESEARCH DATA:

The piningitan is a traditional wrap-around skirt worn by Tinguian or Itneg women, typically from their teenage years through adulthood, in the province of Abra. The term is derived from the word pingit, meaning “on the edge,” referring to the decorative bands along the skirt’s borders (Respicio, 2000). It features plain white woven panels, each bordered with red-dyed threads. The longer sides, or weft edges, are woven in the same style as the white panels, while the shorter sides, or warp edges, use a brocade technique to create more elaborate designs.
Unlike the everyday skirts worn by Tinguian women, the piningitan is reserved for special occasions when members of the community or neighboring villages come together. Respicio (2000) lists events such as the bedeng (a peace agreement between villages), pakalon or boda (weddings), lay-og (feasts for the dead), and other rituals for honoring ancestors. During these gatherings, women wear the piningitan and participate in the tadek, a traditional dance (Respicio, 2000).
The design of the piningitan showcases the skill of the weavers and reflects the Tinguian people’s relationship with their environment, as well as the methods used in textile creation. One prominent design, the binek-beklat, which resembles a python, is woven along the two warp edges using black/indigo, red, and yellow threads in the pinilian brocade technique (Respicio, 2000). This pattern is also called tinultulbek or "key," signifying the beginning and end points of the weaving process (Respicio, 2000). Another motif, the inar-arabas, which resembles a caterpillar, is created using indigo and red yarns and arranged in a staccato pattern between the white panels of the skirt (Respicio, 2000). Finally, the weft edges, referred to as inurlma, are dyed with natural pigments, such as sapang for red, tayum for indigo, and wild ginger for yellow (Respicio, 2000).
This particular piningitan in the collection stands out from the typical white version, as it is dyed indigo and features traditional embroidery motifs in white thread. The embroidered designs include frogs, humans, lizards, and rice plants, which are outlined on the panel joineries, the brocade-woven details of the warp edges, and the red-banded weft ends. Although it appears quite different from the common piningitan, it still preserves the typical characteristics of the textile, including the plain-woven weft ends, the brocade-woven warp edges, and the embroidered staccato joinery.