RESEARCH DATA:

The beadwork tradition is deeply associated with the Ga’dang people of Northern Luzon. It is renowned for its intricacy and sophistication, with colorful beads—typically red, white, and yellow, and occasionally with black and blue—meticulously sewn onto the chosen fabric to create mesmerizing items. Eric Anderson (2010, as cited in Araneta & Lim, 2014) describes this beadwork tradition of the Ga’dang people as embodying the "radiant" quality of traditional crafts from Northern Luzon. Among the many examples of Ga’dang beaded fabrics is their traditional head cloth known as the barangal. The barangal is a square beaded fabric worn by Ga’dang men as a head cloth. Araneta and Lim (2014) explains that the barangal is worn by folding it into a triangle, draping its apex at the back of the wearer’s head, knotting the two beaded ends at the forehead, and letting it hang or dangle on each side of the wearer’s temples. Furthermore, barangal headcloths are known to be among the few Ga’dang textiles that are not handwoven (Araneta & Lim, 2014). The fabric used to make the head cloth is commercially produced, with only the beadwork elements representing Ga'dang's way of personalizing the item.

REFERENCES:

Araneta, P. & Lim A. R. (2014). Art and the Order of Nature: The Mercedes Zobel Collection of Indigenous Philippine Textiles. Ayala Foundation, Inc.