Mat weaving is the art of weaving or plaiting strips of organic fibers into mats. All regions of the Philippines have a tradition of mat weaving since mats are used all over the country as bedding material. Because mats are made from organic materials, they are cool and suitable to the hot tropical climate. They make an ecologically healthy, light, and portable sleeping surface on the slatted bamboo floors of the native huts or the wooden floors of modern houses of the large majority of Filipinos. Unlike fixed beds, they are also space savers because they are easily rolled up and stacked in a corner after use.
Most Philippine mats are made of the leaves of pandan or the buri palm, plaited to create a continuous surface. They are often decorated with strips of one or two colors, creating simple linear patterns. Mats from Capiz and Aklan are simple and delicate, with geometric designs on borders; those from Laguna are plain and softly brown.
Mat weaving is woman’s work. It begins with the gathering of the raw material from plants, after which it is stripped, boiled, dyed, and woven—the whole process taking several weeks. The quality of a mat is judged from the softness of its material, the fineness of its weave, and the beauty of its design patterns. Because mat weaving in some areas has reached the level of an art, mats may not only serve the function of bedding material but are also sometimes used as medium of exchange in barter. Beautiful mats are especially fashioned for wedding rituals, and in festive occasions they may be used as carpets. Southern weavers also make them in smaller sizes to be used as prayer mats or as household decorations.
Nowadays, mats are easily bought from native stores or from itinerant woman vendors, but in the 19th century and in the early decades of the 20th century, mats were made to order by families and individuals to be given as gifts and to commemorate special occasions, such as weddings, wedding anniversaries, and birthdays. These commemorative mats often bore the letters “Recuerdo,” “Souvenir,” “Alaala,” “Mr and Mrs,” or the name of the family or individual emblazoned along its length bordered with floral or geometric designs. Double mats made of two mats joined together, the ornamented one on top and the plain one serving as lining, are the more durable and more expensive kind.
In Sulu, particularly in the small island of Laminusa off the coast of Siasi, the women of the Samal group weave colorful mats with intricate geometric designs requiring the utmost skill and artistry. These famous Laminusa mats made of pandanus fibers are distinguished by their exceptional pliability, exquisite fineness, and remarkable smoothness and sheen. So soft and pliable are they that they crumple without creasing and are thus often mistaken for woven cloth. Ornamentals like tapestries serve as beautiful wall decors. As two-dimensional art made of plaited organic fibers, they rival the op art canvases because of their recurring colorful geometric patterns. Laminusa mats are usually backed with a thicker, plain mat. An outstanding mat weaver is Maluy Lasa Sambolani, 1990 Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee.
Another center of mat weaving is the town of Basey, Samar, 40 kilometers from Tacloban, Leyte. The Basey mat is made of two organic materials, the tikog sedge and the buri palm. After harvesting the tikog plant, the sedges are sundried moderately, then dyed. After dyeing, they are laid out in the open air overnight— Npinapahamogan— to make them more pliable. The final process in the preparation of the tikog for weaving is called the paglagot in which a 10.16- centimeter bamboo sliver is used to polish the sedges; this done, the sedges are gathered into bundles of 200, a family-size mat measuring 2 meters x 1.6 meters, using up four bundles. This takes a maximum of two and a half days weaving time, usually with two weavers working on opposite sides until they meet at the center. Strips of the buri palm are used for ornamentation. They are soaked in commercial dyes sold in small packages of five grams. When preparing the dyes, the amount of water determines the strength of the color; likewise, dyes may be mixed—such as green and yellow—to produce a desired hue.
First, a skilled designer makes an outline drawing on the mat with chalk or crayon. The embroiderer, again usually a woman, inserts the buri strips following the design and uses a household knife to cut them. The Basey mat has the following major designs: the Santo Niño, the devotion to whom is widespread in the Visayas; the San Juanico Bridge, which joins Leyte and Samar in a gracefully curving span; and flowers, which are not identifiable as a particular species. The San Juanico Bridge appears like a complete landscape as in a painting because it includes suggestions of water below and mountains on the horizon. Aside from these, there are also geometric border designs.
After Benigno Aquino Jr.’s assassination, his portrait became a popular design among the embroiderers. There was a considerable demand for this design, which was followed by orders for portraits of other people, famous figures and middle- class individuals who commissioned their portraits and those of their family and friends. One particular type which gained popularity was the portrait of newly wedded couples who submit their photographs for copying on the unique medium.
From these developments, it is clear that the Basey mats no longer function solely as bedding material but have assumed the function of paintings to be hung on walls. The mat designed with the San Juanico Bridge becomes a landscape to be admired; that with the Santo Niño assumes the function of an altar painting for devotions; while portraits serve as reminders of people as well as status symbols. It then follows that the sizes of mats have became more varied, from the standard single or double sleeping mats to smaller mats for portraits and decorative designs, such as flowers. To complete the process, the mats are framed with bamboo and hung like paintings to be appreciated on the walls. Likewise, the mat weavers and the embroiderers have become mutually independent, with the embroiderers simply buying finished mats from the market for them to design. The function of the decorative mats has even broadened to include material for bags and pillow covers, so that the Basey mat has now set its mark on interior design although on a still limited scale. • A.G. Guillermo
References
Manlilikha ng Bayan, National Folk Artist Award Folio. 1990
Lauzon, Alden. “The Basey Mat-Weaving Process.” Unpublished
manuscript. Quezon City, 1991
Roces, Alfredo R., ed. Filipino Heritage:The Making of a Nation. 10
vols. Manila: Lahing Pilipino Publishing Foundation, 1977 and 1978.