PRE-COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE

GEOGRAPHY AND LOCATION

The Philippines’ 7 107 islands stretch 1839 kilometers from the northernmost tip of Batanes to
the southernmost island of Tawi-Tawi. Luzon is the biggest island followed by Mindanao in the south.
Visayas in interspersed by small bodies of water with irregular coastline of 334 539 km.
Bordered by South China Sea to the West (West Philippine Sea) and Pacific Ocean to the East.

HISTORY(PRE-COLONIAL)
For some Philippine nationalists the time before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1521 is seen as
a Golden Age. At that time the people of the Philippines were believed to have a sense of belonging to
the Malay World and were thought to be literate, prosperous, and united under their chiefs. The Spanish
conquest is believed to have put an end to this idyllic condition and led to the decline and destruction

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of the Philippine people. Spanish and American colonialism is seen as the cause of the present-day
problems faced in the Philippine society. What do we know about the condition of the Philippine society
in the early 16th century on the eve of the arrival of the Europeans?

CULTURAL
PEOPLE
“The dating and route of the first entrance of humans to the Philippines is controversial. A
minority hypothesis is that they first came to Taiwan from South China when Taiwan was a part of the
mainland of China They then would have moved south to northern Luzon by way of a land bridge and
across narrow channels of water where this bridge was incomplete. This would probably have happened
during the Late Pleistocene, sometime before 40,000 years ago.” (Solheim, W., 1992)
TYPE OF GOVERNMENT
The government was called “barangay”. It was headed by a ruler called datu or raja. There was
no national government. There were many independent barangays and datus. But there was no datu
strong enough to unite the archipelago into one nation. Some barangays, however, united to form a
confederation.
Like community of nations, alliances among barangay were formed. The purpose of forming
alliances was for trade, peace and mutual protection. An alliances were sealed through blood compact
(sanduguan), to ensure conformity, sincerity and commitment of the chieftains.

SOCIAL CLASSES
The Philippine people were indeed very much part of the Malay
World. As in other parts of this World, the members of a barangay were
socially differentiated into chiefs, freemen, and slaves.
The chiefs or clan-heads with their immediate family and associates
had extensive control over the social and economic life of the community.
Chiefs were men of personal ability and prowess who were recognized
leaders of their communities. In a few places burial mounds have been
located that were venerated sites at which, the people believed, the spiritual
force of a powerful chief resided. There were generally rules and regulations
that protected the status of the chiefly group, but we know little about how
these laws were applied; itis generally thought that life within the barangay was quite benign.
Freemen were heads of households with some right to productive land.
Slavery was more of a bonded dependency than the kind of harsh plantation labor that we
generally associate with that term. Some slaves who were captured in raids were then generally settled
on the land, and in a generation or two were integrated into the community. Others were debtors who
secured their debts with their labor, really the only capital that was available to most persons.

CLIMATE
March-May: Dry, Hot Season
June-October: Typhoon Season
November-February: Cool with Fair Weather

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RELIGION
Before Roman Catholicism and Islam were introduced, natives worshipped many gods and
goddesses:
Bathala – supreme being Idiyanale – god of agriculture
Sidapa – god of death Agni – god of fire
Balangaw – god of rainbow Mandarangan – god of war
Lalahon – god of harvest Siginarugan – god of hell
They also believed in the immortality of souls and life after death. There were sacred animals,
which they venerate like white monkey (manaul) and crocodiles. There were also sacred place and
sacred trees, which nobody was allowed to cut down. They also worshipped the sun and the moon.
Regular sacrifices and prayers were offered to placate deities and spirits. Reward and punishment after
death was dependent upon behavior in this life.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
“The Filipino house is much the same among civilized and uncivilized tribes, and has changed
but little since the islands were first visited by Europeans. There is nothing very distinctive about the
Filipino house. Its general type occurs through the forested tropical parts of the earth, at any rate
wherever the population does not live clustered in cities. The main requisite is a steep roof to provide
a dense shade from the sun and shed the torrential rains. The second requisite is a floor that shall
be raised above the dampness of the ground and the snakes and vermin that infest its surface. The
Filipino floor is always a few feet above the soil, often eight or ten. and sometimes, when houses are
set in the forked branches of trees, twenty, forty, or even sixty feet.” (Kroeber, A. L. Peoples of the
Philippines, American Museum of Natural History Handbook Series No. 8, 1943. pp. 98-100.)
Houses were made of light materials like wood, bamboo and nipa palm. A ladder was placed
to prevent strangers from intruding when the owner was not around. Strong post at the lower part of the
house was enclosed. A jar of heart was placed in a gallery called “batalan”. Some of them built tree
houses to protect themselves against their enemies or from being attacked by wild animals.

Some of the ethnic/tribal groups in the Philippines – vernacular dwelling units:

CORDILLERA REGION
- Isneg Binuron -Kalinga Binayon
-Bontoc Houses -Ifugao -Kankanai Binangiyan

MINDANAO AND SULU REGION

-Badjao -Samal House -Yakan House -Maranao Torogan
ISLAND OF PANAY
Bahay Kubo

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 CORDILLERA REGION

NORTHERN ETHNIC HOUSES

Mountain Houses of the Cordilleras
• Comprised of the six provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain
Province plus Baguio.

