PIÑA WEAVING (AKLAN)
Piña is considered to be the finest textile in the Philippines. It is handwoven and mostly produced by the Aklanon of Western Visayas. It’s made from the native pineapple plant of the red bisaya variety (Ananascomosus). The entire process of producing this textile is difficult, the epidermis is removed and the rough fibers are exposed using a porcelain shard. The edge of a halved coconut shell is run through the surface to extract the inner layer of fibers. The fragile pia cloth is made with only long, fine, but durable inner strands. It then goes through a degumming process where the fibers are repeatedly beaten with a paddle and washed in a river before air drying for easier separation. It is commonly used for Barongs and a woman’s terno.
HABLON (TEXTILE) (ILOILO)
Hablon originated in the 18th Century and was the main export of IloIlo. The word “Hablon” is Hiligaynon which means “to weave”. The weavers use natural fibers such as cotton, jusi (banana fiber), piña (pineapple fiber) and maguey fiber. Hablon is a very adaptable weave as it is made into dresses,shawls, barongs, and home accents. Although it isn’t related to religion, Hablon weavers are getting older and younger generations seem to have no interest in learning how to weave so there has been a decline in its demand.
PATADYONG (ANTIQUE AND ILOILO)
This textile is woven mostly in Panay. The word “patadyong” comes from Visayan, “pa” and “tadlong,” which means “to be left straight.” The Hablon is used for this wrap-around skirt which also has a straight silhouette without any folds or pleats. Its patterns, although simple, consist of stripes and plaids and have a burst of bright colors such as red, yellow, and blue. Some say that the plaids' flatness represents the terrain's horizontality, particularly in Iloilo, and that the plaids' geometry represents the angular division of lowland agricultural plains. The checkered patterns are supposed to mirror the grids of nets and baskets that are common on a fishing island like Panay. The cloth is usually woven with cotton. Despite a decline in demand in the 19th century, more Visayans have taken interest in doing so. From 15 weavers in 2007 to 72 weavers in 2018. Nowadays the pattern is woven into shawls, handkerchiefs, scarves, bags, and many others.
