MODULE 2

FILIPINO INDEGENOUS HOUSES

By: Arch. Erin T. Sumbilla
• Familiarize with the different regional indigenous houses in the
Philippines
• Make an assessment and understanding of the diversity of
Filipino Architecture.
• Establish the importance of Philippine cultural heritage and
identity in shaping modern Philippine Architecture.
Climate Pre-Spanish Architecture of
History Visayas
Materials • Mangyan • Tagbanua
Architectural Character Pre-Spanish Architecture of
Pre-Spanish Architecture of Mindanao
Luzon Badiao • Manobo • Maranao •
Bontoc • Ifugao • Isneg/ Samal • Tausug • T’Boli • Yakan •
Apayao • Ivatan • Kalinga • Nipa Hut (Bahay-Kubo)
Kankanai •
• The provinces in the low lands normally near the sea shores are
hotter compare of the places in the high lands where they
established their group in the mountains. During the months of
March to June is the dry season and wet season is from July to
October; the rest of the month is the mixture of both. So as the
houses we're built in accordance to what the temperature and
weather condition.
• During the Pre-Spanish
• Immigrants of Malay origin, food gatherers and hunters
• 3000 BC, joined by advance agricultural race from Indonesia
Barangays as tribal system
• Converted to Islam in 1300 AD
• Trade center of the orient
• Bamboo • Nipa

• Rattan • Wood
• Passive cooling (Naturally ventilated)
• Functional
• Open
BONTOC (Fayu)
• Location: Mountain Area of
Cordillera
• House within a house shelter for
rice, chickens, pigs and people
• Plan: square in plan and is
designed to facilitate various
activities
• Granary (falig) - area of 2.00
square meters is elevated on four
posts of about 5’-0” high
• Has a fireplace located at the
rear left corner
• On the ground floor (cha-la-noii) the
following areas are arranged from
the doorway to the rear as follows: •
a. Immediately at the left side of the
main entrance is a rice threshing room
of about 5 square feet in area and
sunk about a foot into the ground.
Found at the center of this room is the
mortar used for threshing rice.
• b. At the right side of the entrance is
a bench 4’-O” wide,12’-O” long and
l’-O” high where baskets, utensils and
other tools are placed. Chickens are
kept underneath this bench. •
• c. Adjacent to the threshing room is
the kitchen. With an area of 5 square
feet, it is provided with three concave
stove stones hacked by a low stone
wall, wooden shelves and water jars.
• Structural:
• • Four corner posts and the side walls
are built as supports to the roof
• • Front and side walls are made of
wood connected to the posts
• • Rear wall is made of stone and mud
• • Roof framing is made up of a ridge
post which Is supported by two queen
posts
• • Queen posts are made to rest on a
central horizontal beam
• • Other horizontal beams are
provided to support the upper rafters
• Decorative Elements: • The
sleeping compartment is
provided with wooden
boards or sleeping benches
3-O” x 4-O” in size. • The
board is slightly inclined on
one end to allow the
sleepers head be elevated.
On the other end is a pole
where the sleeper can rest
his feet. • Fire can be
provided under this pole
when the need for warmth
arises in the occupant.
• IFUGAO
• Location: Mountains of Cordillera
• Built on rice terraces near a spring or grove entry faces down slope
• Plan:
• enclosed structure which is square in plan • rests 2.00 high on four
tree trunks as columns • Contains a single room having an area of
4x5M • interior space is used for cooking and sleeping • fireplace is
located at the far right hand corner of the house • Shelves above the
fireplace are provided for the storage of palay and firewood • Floor
is about 1.50 to 2,00 above the ground made ofwooden planks
resting on solid floor joists which overhang the floor
• Structural • posts are buried into a
hole dug about half meter into the
ground and are further secured by
means of stones placed on each
hole • floor girders are carved with
mortises on both ends to fit into the
pointed upper end of the posts
which act as the tenons • lower part
of the waliboards are mortised into
the floor joists while the upper part
are rabetted above into a
transverse beam • roof is pyramidal
covered with reed and grass
• Roof framing is made up of rafters
resting on a brace above and which
in turn is supported by a kingpost. •
At the apex of the roof, the grass
covering is made loose in order to
allow the escape of smoke coming
from the kitchen area.