• Six ethno-linguistic groups:

1. Bontoc,
2. Ibaloi,
3. Ifugao,
4. Isneg (or Apayao),
5. Kalinga, and the
6. Kankana-ey

• CLASSIFICATION (according to William Henry Scott)

1. Northern Strain
a. Isneg (Apayao)
b. Kalinga
2. Southern Strain
a. Bontok
b. Ifugao
c. Ibaloi
d. Kankanay

• Known for the rice terraces – Ifugao, Bontoc and Kalinga

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 - Rice Terraces of the Cordillera - wonder of engineering with massive towering walls and
skillfully devised irrigation
- As terrace builders, they were also able to construct sturdy dwellings remarkable for both
simplicity and ingenuity

NORTHERN STRAIN
a. ISNEG
Alternative/Associated Names: Isnag, Dibagat-Kabugao- Isneg, Apayao
LOCATION: Northern Apayao
DIALECT: Isnag

• Inhabits the banks of the Apayao River and its tributaries in Northern Luzon.
• Like most erstwhile head-hunters, they are slash-and-burn farmers who have recently, under the
influence of their neighbors, begun to practice wet-rice agriculture.
• As dry rice farmers, the male head of a household annually clears a fresh section of tropical forest
where his wife will plant and harvest their rice.
• Isneg women also cook the meals, gather wild vegetables, and weave bamboo mats and baskets, while
the men cut timber, build houses, and take extended hunting and fishing trips.
• Often when a wild pig or deer is killed, its meat is skewered on bamboo and distributed to neighbors
and relatives.
• Nearly all Isneg households also harvest a small grove of coffee trees since the main cash crop grown
is coffee.

• Before the building an Isneg house - 4 posts are dug

into the ground to form a rectangle.
• Ginger and "taxalingda" herbs are then placed in the
center.
• Holes are then dug for the 6 "adixi", or roof-bearing
posts.
• No work is done until the third day.

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 • One room used
also as sleeping
room, kitchen,
dining room,
storeroom and
shrine for rituals.
• Next to this
house stands its
twin - a granary with the same design as the house.
• Husband , wife and youngest child or children in infancy live in
this house. Upon reaching the age of reason, sons and daughters
sleep in separate communal dormitories.
• The roof is bowed like an upside down boat. This may be related
to their boat-building tradition

b. KALINGA
Alternative/Associated Names: Linimos, Limos; Limos-Liwan Kalinga
LOCATION: Kalinga Province
DIALECT: Kalinga, Limos

• Inhabits the area in the middle Chico River,

• Noted for their strong sense of tribal awareness and the peace pacts they have made among themselves.
• Practice both wet and dry rice farming
• Developed an institution of peace pacts which has minimized traditional warfare and head hunting
and serves as a mechanism for the initiation, maintenance, renewal and re-enforcement of kinship and
social ties.
• The Kalinga are divided into
• Southern group
• Northern group - most heavily ornamented people of the northern Philippines.
• The Kalinga society is very kinship oriented and relatives are held responsible for avenging any injury
to a member.

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CIRCULATORY ELEMENTS:

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SOUTHERN STRAIN
a. BONTOC
Alternative/Associated Names: Bontok, Bontoc
LOCATION: Central Mountain Province
DIALECT: Bontok

• Live in the banks of the Chico River.

• Used to be a group that was known because of its head-hunting practices.
• Present day Bontocs are peaceful agricultural people who have, by choice, retained most of their
traditional culture despite frequent contacts with other groups.
• The pre-Christian Bontoc belief system centers around a hierarchy of spirits, the highest being a
supreme deity called "Lumawig" who personifies the forces of nature and is the legendary creator,
friend, and teacher of the Bontoc".
• A hereditary class of priests hold various monthly ceremonies for their crops, the weather, and for
healing.
• In addition the Bontoc believe in the "anito" -- spirits of the dead who must be consulted before
anything important is done.
• Ancestral anitos are invited to family feasts when a death occurs to ensure the well-being of the
deceased's soul.
• The Bontoc social structure used to be centered around village wards "ato”, containing about 14 to 50
homes.
• Traditionally, young men and women lived in dormitories and ate meals with their families.

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PLAN
• The "Fayo" house.
• Built directly on the ground.
• Square in plan and designed to facilitate various activities
• Fireplace located at the rear left corner
• The granary (falig) with 2.00 sq.m. area is elevated on four posts of about 1.50 m high

Ground Floor (cha-la-nan)

• Left side of the main entrance – rice threshing of about 1.50 sq.m. and sunk about 0.30 m into the
ground
• Right side of entrance – 1.20 m w.x 3.60 m. l x 0.30 m h bench where baskets, utensils and tools are
placed
• Kitchen is adjacent to the threshing room
• An-g-an of wooden flooring and ceiling is located at rear side is used as sleeping and storage
STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
• Four corners post and side walls of the ground floor leans slightly outwards at the top up to the
horizontal beam
• Front and side walls are made of wood connected to the post while the rear walls are made of stone
and mud

PROTECTIVE ELEMENTS
• Pyramidal in shape – front and rear, trapezoidal along the sides
• Steep roof slope runs from the ridge up to 2/3 of the total height
• Rest of slope slants forward with 1.20 m overhang
• Edge of roof has a clearance of 1.20 m above the ground
• Roof cover is made of grass shingles lashed to the rafters

CIRCULATORY ELEMENTS
• Stairs provided for the granary
• No windows
• Smoke from the house was made to pass at smoke holes provided at either end of the ridge pole
• Front door has a 0.42 m. width and opens into a passageway that reach to the ang-an

DECORATIVE ELEMENTS
• Sleeping compartment are provided with 0.90 x 1,20 m. wooden boards or benches, slightly inclined
on one end to allow sleeper’s head to be elevated.

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b. IFUGAO
Alternative/Associated Names: Ifugao, Amganad, Ayangan, Kiangan, Gilipanes, Quiangan, Tuwali
Ifugao, Mayoyao (Mayoyao, Mayaoyaw)
LOCATION: Ifugao Province
DIALECT: Four distinct Ifugao dialects

• The term "Ifugao" is derived from "ipugo" - earth people or mortals or humans, as distinguished
from spirits and deities.
– Also means "pugo" - from the hill
• Southern part of the Cordillera region best known for its rice terraces.
• Aside from their rice terraces, the Ifugaos are known for their literary traditions of the 'hudhud'
and the 'alim' .
• The Ifugaos’ highest prestige feasts are the "hagabi", for the most wealthy; and the "uyauy", a
feast for those immediately below the wealthiest.

