Barong Tagalog

Myr is doing a report on the Philippines and I am helping her out... and learning really cool things at the same time.

The National Dress of the Philippines is the Barong Tagalog. This is a long, thin, beautifully embroidered shirt that is worn untucked. A couple of beautiful examples of it are on this site. What makes the Barong more than just a gorgeous piece of clothing is its history.

It seems when the Spanish moved into the Philippines, they wanted a quick and easy way to designate the "servants" from the "masters" so they modified a traditional shirt into the Barong. It was worn out (rather than tucked in) to signify that they were servants. The material needed to be transparent so that the servant couldn't hide a weapon under it. It had no pockets as a protection against thievery.

I'll quote the rest of its history from the this page, because they say it better than I could.

By the of the century a new middle class began to emerge among the Filipinos. These were known as the principalia. They have mastered Spanish laws and were able to obtain titles to lands. They became successful in business and agriculture and sent their sons to be educated abroad. They were privileged to build their houses in the poblacion around the plaza near the seats of power.

Only the member of the principalia could be addressed by the title DON, and only they were allowed to vote. They had all the trappings of power and status, but for one undeniable fact: they still had to wear their shirttails out, if only to remind them that they were still Indios.

What the Spanish authorities did not smother out was the Filipino's wil power and determination to psychological conquer their colonial masters, through improvisation and reinterpretation. The Filipino's stylistic bongga (flashy dresser) was a reaction against the overt discrimination and insensitive oppression of the Spaniards.

For example, Filipinos were forbidden to use import silk and fabric for their Barong, so they ingeniously used pineapple leaves to weave the pinya jusicloth of the barong, turning the outfit into such delicate material, of luminous silky rich mixture much finer silk. And to add insult to the injury, they hand - embroidered the front with such exquisite abandon: Calado and hand-work all over.

The Barong Tagalog gained its power, prestige, and status when President Quezon, the first Filipino president, declared it the National dress. The status of the lowly inferior Barong thus became another symbols of the Filipinos' resistance to colonization.

After World War II, Philippine presidents began wearing the Barong Tagalog at their installation into office and on every formal state occasion. In contemporary times the Barong Tagalog is the power dress. As an abogado de campanilla, you cannot afford not to wear the Barong Tagalog when arguing a case in the Philippine courts.

Today, every visitor and foreign dignitary invited to a Malacanang Palace state function must, by necessity, and dictated by protocol, be dressed to the nines in a Barong Tagalog. The invitations specifically say come in "Barong" instead of the traditional "Coat and Tie".

Thus, every one invited to dinner at the Presidential Palace and in many Filipino homes will knowingly and unwittingly have to experience directly, what it feels to have to wear his shirttails out, to suffer the indignity of having the material of his barong transparent so that he can not conceal any weapon; and horrors, to be accused directly of incipient thievery by having no pockets in his barong to put the silver.

I love stuff like that. A really nice "up yours" without ever actually being insulting.

Homework can be cool.

Myria is doing a terrific job on this project of hers.  She is spending hours and hours making sure that she gets every single point that she can.  She did say that she wished that the teacher "wouldn't put so much pressure on them" but when I ask what is required to be done, she admits that the "requirements" are just suggestions and that most of the kids are not nearly as far done as she is.   *shakes head*

It's a good idea that she's as far done as she is.  The Wausau Curling Club is having a bonspeil this weekend and she and Wil are going to be curling in it and I don't foresee a lot of time for homeword. 

Her biggest complaint is that she hasn't seen this weeks '24' yet.  I will have to make sure she sees it before Monday.