Weaving ● Synthethic fibres are still being invented.
Therefore durability is becoming a more
History important factor as well. Nevertheless,
● Weaving looms started 4000 years ago. the large majority of textile products
● Industrial Revolution in 1700s, factory continue to be made from natural
system became more prevalent than materials. The cotton shirt has become
the cottage industry and this was the an indispensable feature in the world of
beginning of modern day factories. textiles.
● Weaving technology has evolved from
the first simple hand loom to high-tech History
machines of today. ● Woven fabrics have been dated as far
● John Kay invented the flying shuttle in back as 5000 B.C
1733 ● Weaving is one of the oldest forms of
● Jacquard Loom - by Joseph Marie arts and crafts, but it didn’t begin as a
Jacquard between 1801-1805 hobby
● The development of spinning and ● Early civilizations needed to provide
weaving began in ancient Egypt clothing and shelter in order to survive
around 3400 before Christ (B.C). ● They used resources they found in
● The tool originally used for weaving was nature to weave what supplies they
the loom. could
● From 2600 B.C. onwards, silk was spun ● Walls, doors, rugs and hammocks were
and woven into silk in China. woven back then.
● Later in Roman times the European
population was clothed in wool and Weaving in the Philippines
linen. ● Started among the early inhabitants of
the archipelago, only that it’s been
● Textile was at first a product of the home practiced for years by different
industry. People produced textile to communities.
meet their own needs. Once production ● Weaving in the Philippine archipelago is
exceeded their own needs, the textiles more than just a function of necessity;
were traded for other goods. it’s also an art form. It’s practiced
● During the Industrial Revolution various alongside woodworking, carving, boat
technological inventions led to different building, pottery, and mat weaving,
role for the worker in the process. The with different ethnolinguistic groups
weaving process turned into a executing a variety of designs, styles,
processing industry. and techniques to produce textiles that
are distinctly their own.
Textiles Nowadays
Filipino Weaving Communities
● In the northern part of Luzon it is mostly ● t’nalak traditionally has three colours:
concentrated in the Ilocos and black, red, and white. The fibres are
Cordillera regions, while in the southern then woven using the backstrap loom.
part there are also weavers in Bicol and The textile is then washed in the river,
the island of Mindoro. beaten with a wooden stick to flatten
● Each group has its own weaving the knots, and burnishing the surface
practices passed down through with a cowrie shell.
generations. Every meticulously
handmade piece of cloth has its own
function and symbolism, and carries
with it the culture and beliefs of the
people who make it.
● Kalinga Textiles - has a distinct dialogue
between red and blue, expressing itself ●
in broad red and blue bands of plain or ● Dagmay - hand-woven using a special
twill weave, and creating kind of back-strap loom, made from
densely-composed groups of tight abaca fibres, and following intricate
stripes. designs revolving around man and
● Tiny motifs, patterns, and nature, especially the crocodile.
embellishments have characterised ● Used to obtain black, the technique is
Kalinga textile, including miniature based on the reaction between the
lattice, continuous lozenge pattern tannins applied to the yarn before
locally called inata-ata, and pawekan treatment, and the iron found on the
or mother-of-pearl platelets, among mud. The bark of the tree, which
others. contains tannins, is pounded to a pulp
and boiled together with the abaca
yarn. The mud is then added to the
mixture. The yarn is steeped for one to
several hours for the best results.
● usually tell the story about the weaver
and her community, as well as the spirits
that live on Earth
●
● T’Nalak Textiles - t’nalak represents birth,
life, union in marriage and death, and
shows the uniqueness and identity of the
indigenous group. It is often utilised as
blankets and clothing and used in royal
wedding ceremonies on rare occasions.
●
Weaving in the Philippines
● Panay Island in the Philippines is
considered the heart of Philippine
textiles. According to the legends that
were passed on over the generations, a
few Datus (chief) from Borneo including
Datu Lubay went to the island and
introduced the art of weaving.
● The Banton cloth is an approximately
400-year-old ikat (tie-resist dyeing)
textile, the oldest in Southeast Asia. It is
believed to be a burial cloth and was
found inside a wooden coffin together
with white and blue ceramics. The
Banton cloth was found in Banton Island
in Romblon and it is now displayed in
the National Museum in the Philippines.
● Weaving in the Philippines is one of the
distinctive ways of expression of arts,
culture and tradition of the indigenous
people. Every region of the Philippines
has their own handloom tradition that
has become their trademark.
● Just like the Province of Aklan that is
known for the Piña (Pineapple) cloth
that is now hailed as the “Mother of all
Philippine Textile” and commonly used
in making the Philippine national
costumes: Barong Tagalog and Baro’t
Saya.
● It also became a way for the indigenous
people,most especially the women, to
earn a living and help with the
livelihoods of their family.
References:
● https://www.slideshare.net/jcarver85/his
tory-ofweaving
● https://www.tatlerasia.com/culture/arts/
weaving-the-threads-of-filipino-heritage
● https://narrastudio.com/en-ph/blogs/jo
urnal/weaving-traditions
● https://www.tootal.nl/en/news/show/22
/the-history-of-woven-textiles#:~:text=Th
e%20development%20of%20spinning%2
0and,clothed%20in%20wool%20and%20l
inen