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c. IBALOI
Alternative/Associated Names: Ibaloi/Nabaloi
LOCATION: Southern Benguet
DIALECT: Ibaloi

• Live mostly in the southern part of Benguet

• Agricultural people cultivating rice in terraced fields, and have some affinity in language with
Pangasinan, its southern neighbor
• Baguio City, the Cordilleras lone city and known as the “Summer Capital of the Philippines” is
also situated in Ibaloi country.
• Major feast is the Pesshet, a public prestige feast of the wealthy that could last for weeks and
involving the butchering and sacrifice of dozens of animals.
• One of their more popular dances is the Bendiyan dance that could be participated in by as many
as a hundred men and women dancers.
• The Ibaloi house has a larger room, a flaring roof, and a small porch.

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c. KANKANA-EY
Alternative/Associated Names: Northern Kankana-ey; Sagada/Besao, Igorot, Western Bontoc,
Applai
LOCATION: Western Mountain Province, Southeastern Ilocos Sur Province,
Northern Benguet
DIALECT: Northern Kankana-ey
• Domain includes Western Mountain Province, Northern Benguet and Southeastern Ilocos Sur.
• Kankana-ey’s major dances include takik, a wedding dance and ballangbang.
• Built sloping terraces to maximize farm space in the rugged terrain of the Cordilleras.
• House is a variation of the Ifugao prototype. The roof is higher and wider, providing a spacious
loft above the living space. On the ground level, wooden planks are laid to create more livable
space.
• Two famous institutions:
– dap-ay - the men’s dormitory and civic center,
– Ebgan - the girl’s dormitory where courtship between young men and women took place.

 IFUGAO
Ifugao (Ilokano: Probinsia ti Ifugao; Filipino: Lalawigan ng Ifugao) is a
landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital
is Lagawe and it borders Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east,
and Nueva Vizcaya to the south.
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Banaue Rice Terraces are the main tourist
attractions in the province. These terraces are believed to have been hand-carved into the mountains
2,000 years ago to plant rice. However, recent research by carbon dating suggests that they were built
much later. In 1995, they were declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 2008 and 2015,
the Hudhud chants of the Ifugao and the Punnuk (Tugging rituals and games) were inscribed in
the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.

Precolonial age
Prior to colonization, Ifugao was a massive highland plutocracy, among the most sophisticated
and prosperous of its kind in the whole archipelago and one of the two grandest highland plutocracies
in Luzon, the other being the Plutocracy of Kalinga. The state existed for over 2,000 years and have
built massive rice terraces that would be a symbol of the province in later time. There were no monarchs
in the state. The state was ruled by its council of elders which led the state into a peaceful and prosperous

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plutocracy which developed one of the best agricultural technologies in Asia at its time. The state
consisted of various subgroups which had similar yet somewhat distinct culture and traditions. Conflicts
among the Ifugao people were resolved in the most peaceful way possible. Unlike most of the highland
plutocracies in the Cordilleras at the time, the Plutocracy of Ifugao had the least conflict with lowland
settlers. Kiangan was known as the birthplace of the Ifugao people and Hungduan as the epicenter of
its culture.
Ifugao covers a total area of 2,628.21 square kilometres (1,014.76 sq mi)] occupying the
southeastern section of the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. The province is bordered
by Benguet to the west, Mountain Province to the north, Isabela to the east, and Nueva Vizcaya to the
south.

Ethnicity
Based on the 2000 census survey, Ifugao comprised 67.91% (109,659) of the total provincial
population of 161,483. Other ethnic groups in the province included
the Ilocanos at 13.73% (22,171), Kalahan at 8.64% (13,946), Ayungan at 6.15% (9,935),
and Kankanaey at 0.64% (1,037).
The natives of Ifugao province are called Ifugaos, but mistakenly called by non-Cordilleran as Igorots.
Ifugaos, despite the similarities in some cultural traditions and practices, are considered a separate
ethnic group from Igorots.
The total number of Tinguian in the province of Ifugao is 2,609. (source: Philippine Statistics
Authority)

Ifugao Villages and Houses

The Ifugao live in small settlements set up in the valleys and along the mountainsides. Hamlets
( buble) typically have 8 to 12 dwellings, housing 30 or more people The houses are built on stilts close
to the rice fields. There are also temporary buildings, such as houses for unmarried people, on the
ground.
Each house consists of as single nine-foot-wide room. The roof is a thatch pyramid and the
house itself is supported on four stilts or piles. The pyramid-shaped roof is used as a bedroom, kitchen
and storeroom. All in one space! There are no windows. To please the gods, the skull of a sacrificed pig
is fixed on the outside of the house. They are also granaries made of timber. The houses look like
granaries but are larger and have a hearth.
To get inside the house it is necessary to climb a ladder which is pulled up at night, namely to
keep rats out. The homes of rich people are adorned with skulls of sacrificed buffalos. The more buffalos
a family can afford to sacrifice and in turn display the wealthier they are. Some upper class homes are
decorated with paintings and geometric engravings. In the old days there were shelves with skulls of
enemies killed in battle or head hunting raids. **
In 1912, Cornélis De Witt Willcox wrote in “The Head Hunters of Northern Luzon”: “We
walked about the village and examined one or two houses. These are all of one room, entered by a
ladder drawn up at night, and set up on stout posts seven or eight feet high; the roof is thatched, and the
walls, made of wattle (suali), flare out from the base determined by the tops of the posts. In cutting the
posts down to suitable size (say 10 inches in diameter), a flange, or collar, is left near the top to keep
rats out; chicken-coops hang around, and formerly human skulls, too, were set about. But the Ifugaos,
thanks to Gallman, as already said, have abandoned head-hunting, and the skulls in hand, if kept at all,
are now hidden inside their owner’s houses, their places being taken by carabao heads and horns. One
house had a tahibi, or rest-couch; only rich people can own these, cut out as they are of a single log, in
longitudinal cross-section like an inverted and very flat V with suitable head- and foot-supports. The
notable who wishes to own one of these luxurious couches gets his friends to cut down the tree (which
[80] is necessarily of very large size), to haul the log, and to carve out the couch, feeding them the