• Decorative Elements:
• • carabao’s skulls and pig’s jaws
are used as indication of status
and keeping peace with the gods
• • Ambubulan figure form placed
on top of the roof is used as a
protection against evil spirits and
lightning and as a sign of asking a
favour from the god Kabunyan
• • These symbolic items rather than
the size of his house are used as
induations of the Ifugao’s wealth.
Isneg/ Apayao
Location: Mountain of Apayao and the
Northern end of Cordillera
Home of the Isneg boat people;
pyramidal or hipped roof; annex on one
or both ends; removable sidings for
special occasion
• Plan:
Elevated at approximately 1.50 above
the ground • a single-room rectangular
structure designed with three levels •
lowest level: datag or xassaran, located
at the center of the room • immediate
level: ramuyon, occupy three sides of the
floor proper (the lowest level) • highest
level: tarakip, located on the remaining
side of the house is an extension
Structural:
• Fifteen posts of heavy hardwood
are used as supports
• Posts are distributed in the
following manner:
• Sinit posts - six of these support the
data g and two support the tarakip
• Adixi posts - six of these support
the roof
• Atobrobo - a single post
supporting the ridgepole
Structural:
• There are no fixed window
openings since wall construction
system allow occupants to remove
few wailboards in case air is needed
for the interior.
• Ivatan
• Location: Slope of cliffs and villages built along the sides and tops of
rocky hills of Batanes Island
• Plan:
• stand directly on the ground to withstand strong winds or typhoons
• made up of two houses - the rakuh (big house) consists of the living
room and sleeping quarters and the kusina (kitchen)
• Structural:
The walls, made of lime and stone, is sometimes embedded with wooden
reinforcements in order to resist the effect of a strong earthquake. The
reinforcements run from the house up to the roof frame.
• Doors and windows are provided in the rakuh house but the
wall facing the direction of the strongest winds are left solidly
closed.
• Kalinga
• Location: Steep mountain slope of the Cordillera
• Plan:
• rectangular or octagonal form • octagonal shaped house is
called binayon or finatyon
• living area is elevated at 1.20 meters
• Attic is located underneath the roof which is also used as
granary
• elevated fireplace is found at the left rear side
• flooring of the elevated portions of the house is made of
removable reed mats resting on floor joists
Structural
• total of 12 posts used as supports to the binayon house
• square central portion of the house is defined and supported by
four posts while the other eight posts are distributed on the four
corners
• The lower part of the wall is made of plaited bamboo or Sawali
which rises up to the floor level, while the upper portion up to the
eaves are made of wooden boards rabetted to the exterior floor
• the approach to the
house is through a
ladder which leads to a
narrow platform at the
front
Tagbanua
• Location: Coastal and Near-Coastal plains and valleys of Central
Palawan
• Plan:
• Elevated on stilts about 8’-O” high
• usually made of eight levels
• Each level corresponds to certain function such as entrance, cooking or
hearth, dining, sleeping and various levels for storage
• The highest level usually contains storage space for pillows and
blankets
Structural:
• Since there are various floor levels partitions are unnecessary
• The entire house do not have windows
Mangyan
• Location: Mountainside or hillside of Mindoro
• Plan:
communal house is elevated from the ground at 1.50 meters to the
surrounding platform
• one-room structure measures 6.00 x 10.00 and is rectangular in plan
• Palaganan - passageway At the central part of the house leading
from the main door
•Visitors may sleep along the palaganan but most of the time this is
used as an extra storage space for the families
• Individual families are not separated from one another by partitions.
Rather, their space allotment is defined by a mat spread on the floor
and also by their individual fireplaces.
• Structural:
• walls are made of the bark of trees and are constructed a
meter or less above the floor
• Opening allows the occupants to observe the exterior without
being seen from the outside
• covered by a gabled roof with cogon grass thatching
• Roof eaves project 1.00 meter beyond the wall for protection
against the cold wind
• There are no windows. Openings are provided through the
space between the flooring and the underneath surface of the wal
Badjao
• Location: Mindanao and Sulu
Region
• Plan:
• Ladder serve as wash area
• Mirror symbolize the number
of children
• Considered houseboats
Manobo
• Location: Lowland of Agusan, Bukidnon, Davao, Misamis
Oriental, Cotabato
• Plan:
• Flooring is made of withered bark of the mahogany tree or split
bamboo
• No decorations at all in the Manobo house because the
Manobos stay outdoors most of the time
•Four or more corner posts are used as main supports to the house
• The main house is covered with sun-dried cogon grass gabled
roof shaped like an inverted V
• The roof for the kitchen is considerably lower than that of the
main roof and is placed at right angles to the main house
• The only entrance to the house is located at the kitchen area.
