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Hello All,

Thought I might get some input on the following that I just received. It is an early 20th Century jacket from the Tagakaolo Group in South Central Mindanao. Plain Woven cotton, natural dyes with cotton embroidery. 50-cm height, 40 cm wide, sleeve length is 40 cm from body. This is very reminiscent of some of the embroidery done by some of the Hill Tribes in SE Asia. Again the literature is very weak on these pieces, though I did verify that the Tagakaolo switched from using Abaca to Cotton at the turn of the last century. Any additional information you might provide will be greatly appreciated. Best, Richard

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rgmook ... m=1259.jpg

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Richard

Hi Richard,

Have you checked to see if any segment of this jacket is hemp? When I first viewed it, the initial impression that went through my mind was mainland SEAsia "ethnic minority". I wonder if anyone one else will pick up on your comparison.

If this textile came from anywhere else save interior Mindanao (or perhaps Palawan), one could talk of trading or cultural imitation, which of course goes on everywhere, except perhaps amongst isolated Muslim communities in very large Mindanao. My intuition points to another origin entirely.

A linguistic note: the boonies, boondocks, meaning, well the boondocks, comes from an Ilokano word meaning 'THE MOUNTAINS OVER THERE, far away, or, far, far away."

And I bet you thought all I did in my fieldwork was shop for textiles!!

Sandie

Hello Sandie,

Thanks for the comments. No sign of hemp. If there was maybe the case that it is from Mindinao would be stronger for some. It is constructed and a hand sewn seam at bust level. The sleeves and the yoke are of one piece and the front flaps and back of another. At some time, this jacket was also enlarged by adding two 5 cm strips down each side of the front opening. The sleeves were also lengthened in a similar way. Best and thanks, Richard

I don't know about S E Asia (except, yes, of course, lots of echoes) but the jacket looks like very trendy/arty many western capital cities and, if only it was large enough, I would love to wear it (or I would if I were taller, slimmer and probably younger!)

It is deliciously 'over the top' don't you think? I think it could be quite an inspiration for a fashion piece although not at the exquisite hand stitched level.

I like the dancing figures buried in amongst the abstract designs. Some excellent photos which really give a good flavour of the textile. Many thanks indeed to you, Richard, for sharing it.

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Pamela

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The above textile has certain similarities to a male upper garment illus in 'Sinaunang Habi Philippine Ancestral Weave' (Pastor Roces). On pages 196 and 197 is a studio photograph of a young man whose mother is Bagobo and father B'laan, both tribes of southern Mindanao. He wears a jacket which opens down the front together with matching short trousers, typical of tribes in this region. (there are also 2 other photos showing front and back details of the jacket.) The first point of interest is that the B'laan are described as having a tradition of dense embroidery, unlike the Bagobo where this is confined to hems and sleeve ends or packed into bands.
The jacket has a dark (black?) base and is long sleeved with a seam at bust level which appears to continue across the back where it is distingished by a thin zone of patterning. The back side and sleeves are embroidered with x like designs and anthropomorphic figures. The latter, however may represent lizards, and these patterns are all quite densely packed. At the front there is a zone of vertical patterning extending from just below the breast seam to the bottom. This consists of a variety of designs, all dense and in vertical bands, of which the most distinctive is a row of yellow star like designs within red octagons. In addition there is similar banding towards the sleeve ends. Furthermore this particular jacket is described as deviating from the norm in that the patterns are comparatively spread out.
Details of B'laan male jackets are shown on page 97 which bear considerable resemblance to the Tagakaolo jacket in question. Also pages 234-235 where the examples shown also display xs and anthropomorphs etc in reds on a dark base.
The map of Mindanao tribes in'Sinaunang Habi ' show the B'laan and Tagakaolo as neighbours.
In 'From the Rainbows varied Hue' which is about textiles of Mindanao, there is little info on the Tagakaolo and a few historical photos in black and white of these people. Their dress seems to differ little from the Bagobo.
The jacket in question, at least to me, does not call to mind mainland southeast Asia at all. (although, of course there could be faint echos, eg some miao embroidery )

Hi Pamela,

Over the top? How then would you describe my tuxedo jacket made out of a very, very old Hmong skirt? It was designed by my friend (Khun) Nim in Bangkok; The front was cut to have the embroidered trim looking like the collar of a bolero tux (truly!) with only one Burmese coin button at the bottom. The sleeves utilize different parts of the the skirt, and the trim on either sleeves is very different.

Ah, but the piece de la resistence is (are?) the tails! Unnoticable from the front (and made by stitching two more pieces in the back) are two tails, both close together and cascading down a full two feet further from the jacket front.

This was designed for me to wear in San Francisco when I would come home. Nim wanted me to look spectacular and elegant, as she knew SF was a very sophisticated city.

Happy shopping!

Sandie

Just a few more notes concerning the South Mindanao jacket.
In 'From the Rainbow's varied Hue' page 44 are illus, specimens of B'laan men's shirts adorned with what are described as crocodile motifs, these bear a resemblance to some of the designs on the jacket in question. Also note the x motifs together with the triangular area of design at the neck.
It may also be of interest that B'laan embroiderers were so renowned for their skill that Bagobo frequently obtained garments embroidered by their B'laan neighbours. Maybe Tagakalo obtained garments in a similar manner.

Thank you Siriol for your insights. Best, Richard