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while. Considering the lack of tools, trails, and animals, the labor must be incredible and the cost
enormous. However, wealth will have its way in Kiangan as well as in Paris. [Source:“The Head
Hunters of Northern Luzon” by Cornélis De Witt Willcox, Lieutenant-Colonel U.S. Army, Professor
United States Military Academy, 1912]

The Ifugao People

The Ifugao call themselves as i-pugao or "inhabitants of the known earth"; other variations of
the name are Ifugaw, Ipugao, and Yfugao. They live primarily in the province of Ifugao in Central
Cordillera, in Northern Luzon. The name is supposed to have come from ipugo which means "from the
hill." The Amganad Ifugao (Ifugaw) populate the central part of Ifugao Province and has two dialects:
Burnay and Banaue. Additionally, their name is synonymous with the famous man-made Banaue Rice
Terraces in northern Luzon, which had once been hailed the "eighth wonder of the world" and attributed
to their engineering knowledge and agricultural terracing. Historically, Ifugao was one of the places in
the Archipelago least influenced by the Spaniards, even though they did venture into Ifugao territory;
the Spaniards were unable to transform their culture and values. Anthropologists have regarded the
Ifugao as possibly the oldest residents of the highlands; their origin attributed to Indonesian migration,
dating back as early as 800-500 BC.

Agricultural terracing is their principal means of livelihood along with farming. Their social
status is measured by the number of rice field granaries, family heirlooms, gold earrings, carabaos
(water buffaloes), as well as, prestige conferred through time and tradition. The more affluent, known
as kadangyan were usually generous by nature, giving rice to poor neighbors in time of food shortage(s)
and/or hardship(s). Furthermore, their culture was known for their legal system, using one of the world's
most extensive oral legal traditions specifying the offense depending on the use of custom law; trial by
elders (influenced in part by public opinion); or trial by ordeal. The wealthy were subjected to greater
fines than the poor.

Untouched by the influences of Spanish colonialism, Ifugao culture value kinship, family ties,
religious and cultural beliefs. They're unique among all ethnic groups in the mountain province, not
only for their interesting customs and traditions but also for their narrative literature such as the hudhud,
an epic dealing with hero ancestors sung in a poetic manner. Another feature unique to the Ifugao is
their woodcarving art, most notably the carved granary guardians bului and the prestige bench of the
upper class, the hagabi. Their textiles renowned for their sheer beauty, colorful blankets and clothing
woven on looms. Houses were well-built, characterized by as a square with wooden floors, windowless
walls, and pyramidal thatch roofs. Elevated from the ground by four sturdy tree trunks, they feature
removable staircases that were hoisted up at night to prevent entry by enemies and/or wild animals.
Lastly, their attire remain traditional for male Ifugaos, donning the wanno or g-string; there are six types
of wanno which are used depending on the occasion or the man's social status. Ifugao women, on the
contrary, wear tapis, a wraparound skirt; there are five kinds of skirts worn, depending on the occasion
and/or status of the woman.

Ifugao, group of wet-rice agriculturalists occupying the mountainous area of

northern Luzon, Philippines. They are of Malay stock and their language is Austronesian (Malayo-
Polynesian), as is that of their neighbours, but they have developed a number of cultural characteristics
that set them apart. They numbered nearly 70,000 in 1939, but World War II reduced their population
to a figure (1948) of 50,000. By the late 20th century, their population had increased to about 190,000.

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 Banaue rice terracesBanaue rice terraces in Luzon,
Philippines.© Jonald Morales/Shutterstock.com
Their great system of irrigated rice terraces—
steeply contoured, mountain-terraced walls of stone that
lean slightly inward at the top—is world renowned and
was developed with a simple technology. In addition to
rice, the prestige crop, large amounts of sweet potatoes
are grown on hillside plots and form the staple diet of the
poorer class. Pigs and chickens are also raised, primarily
for the numerous rituals and sacrifices.

Ifugao farmer at the rice terraces in Banaue, Luzon,

Philippines.© daij/Fotolia
The Ifugao live in small hamlets of 5 to 10 houses
scattered among the rice terraces. Early Spanish
missionaries were impressed with the construction of the
Ifugao houses—achieved without saws or other such
tools—and with the decorative carvings adorning the
beams and moldings of each house.

Ifugao rice terraces in Banaue, Luzon, Philippines.©

Elena Frolova/Dreamstime.com

Ifugao social organization is based almost

exclusively on kinship. Each individual is the centre
of a “kinship circle” which extends to the third
cousin, and these units were all-important in the
feuds and headhunting activities that formerly
prevailed. The Ifugao lack political organization
and have relied on marriage alliances and trading
pacts; they recognize temporary go-betweens who
settle disputes in terms of customary law. The
aristocrats, who form an upper class, maintain their
prestige by periodic feasts.

Ifugao religion has an elaborate cosmology and more than a thousand deities of various classes.
Ancestral and other deities are invoked in the case of illness or other difficulties with the aid of rice
wine and feasting.

