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Selected Works of Cherubim A Quizon
Article
Botanical Knowledge and Indigenous Textiles in the Southern Mindanao Highlands: Method and Synthesis Using Ethnography and Ethnobotany
South East Asia Research (2022)
  • Cherubim A Quizon, Seton Hall University
  • Fe Magpayo-Bagajo, Ateno de Davao University
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Abstract
This article presents a methodological overview and preliminary synthesis of multi-site ethnographic data on botanical practices related to indigenous textiles in Southern Mindanao. Focusing on information derived from fieldwork among Bagobo and T’boli specialists in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, we describe indigenous textile practices related to plant use, drawing on field and herbarium specimens with comparative information from other textile-producing groups in the region. The use of abaca (Musa textilis) thread alongside principal dye plants (Morinda citrifolia L. and Diospyros nitida) create the characteristic textile patterns that have long been associated with Mindanao material culture. We also describe the use of contemporary sources that extend plant-based repertoires and discuss the role of indigenous specialists and collaborators in multi-site research. In presenting both method and data patterning, this paper seeks to delineate how traditional botanical knowledge facilitates a range of contemporary aesthetic goals among Mindanao’s indigenous communities. In addition, this article adds to our understanding of how material culture, or the making of culturally meaningful things by historically marginalized peoples, continues to shape knowledge systems and organize individual and collective action.
Keywords
  • Indigenous textiles,
  • Mindanao,
  • ethnobotany,
  • material culture,
  • Philippines
Disciplines
Publication Date
2022
DOI
10.1080/0967828X.2021.1960187
Publisher Statement
Citation Information
Cherubim A Quizon and Fe Magpayo-Bagajo. "Botanical Knowledge and Indigenous Textiles in the Southern Mindanao Highlands: Method and Synthesis Using Ethnography and Ethnobotany" South East Asia Research Vol. 30 Iss. 1 (2022) p. 89 - 105 ISSN: 2043-6874
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/cherubim_quizon/30/