Cultural Clothing

  As performers for the Muslim suite, Clarissa
Avendano (left) and Catherine Avendano
show off their fans.   Ludovico Tortuya wears
a bahag as part of the Igorot suite.

By Keith Enriquez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The Pilipino Culture Night, held last Saturday, May 19, not only
presented a show with a great storyline and terrific dance
performances, but it also offered an interesting array of cultural
costumes. The garments worn by PCN participants gave an insight
into the diversity that exists in the Pilipino culture.

Typical attire for the Maria Clara suite included the formal
Maria Clara dress and the barong tagalog, an embroidered
long-sleeved shirt made of pineapple fiber. These light colored
clothes with clean lines symbolize the virtues and nobility of the
Pilipina woman.

The Igorot suite presented more traditional tribal clothing. The
Igorot tribes from Northern Luzon wore loin cloth-like garments
called bahags, which were usually made in a bright color such as
red. This choice of clothing was used to show the Igorot’s
ability to remain unfazed by Spanish colonization.

Unknown to many, people of the Muslim faith make up a large part
of the southern region of the Philippines. Both Muslim men and
women wore malongs like the ones presented in PCN. The malongs were
made of highly decorated woven cloth, joined lengthwise to create a
tube or cylinder and worn as a shirt or a dress. Occasionally,
malongs are pulled all the way up to cover the head for protection
against the sun and cold. They can also be used as a gesture of
modesty when covering the face, or as a blanket for sleeping.

The Traditionalist suite explored a culture predating Islam and
Christianity, although the Traditionalist clothing used in PCN is
more contemporary looking than some of the other costumes.

The combination of the suites and garments gave a colorful
representation of the diversity of Pilipino culture and made PCN
eye-catching as well as entertaining.

  (left to right) Ron Castillo,
Rebecca Sweet, and James
Natividad pose as Balse dancers for the Maria Clara suite.
  Crisette Leyco dances for the Kadal
Samahang dance, performed under the Traditionalist suite.  
(left to right) Gil Gatchalian, Elijah
Sugay, Ed Miculob, and Ryan
Bulatao show strength as part of the Igorot suite.