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Ifugao House Isometric, Ifugao House

Section, Ifugao House Halipan, Ifugao House

Floor Plan, Ifugao House

Page 16 of 32
 BADJAO

Section, Badjao House on Stilts

Badjao children practicing rowing. Image © Mohd Khairil

Majid via Shutterstock

Thousands of years ago, a small civilization of hunter gatherers

migrated to the coastal regions of Southeast Asia. These people
progressed into a widespread tribe of travelling sea dwellers. To
this day, they remain a stateless people with no nationality and
no consistent infrastructure, sometimes living miles away from
land. Yet these people are one of the few civilizations whose

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collective life practices have survived so long through human history. They are called the Badjao, and
they have a surprising amount to teach us about architecture.

Badjao community on the water. Image © idome via

Shutterstock

1. Architecture can be a collective initiative.

While the public image of Architecture is often fixated on the
individual, the Badjao consider design to be a communal practice.
Houses for the Badjao (for those who do not live on their boats) are
built almost entirely out of driftwood and debris from coastal cities
around Southeast Asia. When a storm hits a home or community, neighboring Badjao will spare as
much material of their own as possible, to help fortify damaged homes. Their homes are built on stilts
that are carefully placed in between coastal rocks and coral. This activity is a communal effort, so as to
ensure no wildlife is harmed as they set foundations.
The public image of architecture is often fixated on the individual. Architectural critique can be skewed
based on who designed a building, regardless of quality or appearance. In a community where all
members contribute to each other's work, stability emerges in the form of structural and cultural
support.

Child rowing towards house under construction.

Image © manzrussali via Shutterstock

2. Adaptability goes beyond the building.

The term "adaptability" has been thrust into the
architectural world as part of the ever-growing "green"
movement. Yet the common outcome of this message
has been energy efficient and "eco-friendly" appliances
being added on to otherwise unchanging design.
What could be fundamental components to the nature
of design are often instead considerations for a checklist at the end of the design process. The solution
then may not come from our design process, but from us. The Badjao show how it is possible for human
beings to adapt productively to their environments.
After thousands of years moving around the waters of Southeast Asia, the Badjao have adapted to fit
their surroundings in more ways than just their shelters. The average Badjao person can, without
training, hold their breath for up to two minutes at a time, and dive as deep as 60 feet (18 meters) without
losing focus or agility. They can also see as well if not better underwater as they do above. This skillset
has been ingrained into their physique so that it stays with them from childhood to old age. They have
become flexible in their very nature, to be able to move and act in a constant dance with the elements. If
architectural minds were to reconsider their own relationships to surrounding ecological, social and
cultural variables, then their design may follow suit.

Temporary construction in Southeast Asian ocean.

Image © asnida via Shutterstock

3. Successful design can be born from fragility, instead

of stability.
Fragility is a word that is often combated in architecture
today. We generally aspire for solidity, thick and immovable
construction, and maximum fortification. What this results in
though is an opportunity for disaster to strike should our

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infrastructure fail. The ocean, being a naturally tumultuous place, made the Badjao accustomed to
loosening the reins on their construction so to speak. Where we ride the bull so tensely that we are
occasionally knocked off, the Badjao people have learned to love the ride. They build short term, and
live long term. This is rather antithetical to modern notions of immediate satisfaction and safety. When
every home and bridge is built with the goal of eventually becoming parts to fortify other bridges and
homes, then there really isn’t ever any truly failed infrastructure.

Badjao community off the coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Image

© Dolly MJ via Shutterstock

4. Listening to our environment has positive results for us and

our Architectural legacies.
The metropolis of today prides itself in a fortification against the
elements, and nomadic tribes such as the Badjao pride themselves
on a lifestyle with the elements. Learning from the latter may
provide opportunities to prevent disaster when faced with inclement weather and natural phenomena.
In 2004, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami caused devastating destruction throughout
Southern Asia. What was less highlighted in the news coverage of this natural phenomenon were
the Badjao people. With their deep understanding of their surroundings, the major branches of
the Badjao moved their communities, settling in areas that did not end up being drastically affected by
the tsunami. This was not a matter of cosmological speculation or political agenda - the Badjao people
were open to changing the way they lived in response to incontrovertible facts about their environment.

Badjao child rowing near coast. Image © idome via

Shutterstock

5. Surroundings and ecological impact are the defining

qualities of our work in the long-term.
The Badjao are fundamentally tied in all aspects of life to the
flows and forces that affect the sea. Time of the day is marked
by the tide rather than hours and minutes. Most Badjao cannot
pinpoint a specific date or even year that they were born, yet
any child can recall the average sea levels from when they were born, or at any other significant moment
in their lives. When we design buildings or spaces or urban initiatives, it is easy to get swept up in
variables relating to profit, schedule and material consumption. What the Badjao teach us is that there
are much deeper layers of forces and information that are equally (if not more) worthy of our
consideration as designers.

Badjao woman rowing boat. Image © Dolly MJ via

Shutterstock

"Nomad" is considered by many to be a term of condescension. It

is associated with the vagabond and the traveler, the drifter and the
vagrant. If anything can be learned from the Badjao people though,
it is that designing for life on the move is one of the methods we
have to integrate back into more open and natural systems.
Architecture in the developed world is a competition of capital, supported by egos and trends. That is
not to say that architecture has not occasionally contributed to shaping societies for the better. But rather,
as we can learn from those who live less stable lives, fragility and adaptability is more beneficial than
we may have thought.

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Badjao Houseboat
The houseboats of Badjao, sea gypsies of the
Philippines, cruise along the islands in the Sulu archipelago.
These range from 12-60 feet long but not more than 6 feet
wide. Their unique ecological setting and fishing economy
compel the Badjao to adjust to the limited space of their
floating homes where the prows are carved with okkil design.
Strong platforms are made on both ends of the boat for the fish,
kitchen utensils and fishing gadgets with the kitchen area
usually found at the back.

