The Torogan

The Torogan is the ancestral house of the upper-class Maranao in the Lanao Region of Mindanao. It is the dwelling place of the datu along with his wives and children. There could not be any house larger than torogan of the datu within the sultanate, for this signifies rank, prestige, and wealth.




 The Torogan is the traditional residence of the reigning Sultan of the Maranaw people and his family. It is where the community 

Torogan Architecture

The Maranaos have three types of house: lawig the small houses, mala-a-walai the large houses and the torogan. The existing torogans were built by the community and the slaves for the datu in 1800s. This house of the datu has no partitions and it is a multifamily dwelling where all the wives and the children of the datu lived. The windows of torogan are slits and richly framed in wood panels with okir designs located in front of the house. The communal kitchen is half a meter lower than the main house is both used for cooking and eating. The distinct high gable roof of the torogan, thin at the apex and gracefully flaring out to the eaves, sits on a huge structures enclosed by slabs of timber and lifted more than two meters above the ground by a huge trunk of a tree that was set on a rock. The end floor beams lengthen as panolongs the seemed to lift up the whole house. The torogan is suffused with decorations. There were diongal at the apex of the roof, also an intricately carved tinai a walai, okir designs in the floor, on windows and on panolongs. There were also brightly colored weaves ormalongs hanging from the rafters, it was hung up using ropes around a particular territory for privacy. The house was built to sway during earthquakes. Twenty-five post of huge tree trunks were not buried but are freestanding. Sometimes, if needed, wooden pegs were used to secure the wood members. These were all used to prevent the house from collapsing.

Function

Aside from being used as a dwelling place of the datu, The torogan is also used for a variety of socio-religious gatherings such as weddings, funeral wakes, conferences and even for court proceedings. It is also used as a guest house.

http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Torogan

The malong

The malong is a traditional "tube skirt" made of handwoven or machine-made multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is akin to the sarong worn by peoples in Malaysia, Brunei andIndonesia. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous tribes in the Southern Philippines and the Sulu Archipelago.



Handwoven malongs are made by Maranao, Maguindanao, and T'boli weavers on a backstrap loom. The pattern or style of the malong may indicate the weaver's tribal origin, such as the Maranao malong landap. Very rare malong designs and styles can indicate the village in which the malong was made, for example, the extremely intricate malong rawatan made only by a handful of Maranao weavers in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. Handwoven malongs, which are costly, are likely to be used only at social functions, to display the social and economic status of the wearer. While modern malongs are made of cotton andLurex threads, some contemporary handwoven malongs are made of inexpensive rayon thread, to reduce the manufacturing cost to the weaver and ultimate cost to the consumer. There are many grades of cotton thread, and the cost of a malong can also be reduced by using the lesser grades of cotton thread, or by creating a loose or coarse weave.

Machine-made printed cotton malongs are made in Indonesia specifically for export to the Philippines, and are commonly referred to as "batik" because the item is imported; those inexpensive machine-made malongs are used for everyday purposes. The designs of traditional handwoven designs are used in imported cotton from Thailand, allowing the purchaser to have a cotton machine-printed malong which, from a distance, convincingly mimics the look of a much more expensive handwoven malong.

The malong can function as a skirt for both men and women, a turban, a dress, a blanket, a sunshade, a bedsheet, a "dressing room", a hammock, a prayer mat, and other purposes. A newborn is wrapped in a malong, and as he grows this piece of cloth becomes a part of his daily life. When he dies, he is once again wrapped in a malong. Among traditional tribal peoples, the malong is used in everyday life. Even in areas where people wear Western-style clothing during the day, the malong is commonly used as sleepwear.The malong is also used in very big festivals, they wear this to show respect.

Reference: From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textiles of the Southern Philippines. Edited by Roy W. Hamilton. 1998. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California at Los Angeles.




They only wore bahag (for men), some wore malong and putong over their head. They were also bare-footed



Royal Malong!!! This kind of malong is worn by Maranaw men and women of royal status.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malong

Okir

Okir or okkil is the term for geometric and flowing designs (often based on an elaborate leaf and vine pattern) and folk motifs that can be usually found in Maranao and Muslim-influenced artwork, especially in the southern Philippines, and in some parts of Southeast Asia. Okir a dato refers to the ornamental design for men and okir a bay to that for women.

In the Philippines, an ancient proof of okir's style of flowering symbols is the torogan, the ancestral home of the highest titleholder in a Maranao village. It is a symbol of power and prestige usually adorned during festivities. Its prominent part is the panolong, a carved beam that protrudes in the front of the house and styled with okir motif. The okir design is found woven or printed in textiles, carved into wooden cemetery markers and wooden boxes, and it can also be found etched into knife or sword blades and handles, and cast or etched into various brass and silver objects.

Other variations of the okir involves the use of nāga or serpent motif. Maranao instruments usually are styled with okir. A more prominent variation is the sarimanok, a chicken-like figure that carries a fish in its beak.

Okir is said to be firstly made in Tugaya Lanao del Sur, As we all know that Tugaya is the home for maranao artisans and the Industrial capital of lanao del sur. It has been long known as the home of arts and crafts of maranao tribe since time immemorial.

Reference: Wikipedia

The Sarimanok

   

The Sarimanok is a legendary bird of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao, a major island in the Philippines. It comes from the words "sari" and "manok." "Sari" means cloth or garment, which is generally of assorted colors. Manòk means "bird".

Description

It is the legendary bird that has become a ubiquitous symbol of Maranao art. It is depicted as a fowl with colorful wings and a feathered tail, holding a fish on its beak or talons. The head is profusely decorated with scroll, leaf, and spiral motifs. It is said to be a symbol of good fortune.

Origin

Far Eastern University Logo.

The Sarimanok is derived from a totem bird of the Maranao people, called Itotoro. According to the Maranao people, the Itotoro is a medium to the spirit world via its unseen twin spirit bird called Inikadowa.

The Sarimanok is also believed to have originated from the Garuda of Hindu epic Ramayana adopted into Maharadia Lawana of Maranao people, which in turn was later adopted to an Islamic legend after Southern Philippines converted to Islam.

According to the later Islamic legend, Muhammad found a rooster in the first of the seven heavens. The bird was so large its crest touched the second heaven. Its crow roused every living creature except man. Judgment day would come once this celestial rooster ceased to crow.

A Maranao legend also says of a Sultan's daughter being swept by a colorful rooster that became a handsome young man and they were never seen ever again. The Sultan then created replicas of the bird to remember his daughter by.

Cultural Significance

According to the tradition, the sarimanok is never displayed by itself. It must be displayed with the set of flags, standards, and vexilloids. At present, this is not totally true; sarimanok may be placed on the top of the umbrella of a Sultan or dignitary, and also, the Mindanao State University has adopted it for the graduation exercises following a non-traditional use.

The Far Eastern University seal bears the FEU Coat of Arms and the sarimanok motif. The FEU Coat of arms consists of an eight-pointed golden star that represents the first eight main disciplines of FEU. The sarimanok is a legendary bird in full color that projects the nationalistic spirit upon which the university is founded. The university wanted to have a Filipino touch in everything because they were one of the first universities in the Philippines to be founded by a pure-blooded Filipino, Dr. Nicanor Reyes, Sr..





images are not mine
reference: Wikipedia