They are implements used in rice farming, especially in Nueva Ecija which for decades has been called the “Rice Granary of the Philippines”.
Suyod is for breaking soil clods and combing out weeds, eroplano is for scraping off uneven soil, atab is for harvesting traditional rice panicle after panicle, barungus is for carabao mouth cover to prevent the animal from foraging while in harness, bangkang pampinawa is for threshing palay or in shaking partially burnt glutinous rice by six to eight people, ararong vargas is a plow made of metal, and singkaw is yoke.
For the farmer’s protection from the rain there is the kalapiao or local raincoat made up of buri leaves and the bistikul or salakot to compliment it as head gear and the tagunggong, a gourd shell, used as water container.
For pressing clothes, the women folk deftly use pagmulian, a wooden cylinder, wherein the material to be pressed is wound, complimented by a fl at rectangular board. It is operated by the feet of a balancing woman to rock the wrapped cylinder.
And how did the Tagalog noble men and women in the 15th-16th century, the town officials of the early 1800, the upperclass men and women of the 16th century, the Pampango peddlers, the Tiboli and Mansaka male and female dress up? And how did the Ilocanas appear in their gala dress in their olden days?
These material culture in rice farming and the Filipino costumes, and more, are currently shown in the “Evolutions of Novo Ecijanos in Rice Farming Systems and Filipino Costumes” in the exhibit at the ground floor of the library of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) here.
The exhibit, in a 1,840-foot floor area, was put up by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in collaboration with CLSU, the local government unit, and the Ayala Museum. It was formally opened Thursday.
“It was put up in conjunction with the observance of the current Rice Awareness Month,” according to Diadem Gonzales- Esmero, senior museum curator of Phil- Rice Science Museum. “It will up till the end of this month,” she added.
The material culture in rice farming, she said, is part of the collections made by the CLSU’s Center for Central Luzon.
She said those of the Filipino costumes are part of the “Ayala Museum Doll Collections” made available for the exhibit here. A total of 15 of these collections were lent, she added.
“We also have in the exhibit a typical bahay kubo with various tools and gadgets used by the farming families. Many more implements for harvesting, threshing and pounding rice, winnowing, cooking, and for hunting that are showcased,” Esmero said. “As for the modern implements in rice farming, which replaced many of the age-old ones, we have video presentation for them,” she added.
This exhibit is meant for deeper appreciation of how our farmers of old adapted to the comparatively cumbersome farming then in order to feed the nation, Gonzales said. Modern rice farming which uses small and big machines is definitely much easier to use and relatively work faster now, she added.