MINDANAO AND SULU REGION

 SAMAL HOUSE OF SOLO

LOCATION: Coastal waters of Jolo

The Island Garden City of Samal is a group of island in

the heart of Davao Gulf. Physically unattached to
mainland Mindanao, the island is 900 meters east of
Davao City and 10 kilometers west of Compostela
Valley Province. It has a stretch of over 116 kilometers
of continuous coastline and with a total land area of
30,130 hectares.

The island is endowed with an extensive mountain

range at the eastern coast, a number of isolated hills and
an uneven distribution of lowlands. The city enjoys a
mild pleasant climate with no pronounced dry or wet
season, and is typhoon free.

SAMA/SAMAL
 Sama" is a derivative of the word "sama-sama" meaning togetherness - described as a
cohesive and peace loving people.
 Each Sama sub-group is identified geographically according to the name of their
coastal settlement.
1. Sama Simunul 2. Sama Balimbing 3. Sama Tawi-tawi 4. Sama Sibutu

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5. Sama Ubian

 Sama society is composed of:

1. Barbangsa, of royal blood nobility, and
2. Mahardika, commoners who are free to exercise their basic rights over their private
properties and free to exercise their own professed religion.
 Sama/Samal and Badjaos are people of the sea.

SAMA HOUSE/SETTLEMENTS:
 Source of livelihood and also their home.
 Usually built along coastal settlements for two reasons.
1. Sanitation, because of the natural movement of the tide and
2. Easy escape from enemies through ready vintas.
 Samas of Balngingi islands in Basilan and of Siasi, Sulu live in small compact
communities of 100 – 150 people in each community.

Plan and Structural Elements:

 Built houses on stilts over water, along the foreshore areas or directly over tidal mud
flats or reefs.
 Supported by piles embedded into the reef floor
 Consist of one or more small rectangular rooms and an attached kitchen – all on the
same level and raise above the sea or ground on wooden pilings.
 Joined together to the shore or to one another by a maze of catwalks and bridges of
timber and split bamboo
 Roof thatching is held securely by placing flattened bamboo spaced far apart over it.

In SITANGKAI, TAWI-TAWI - some houses do not have catwalks but small boats are
used to move a person from one house to the other or to the town.
 Elevation of the house depend on the maximum high tide level in order to allow the
storage of the outrigger boat underneath the house when not in use.
 After fishing, the Samal could easily enter the house from their boats

RECENT HOUSES – 4.0 x 6.0 m and 3.0 m high

 Simply designed to have one single room and in the upper level – sleeping, living,
cooking and eating
1. Silong or space underneath serve as shed for the boat and area for bathing
2. Pantan or open porch or terrace is important to the Samal tribe. Also used as a workplace,
accept visitors, hold rituals and allow children to play.

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SAMA BOATS
1. Kumpit – traditional boats
2. Pelang – Boat with outriggers

 YAKAN HOUSE

LOCATION: Mountainous Interior of Basilan

From the "Dayak origin” originally from the island province of Basilan.
 Imam – prominent person who combines birth religion and socio-political leadership.
 They speak a dialect of Sama language and are culturally influenced in some respect
of Tausog.
 Land bound agricultural, cultivating upland rice, corn and other crops.
 Live in houses scattered in their, like the Tausug of Sulu and other rural Filipino
folks.
 Known for traditional hand-weaving skills that produced Yakan blankets o Yakan
women do their weaving (back-tension loom) inside the open room.

Kitchen Implements:
 Pots and pans,
 Dagtung (long bamboo container) for storing water,
 Kugutan (coconut grater)
 Ligu (winnowing tray) and
 Tapahan (smoking frame) for drying fish

YAKAN HOUSE – LUMA

Plan and Structural Elements:

 Rectangular in plan of 50 - 100 sq. m., elevated on timber posts about 2 m. above
ground.

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  Cluster around the langgal or local prayer house. Houses face east and beliefs
mandate that building materials be stockpiled also on the east.
 One room dwelling with similar accessories like in the Tausug house.

1. Baul (chest) for storing clothes,

2. Talum (bronze trays) for serving food,
3. Mama-an (bronze boxes) for betel
4. Mats, pillows and tilam (mattresses)

Three major parts:

1. Main house – single room dwelling, no partition with various functions such as a
venue for social affairs, weaving area for women and sleeping quarters.
2. Kitchen - both for cooking and dining. A bridge connects the kitchen to the main
house.
3. Porch or Pantan – main entry to the house which may be open or roofed.
 Used as area for hanging and drying clothes and for entertaining guests and for
relaxation of family members.
 Serves as entrance to house since this is where the ladder is attached. 2nd ladder is
placed at the platform leading to the kitchen.
 May be covered with nipa roof
 Made of split bamboo poles

Protective and Circulatory Elements:

 Sapiaw or roof is steeply pitched cogon on bamboo or timber frames. Walls are
woven bamboo strips or sawali.
 No ceilings and only one tandiwan or window is allowed in the main house. Another
tandiwan and another ladder are allowed in the kitchen house.
 Provided with only few windows to prevent bad spirits from entering the house easily.
 Wall - use of sawali or horizontally placed wooden boards or bamboo poles tied
together with rattan
 Floor – split bamboo or roughly cut wood supported by heavy posts

Yakan Boat

1. Bangka Basilan – called by the Tausug, has a narrow hull and shor and small outriggers
designed for speed on a calm sea.

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  MARANAO TOROGAN

LOCATION: Hills, along the river, road or lakeshore of Mindanao

Sarinamok is a legendary bird of the Maranao that has become a ubiquitous symbol of
their art. Maranao also known as “people of the lake” is the largest ethnologuistic group.
Maranao has a 1,142,000 or 1.25% of total population. The life of the Maranaos is centered
on Lake Lanao, the largest in Mindanao, and the second largest and deepest lake in the
Philippines.

Maranao are the one of three related indigenous Moro groups native to the Island of
Mindanao. In turn, these groups also share genes, linguistic and cultural ties to non-Muslim
Lumad groups such as the Tiruray or Sabanon.

