Batanes revives artisan’s craftsmanship

The provincial government of Batanes and the private sector are collaborating to revive the island province’s traditional weaving industry, an effort spearheaded by its last four remaining women artisans.

Catherine de Mata, the lead artisan at a weaving site inside the National Museum of the Philippines-Batanes in Uyugan, said in an interview that they began working in 2022 to resuscitate the weaving of traditional Ivatan attire for social events.

“The weaving industry here was already dead, and we just resurrected it,” De Mata said. “Even the skilled artisans lost the chance to practice their craftsmanship, so the industry died. But right now, we are recovering it to be a means of livelihood in the communities.”

Assisted by three other artisans across Batanes, De Mata’s group currently produces a limited number of Ivatan attires, which are sold in local markets and showcased at bazaars in Manila.

“The process and the intricacies are so hard to teach to the young ones, that’s our main problem,” De Mata explained. “We have the raw materials, which are coming from the mainland. Sadly, we don’t have enough artisans for us to produce the bulk of Ivatan attires. But right now, we have a collaboration with the Batanes State College to produce our own thread. Little by little, we are reliving it.”

‘The weaving industry here was already dead, and we just resurrected it.’

De Mata said that cotton was produced in Batanes in earlier years, but its cultivation ceased with the decline of older weavers.

To attract younger individuals to the craft, De Mata said they are leading immersion programs for senior high school students to assist with the work, hoping to train Batanes’ next generation of weavers.

According to the book ‘Ivatan Attire for Social Events, traditional Ivatan attire is made from cotton cloth, preferably locally woven. For women, the upper garment is a topper, blazer, bolero, or blouson with bell-shaped sleeves, ending just above the waist. The lower garment is a wrap-around skirt known locally as inahapad, reaching knee-length. The upper garment design blends precolonial and colonial styles, while the lower garment is based on the precolonial inahapad or tapis.

For men, the upper garment can be a stylized vest called kadukad or a barong style, with the vest worn with or without an undershirt. The lower garment consists of long pants. The upper garment design is inspired by the precolonial kadukad, and the lower garment by early 20th-century Ivatan men’s wear.

‘We have the raw materials, which are coming from the mainland. Sadly, we don’t have enough artisans for us to produce the bulk of Ivatan attires. But right now, we have a collaboration with the Batanes State College to produce our own thread. Little by little, we are reliving it.’

The upper garments for both genders are typically white or the color of undyed cotton, while lower garments come in shades of blue and gray (preferably dark blue to blue-gray) or vuridaw (preferably brown or dark red). Both upper and lower garments can feature sets of circle motifs or designs on the hemlines, applied through embroidery, bead accents, or a combination of both.

The colors and design elements of the Ivatan social attire are inspired by the colors of a live dibang (flying fish), a key part of the Ivatan diet, and the colors associated with catching dorado (dolphin fish) and mutin (glass beads). The color blue symbolizes the Ivatans’ long-standing maritime heritage.

The Ivatans are also known for their traditional headdress, the vakul for women, and the kayani, a traditional vest for men. The vakul, made from shredded leaves of the Philippine date palm or vuyavuy, protects wearers from sun and rain. The tradition of making vakul and kayani persists in Sabtang Island, about 40 minutes from Basco, where Ivatan weavers remain active. Traditionally, only Ivatan women are permitted to weave the vakul, a skill passed down through generations.