BRIDGING THE GAP
The versatile patadyong of Panay
Panay's socio-cultural development started long before the coming of the Spanish colonizers. Historical records and archaeological findings would attest to the fact that the pre-Spanish Panayanons were a people of rich culture and of relatively advanced civilization. Their culture belonged to the Iron Age.
Early Spanish writers like Antonio de Morga, Miguel de Loarca and Francisco Colin attested to the fact that the Panayanon already enjoyed a certain degree of civilization at the time of the Spanish contact in the 16th century. According to them, the inhabitants fabricated various kinds of boats and fishing gears. They practiced wet farming and fashioned metal agricultural implements. They carved sculptures symbolic of their ancestors' spirits. They were expert silversmiths and coppersmiths, working on metals and other materials for artistic jewelry and for bedecking their weapons and tools. They had also their own alphabet and system of writing, folk songs and native dances, as well as folk legends and stories. And, they wove in their tirals or handlooms textiles from abaca, cotton, Chinese silk and other fibers.
Weaving in Panay, particularly in Iloilo, dates back to the pre-Spanish times. Thus, when the colonizers arrived, they found that the weaving industry in Iloilo was already well established. They also observed that a considerable amount of textile materials were traded by the Ilonggos with other groups of people in the archipelago.
Even as early as 1569, for instance, Loarca reported that Iloilo was already producing great quantities of cotton cloth and madrinaque, the latter being made from coarse fabrics taken from abaca, maguey and other plants. (Blair & Robertson XXI)
By the second half of the 18th century, Iloilo already experienced the advent of large-scale weaving. This brought about a great impact on the inhabitants of the province and its economy so that by the 19th century, Iloilo was already referred to as the "textile capital of the Philippines."
The boom was not to last, however. The opening of the port of Iloilo in 1855 resulted in the development of sugar production as a more lucrative industry and in the influx of cheap European, particularly British, manufactured textiles. By the 1870s, the weaving craft in Panay began its downward trend.
The most popular and still existing finished item of Iloilo's weaving industry is the patadyong or wrap-around because of its encompassing bearing and meaning in the life of the people. By and large, the persistence of the patadyong could be explained in terms of its multiple traditional uses. While at present worn only in the rural areas and, at times, in cultural presentations and generally only by mature women, it has not lost its utilitarian value.
The patadyong is more than just a garment. As a skirt or wrap-around, it is comfortable to the wearer and makes one feel secure. A very versatile piece of garment, it serves as an umbrella to protect one from the heat of the sun and the onslaught of the rain. Being absorbent and most convenient for wiping hands, heads and face, especially when one is working, it serves as a towel and apron combined. It functions also as a one-piece bathing suit when bathing outdoors and is worn when washing cloths in the river. It can serve as an instant divider or private nook by which one can divest himself of unwanted liquid or change her attire. When hooked to a beam in the wall or the ceiling, it functions as a crib for the baby. Or, it can be used as a sling to carry the baby while walking or moving around. Oftentimes, in the absence of a rope, it can be utilized to tie together elongated objects.
The patadyong can be utilized as a curtain and a decorative piece to hang on the wall or from the ceiling, or it can be used as a table cover. In the rural areas, it is also being used to bundle newly harvested palay and fresh fruits and vegetables. And, of course, in the absence of a mat or a blanket when one gets down for a much needed rest, the patadyong can serve both.
As with many Filipino traditional crafts, textile weaving has become marginal in Panay nowadays. Nevertheless, with the growing market in Manila and abroad, weaving has made a limited but successful comeback, particularly in Kalibo, Miag-ao, Bugasong, Sibalom, Arevalo and Oton. In the case of patadyong, most Panayanon weavers do not seem to fear that it will someday disappear. To them, the patadyong will always be needed and the use of it cannot be filled by anything else. The patadyong, in a sense, is not just a fabric but is part and parcel of Panayanon history and culture.