MARANAO CULTURE:

Maranao is an Austronesian Language spoken by the Maranao people in the provinces

of Lanao Del Norte and Lanao del Sur in the Philippines. The Native Maranao have a
fascinating culture that revolves around kulintang music, a specific type of gong music, found
among both Muslim and Non- Muslim groups of the Southern Philippines. Biyula is another
instrument for the Maranao people to use.

Exquisite Maranao cuisine and hospitality are palpable. They are known of having a
spicy taste in their foods. A condiment made of traditionally cultivated spices, locally known
as PALAPA is one of their distinguished cuisine symbol. It is made of stewed scallion bulbs

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or “sakurab” in Maranao. The thinly sliced scallion bulbs and ginger are caramelized by slow
cooking and mixed with chillies and little coconut oil.

ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES:
 The four settlement principalities is know as pangampong, around lake Lanao in the
province of Lanao del Sur are the traditional population center of the Maranaos.
 These settlements hamlet, consisting of dwellings.
 In areas where wet – rice agriculture is practiced, the houses are generally organized
in rows following the length of a river, road or lakeshore while in dry areas,
communities are smaller and the houses may aggregate irregularly near a water
source. are three organized to thirty like a multifamily

1. Lawigs vary in size from field huts, which are raised above ground on stilts with lean-to
roofing and an outdoor cooking area.

 These structures are mainly used for sleeping.

 These are common household structures which
have an interior hearth.
 Usually occupied by a single family unit, the
lawig is not normally adorned, except for an
occasional wooden adornment that may embellish
the window sill or door portal.

2. MALA–A-WALAI is a single room and partitionless structure, is a house of a well-to-do

family.
 Although architectural ornaments are
present in the structure, the house does not have
the panolong – an elaborately carved beam
extension identified with the royal torogan.
 The okir decorations are generally
baseboards, windowsills and doorjambs.
 The house stands 0.3-2.2 meters above
the ground and rest on 9 to 12 bamboos or
wooden poles.

 The kinansad, a bamboo- fenced porch,

marks the façade of the house; the kitchen which is 0.50 meters lower than the
structure is located at the back.
 The main body houses the sleeping area, which doubles as a living and working area
at daytime. to be found on the

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 1. Chests, headboards, mosquito screens or sapiyay or woven split rattan are used to
partition the interior into sleeping and non- sleeping zones.
2. The roof of mala-a-walai is made of thick cogon thatch secured on bamboo frames by
rattan chords or occasionally, of bamboo spliced into 12 halves or rangeb.
3. Notched bamboo poles are placed at the fron and back of the house to serve as
ladders.

3. THE TOROGAN, the ornately decorated ancestral residence of the datu and his extended
family.

 The Torogan is the ancestral house of the upper-class Maranao in the Lanao Region of
Mindanao. It is the dwelling place of the datu along with his wives and children.
There could not be any house larger than torogan of the datu within the sultanate, for
this signifies rank, prestige and wealth.
 The existing torogans were built by the community and the slaves for the datu in
1800s. This house of the datu has no

TOROGAN: ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

 The windows of torogan are slits and richly framed in wood panels with okir designs
located in front of the house.
 The communal kitchen is half a meter lower than the main house is both used for
cooking and eating.
 The distinct high gable roof of the torogan, thin at the apex and gracefully flaring out
to the eaves, sits on a huge structures enclosed by slabs of timber and lifted more than
two meters above the ground by a huge trunk of a tree that was set on a rock.
 The end floor beams lengthen as panolongs the seemed to lift up the whole house.
 The torogan is suffused with decorations. There were diongal at the apex of the roof,
also an intricately carved tinai a walai, okir designs in the floor, on windows and on
panolongs. There were also brightly colored weaves or malongs hanging from the
rafters, it was hung up using ropes around a particular territory for privacy. The house
was built to sway

 The most noticeable feature the

torogan is the panolong, wing- like
house beam with pako rabong or
fern or naga serpent motif. of a a or
 These are ends of the floor beams
that project and splay out like
triangular butterfly wings on the
façade and side elevations.
 The motifs are chiseled in high

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  The interior of the house is a cavernous hall with no permanent wall partitions.
 Supporting the kingpost of the highridged roof is the rampatan or tinai a walai central
beams considered as the intestines of the house.
 What serves as the ceiling is a cloth suspended from the rafters to absorb the heat
from the roof.
 A carabao horn ornament at the roof apex of the rumah adat in Batak, Indonesia is
distinguishing from the Maranao dongal.

 ISLAND OF PANAY
Bahay Kubo
The bahay-kubo (nipa hut) is a typical
traditional house found in most lowlands all over the
Philippines. Originally built as a one-room dwelling,
the nipa hut changed as family needs become more
diverse.
Made of indigenous building materials like bamboo
and nipa, this pre-Hispanic architecture was
constructed to perfectly adapt to the tropical climate
of the Philippines and to be easily repaired or rebuilt
once damaged by typhoon, flood or earthquake which
frequented the country. Its name is said to have
originated from the Spanish word, cubo, which means
“cube,” because of the bahay kubo 's
rectangular/cubic shape.
• Tagalog=“bahay” (house); Spanish=“cubo” (cube)

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 Nipa hut along the Pasig River in Manila.

