Philippine Mats Part 1

Philippine Mats.

by Hugo H. Miller and John F. Minier and U. S. Andes and Theodore Muller and Alice Brezina.

FOREWORD.

The present bulletin is a reprint from The Philippine Craftsman, Vol. I, Nos. 3, 4, and 5, and is issued in this form for the purpose of placing in the hands of teachers a convenient manual for use in giving instruction in this important branch of industrial work. In it are contained directions for the preparation of materials for mat making, with suggestive color schemes for these materials and details for weaving a number of approved Philippine designs.

The use of mats for sleeping and other household purposes is universal through the extreme Orient. Suitable mat materials abound in these Islands, and when proper attention shall have been given to the artistic and decorative side of their manufacture, the mat industry may well become a source of considerable revenue in thousands of Filipino homes.

The Bureau of Education has for some years past been endeavoring to improve the designs used as well as the workmanship of Philippine mats, in order that the article produced shall be typical of the country, artistic in design, and of real commercial value. It is expected that this end will be definitely furthered through the study and use of the material contained in this reprint.

A considerable part of the subject matter of this publication is the original work of Mr. Hugo H. Miller, Mr. John F. Minier, Mr. U. S. Andes, Mr. Theodore Muller, and Mrs. Alice Brezina. Credit is also due to numerous American and Filipino teachers for the submission of reports and materials used in its preparation.

Frank L. Crone,

Acting Director.

Manila, February 1, 1913.

PHILIPPINE MATS.

The production of mats in the Philippines is large because of the extensive domestic demand for them. The sleeping mat [1] is used throughout the Christian provinces, and is also found among the Moros. Such mats are of the finer cla.s.s and are usually more or less highly decorated with colored straws in various designs. For this purpose the buri petates are more widely produced than those made from any other material. Pandan mats are considered stronger and cooler but their use is not so extensive, probably because they are more expensive than the buri mats. In the Visayas, tikug mats are important.

Another use of mats is in the baling of two of the staple products of the Philippines, tobacco and abaca. In the Cagayan valley mats of dried banana petioles are employed. A great many of these are made in Batac, Ilocos Norte, from which place they are shipped to Cagayan. In most cases the tobacco of the Visayas is packed in such mats also. At Argao, Cebu, banana petiole mats are woven as a by-product of the saba cloth industry. In obtaining the fiber, the outer skin of the petiole is pulled off for stripping, and the remaining portion, which is called "upag," is dried and woven into very coa.r.s.e mats by children. These are called "bastos" [2] or "liplip," and are disposed of to the tobacco balers in the town, or are shipped to Cebu and other towns for baling purposes. While saba sinamay is produced in several of the districts in the Visayas, notably in Bohol, it is not known that the upag is used for mat weaving there.

Coa.r.s.e buri mats are almost exclusively used in wrapping abaca for the export trade. Since baling is carried on only in large seaports, particularly in Manila and Cebu, the weaving of these mats in certain localities where the buri palm is abundant and their transportation to the hemp-producing towns are important industries.

While they are not, strictly speaking, mats, plaited sacks [3] are woven in the same weave and bear the same relation to sugar and rice as do mats to tobacco and abaca. Most of the domestic rice crop entering into commerce is packed in buri sacks and practically all the export sugar is sent away in them. A few bayones are made of pandan. The production of bayones is an important industry in certain districts.

Mats are also employed throughout the provinces for drying paddy and copra in the sun, in the same manner in which trays are used for sun-curing fruit in temperate regions.

The use of the finer grades of petates for floor mats and for wall decoration is confined to the foreign population in the Philippines. Nevertheless, a considerable number is so utilized. For this trade only mats of the better grades are demanded, and the number sold for the purpose is probably considerably restricted by the fact that few mats are of suitable color combination and of proper design to satisfy foreign taste. As yet there is no known commercial export of Philippine mats. There is a considerable demand for floor mats and mats for wall decoration in Europe and in the United States, but it is improbable that the Philippines can hope to supply any part of it unless designs and color combinations are vastly improved. Floor mats are used as rugs in the same manner as are the strips of j.a.panese matting which are so popular all over the world. Round floor mats, somewhat larger in diameter than the round table tops, are also in demand. Small mats can be used as doilies on the table or under the stands of flower pots and the like.

Sleeping mats and mats intended for floors, walls, stands, and mat doilies are the ones which are suitable for domestic and foreign commerce, and industrial education must interest itself in them. The Philippine materials available for weaving these mats are varied and well distributed. With improvement in color combination and design, there should be a large increase in the industry.

BLEACHING AGENTS.

