RESEARCH DATA:

Trousers like this textile from the collection are examples of a male lower garment used by Blaan men, commonly referred to as salwal ansif, salwal, swal, salwol, saroar, or saloal. Salwal is the Blaan term for their traditional trousers, which have a similar pattern in terms of cut and ornamentation to those of the Bagobo and the Mandaya, commonly displaying black stripes and woven using the ikat technique (Reyes, 1992).
Woven using lutay (abaca) threads and embroidered with traditional motifs, patterns, and designs, this salwal can be specifically identified as salwal ansif. In Blaan, the term ansif refers to embroidery.
The Blaan are known for the intricacy and skillful execution of embroidery designs on their garments. The bantati, or the embroidered bottom sections of the trousers (Pastor-Roces, 1991), demonstrate the technical skill and meticulous needlework that the Blaan are capable of executing. According to Pastor-Roces (1991), bantati specifically refers to the embroidery on the saloal tinadyung of the Blaan. The term tinadyung or t’najung refers to the abaca base cloth with red and black stripes used by the Blaan in their garments, such as this salwal. Araneta and Lim (2014) summarized the process of achieving the red stripes in t’najung/tinadyung, stating that the woven base textile initially consists of black and white stripes. The textile is then soaked in a red dye bath, which turns the white stripes red. Hamilton (1998, as cited in Araneta & Lim, 2014) referred to this dyeing process as the “dyed-in-cloth” technique.