Learning with Ifugao Nation

The lamma is the Ifugao woman's upper garment. The original lamma was used by women as a protection from the sun when they work in the rice fields.

The gammit is the most ornate of all the Ifugao skirts having all the symbolisms used in other traditional textiles. It was originally woven using the ikat or binobodan technique.

The ińggalgaletget (or ginalletget) and the pinuttu (or pfinuttaw) are considered variations of the ginallit, the all-Ifugao striped skirts. The binayyáung, on the other hand is but two pieces of the bayyáung blanket made into a skirt. Like its blanket counterpart, this particular tolgè is worn by the upper class.

The tolge’ is the traditional wrap-around skirt of Ifugao women.

There are as many variations of the tolgè as there are major Ifugao groups --- but all of them follow a basic pattern of colors and stripes. Each design speaks of identity and place of origin.

The traditional Ifugao blanket is usually made of 3 panels: adolna (middle), balingbing (side), and talungtung (border). These panels are woven separately. Once completed, they are put together by traditional...

To help protect the community and its members, Ifugao Nation turned its woven fabric products to raw materials to produce reusable face masks.

In making our traditional textiles, we use a variety of symbols which are passed down from earlier generations. Each symbol has meaning, and the combinations of patterns tell stories.

Each binobodan piece takes a number of people, involves several steps, and usually takes days or even weeks to finish depending on the length and width of fabric to be woven.

Not all weaves are made equal. Some are hand-dyed, some are plainly handwoven, and some require a little bit more attention to detail than others.