Sunshine is used to bleach all mat straws, but more often they are also treated with boiling water to which certain bleaching agents have been added. Only the most important of these are explained.

Tamarind.--This tree (Tamarindus indica) is known in Tagalog, Bicol and Pampanga as sampalok, in Visayan as sambag, in Ilocano as salamagui, and in Palawan as kalampisao. It is a large tree with dense foliage. The leaves are employed as a bleaching agent in boiling water. It is said that the young green fruit can be used for this purpose.

Pandakaki.--The leaves of the plant (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui) are used as a bleaching agent. This is the name under which it is known, particularly in Pampanga and Cavite. In Palawan it is called alibetbet. It is also known as kampopot in Tagalog and as alibubut and toar in parts of the Visayas. In Ilocano the name is kurribuetbuet.

Lemons.--The juice of the various species and varieties of Citrus is employed to some extent for bleaching. It is usually added to boiling water in which the straw is immersed.

Vinegar.--Of Philippine vinegars, those made from palm juices are considered about half as strong as lemon juice. Vinegar from sugar cane juice has probably the same strength. That made from cooked rice is considered about one-fourth as strong as lemon juice.

Alum.--In some towns alum is added to the boiling water in which straw is treated. It is usually employed in combination with other bleaching agents.

DYES USED ON MAT STRAWS.

Mordants.

A mordant is a substance employed to fix the dye to the material. In general, different ones are needed for different dyes and various materials. In some cases the mordant is added to the dye liquid; in others the material is previously treated with it before being colored. The most important are the mineral mordants, such as the alumina, the iron, the tin, and the chrome. These are not used in the Philippines with local vegetable dyes. Tannin is also important and is employed to some extent in the Philippines, being generally obtained from the mangrove tan barks. Wood ashes are little used but vinegar and lemon juice are important.

Kolis.--The leaves of this plant (Memecylon edule) are commonly used in mordanting buri straw before dyeing it with sappan wood. In Tanay, Rizal, it is employed on sabutan straw with all of the vegetable dyes. It is known as guisian (Laguna), duigim (Ilocos, Pangasinan), kulis (Rizal, Nueva Ecija, Bataan), tagobachi (Leyte), kasigay (Ilocos Norte), agam (Negrito, Cagayan), guisoc-guisoc (Sorsogon), macaasin (Tayabas), baian (Zambales), diyatdiyatan (Tayabas), candong (Pangasinan), dioc (Pangasinan).

Natural Vegetable Dyes.

Numerous natural vegetable dyes are employed in the Philippines. Those used on the mat straws are limited in number. The important ones only are here noted. The whole question of dyes is a most difficult one and hardly warrants the time which has been spent upon investigating the various dye materials, nor the effort which would be necessary to determine definitely the methods by which they can be used on mat straws. The artificial dyes have driven the natural vegetable dyes out of use because they are cheaper and are more easily applied, and because in most cases they produce more pleasing and lasting colors.

Sappan.--This plant (Caesalpinia sappan) is known as sapang in Tagalog and Ilocano and as sibucao in Visayan and Bicol. A beautiful dye varying from red to red-orange (see Plate III) is obtained from chips of the wood. This is employed on most Philippine fibers. Lime is sometimes used as a mordant but the straws are usually first treated with kolis leaves.

Turmeric.--This plant (Curc.u.ma longa) is known as dilao throughout the Islands. In Ilocano it is called kunig. Kalaoag is its name in Negros and Sorsogon, ange in Pampanga and duao in parts of the Visayas. The yellow dye obtained from the roots is fugitive in the sunlight.

Annatto.--This plant (Bixa orellana) is generally known here as achuete. It is sometimes called achiote. The plant bears burs containing many small reddish seeds, from the pulp of which the dye is obtained. It is often employed in combination with turmeric. The result is a yellow orange. The dye fades easily.

Deora.--The use of this plant (Peristrophe tinctoria) is confined to the Visayas and Mindanao, where it is known by this name and also as dauda and daura. In Samar the name is dala-uda. It is a small bush and is usually grown in the gardens for its leaves and tender stems. A mordant is not used. The color ranges from yellow orange to a deep red orange.

The methods of using these dye materials are explained for each straw.

Materials Used with Mud to Obtain Dark Grays.

Red or green straws are turned dark gray by burying them in mud to which certain substances (usually containing tannin) are added.

Talisay.--This large tree (Terminalia catappa) is common in the Philippines. The leaves are added to the mud in dyeing straw black. From the bark a brown dye may be obtained. It is, however, seldom used. It is universally known as talisay. Spanish speaking people call it almendras.