THE ARCHITECTURE
Also known as Nipa Hut, this architecture can still be found along
the countryside. It is constructed of indigenous materials that can
easily be found in their local surroundings – wood, planks, grass,
bamboo and large logs. Normally cubic in shape, this shelter is
raised on stilts or posts of one to two meters depending on the area
where the said shelter is constructed – it may be on solid ground,
on a hillside or mountainside, or in shallow water. Raising the
interior from the ground safeguards the shelter's inhabitants from
flood, and from snakes and other wild animals.
A typical bahay kubo only has one, large, open, multi-purpose
room for dwelling, called bulwagan. It has a cellar, called silong
where most household chores are done. This area serves as the area
for livestock pens, storage space, workspace and granary. The
walls are made of nipa and cogon leaves or sawali or woven
bamboo, and there are large windows on all sides, which keep the
interior well-ventilated. The windows have tukod or “legs” that
hold the swinging shades open during the day, and secure it back
in place at night. Another feature of the the bahay kubo is ladder
or hagdan which can easily be removed at night or when the
owners are out. Likewise, some huts have an open back porch or
batalan where household chores are done and where the jars of
water are placed.
In addition to the features and characteristics of traditional ethnic
houses and structures the “bahay kubo” have push-out or sliding
windows.

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PARTS OF THE “BAHAY KUBO”

• Bulwagan- living room or the multipurpose room

• Silid-serves as the bedroom

• Balkon- the porch that opens to the living room

(bulwagan)

• Kusina- kitchen with a separate roof

• Batalan- the back porch and serve as the area for

cleaning and washing; sometimes use as a bathroom

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Communal space

Unlike the westerner who places a premium on privacy, the Filipino prefers living space that is
communal, surrounding himself with people all the time.

The idea of locking the front door, leaving the house in the morning and returning to an empty house
in the evening is not even thought of. Someone is always at home, whether family, distant relative or
household help. Maybe the Filipino fears being alone, He makes certain that members of his family
keep him company at home. Within his home, everything seems to happen at the same time. Children
shriek, adults talk, servants shuffle. The decibel level is at the same extreme as the radio or television
set that is constantly going.

Three or more generations of the same family live their separate but interconnected lives under one
roof, most of the time hanging out in one room. When in need of solitude, a thin cloth curtain strung

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over an opening stakes out a private section. Temporary as the privacy may turn out to be, the
fluttering illusion of an unlatch able door screens the rest of the family out. Blissful seclusion means
not being able to see the others, but still remaining within full hearing range. In the one-room bahay
kubo, privacy is sometimes achieved by turning one's back to the room, by facing the wall for a few
moments of solitude, but the separation is never total.

Filipinos follow the Asian concept of shared space and limited privacy. The traditional Japanese
houses are essentially designed as a single space that can temporarily be separated by sliding paper
screens that unify the house and garden into one single area.

To westerners with a non-Asian concept of space, sections of downtown Manila appear chaotic.
Houses, apartments, shops, markets, all seem to burst with people. Crowds are everywhere. The hustle
and bustle of the people reflects in the architecture. There is a jumble of buildings, unruly roof lines
jutting out everywhere, balconies and laundry hanging over sidewalks and streets under a spaghetti of
electrical wiring that dangles over neon signs. There seems to be no order at all. Everything visually
and noisily competes with each other. Narrow sidewalks are filled with hawkers occupying the space
normally reserved for pedestrians.

How different this cityscape is from the orderliness of, say London or Frankfurt, where rows of
buildings are clearly demarcated form one another, and sidewalks are wide promenades dotted with
clean benches, and people are sprinkled into the streetscape. In contrast to that, we thrive in crowds
that teem, enjoying close contact with each other, jostling each other when we walk down a street. We
tolerate closer contact with each other, unlike westerners who maintain more space between each
other, as a buffer to avoid close contact among themselves.

One for all

In the western mindset, a man's home is his domain, his castle that is built to last forever. It is where
privacy is at a premium. European homes prefer enclosing spaces from each other: everything is
definite and separate, the living room, dining room, kitchen, the bedrooms. Everyone goes into the
corridor, disappears into his private room, and closes the door behind him.

This lifestyle is the opposite of the traditional Filipino way of living, where bedrooms do not
necessarily open out into an internal corridor but to an external one, the volada, a narrow, enclosed
balcony that runs along the exterior of the upper floor of the bahay na bato, linking the bedrooms and
the other rooms of the house to each other.

In earlier days, the seniora of the house would look out of her window every morning, waiting for her
favorite hawkers to bass on the street below. From the comfort of her living room, she shopped and
haggled while picking up the latest street gossip. In some neighborhoods of Manila hawkers still come
around, and residents remain in contact with each other even if their homes are new and designed in
the rigidly partitioned western manner, the traditional pattern of living is still Filipino, where
everyone still crowds into a few rooms to sleep, where there are people at all times, and where life is
not bound by the walls of the house but goes out to include the lives of the neighbors along the street.
In the Filipino lifestyle, it is all for one and one for all.

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References:
Alarcon, Norma-Ipac. 1991, rev. 2003. Philippine Architecture During the Pre-Spanish and
Spanish Period. University of Santo Tomas Publishing House
____________. 1994. CCP Encyclopedia of Arts Vol. III. Manila,Philippines
Fletcher, Sir Banister. 1996. History of Architecture 20th edition. Architectural Press.
Klassen, Winand. 1986. Architecture in the Philippines Filipino Building in a Cross-Cultural
Context. Cebu City, Philippines: University of San Carlos.
Tiongson, Nicanor, ed. 1991.Tuklas Sining, Essays on the Philippine Arts. Manila
Valera- Turalba, Christina. 2005.Philippine Heritage Architecture before 1521 to the 1970s.
Manila
https://www.slideshare.net/Yna128/bahay-kubo-39104199?from_action=save
http://myphilippinelife.com/wp-content/uploads/bahay_kubo_reduced-1.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/474x/1e/dd/45/1edd45d0f7b4b70eb74bd56b6e9d2379--bamboo-francisco.jpg
https://historyofarchitecture.weebly.com/uploads/4/1/8/6/4186116/2186807.jpg?445
https://aboutphilippines.ph/files/Bahay-Kubo.pdf
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Default_files/bahay_kubo_and_the_filipino_conc.htm

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