The ladder is made of the trunk of the tree cut with notches to
serve as its steps.
• Maranao Torogan
• Location: Hills, along the river, road or lakeshore of Mindanao
• An ancestral house for the datu and his family
• Special Parts:
• Tapaan – found at the Kitchen, made of plaited bamboo used for
smoking fish and meat.
• Kodal or the carabao corral – found underneath the Kitchen
• Gibon or Paga - rooms not exposed to visitors; used as hiding place
for the datu’s daughter
• Lamin - a tower atop the brogan where the princess and her ladies in
waiting hide during occasions • Panggao – datu’s ceremonial bed
• Structural:
• The torogan house is constructed by first putting up the center
post called rapuwilih followed by four corner posts called lukud.
• Flouse posts are made from bunga wood and are placed on
top of large stones for protection against the devastating effect
of earthquakes
• floor beams are supported by 25 thick posts
• end beams are called panolong and are ornately carved with
piako (fern-like) or naga (dragon-like) motifs
• Walls are made of gisuk wooden panels carved with ornate okir
designs
Samal
• Location: Coastal waters of Jolo
• Plan:
• consisting of one or more small rooms and a kitchen are built
partially above the ground and water on wooden posts
• Structural:
• Stilts are usually made of bamboo poles while walls are made
of wooden boards or sawali
• Roof thatching is held securely by placing flattened bamboo
spaced far apart over it
Tausug
• Location: Coastal water of Tapul, Siasi, Basilan, Malaysian, Borneo,
Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Cotabato
• Bay-smug – their native name for traditional Tausug house
• Plan:
• Elevated above the ground, it consists of the following parts: entrance
porch or salos, sleeping quarters and kitchen
• Panran – an open extended platform used as a family area
• The kitchen, whose flooring is a foot lower than that of the main house, is
a separate area linked to the main house by a bridge made of bamboo
or wooden planks
• flooring of the house is made of thin strips of bamboo material
• Bilik – sleeping area
• Found at the roof top is the tajuk pusung. It is a wood carving in the
form of the manuk manuk bird showing a stylized head and neck of a
rooster or a stylized design of a naga dragon
• Structural:
• sleeping area or the bilik is the only room in the house proper
and is supported by 9 posts while the porch and the kusina are
supported by separate posts
• posts are made of heavy timber or bamboo
• Except for the center post, all posts rise up to the roof
• Wooden floor beams or hanglad attached to the posts together
with other smaller beams support the floor joists
• Beams and girders are joined together either by joints or by
tying both members with hijuk vines or lagtang and haun vines
• Walls are made of split bamboo or woven coconut palms wall
does not reach up to the roof. An opening of about 0.45 meters is
provided for ventilation
T’Boli
• Location: Hilltops and mountaintops in the Lake Sebu area in Cotabato
• Plan:
• house is built on 6-O” high stilts, built with various levels
• with an approximate area of 900 to 1,350 sq. ft.
• Lowa - it is the central space used as sleeping area for overnight
guests. It has an area of 15e-O” x 20’-0” and 8” lower than the areas
alongside it.
• BIaba - it is the side area, usually 6’-O” wide, used as working and
conversational space.
• Desyung - this is located opposite the Iowa and the blaba. This is
regarded as the area of honor because here the head of the house
entertains guests and performs rites under a curtained canopy.
• Dofil - located on both sides of the desyung and sometimes elevated
at a height of 3’-O” over the iowa, this is the sleeping quarters for the
wives and children of the headman.
• Bakdol - this is the entrance to the
house
• Kohu - this is the hearth made of
beaten-earth floor. It has a shelf where
pots and pans, baskets and other
utensils are kept.
• Dol - this is an area used for the kohu
and stair landing.
• Fato Hu - located at the rearmost
part of the house, it is the utility area.
• Kotel - a detached structure located
some few feet away from the house
which functions as a toilet
Structural
• Bamboo is generally used for the house posts
• Walls are made of sawali or woven bamboo strips
• The low biaba wall is hinged to the floor at its lower side so that
it can be opened towards the outside in case an extended floor
area is needed
• The dofils are separated from one another by means of a
sawali wall which extends up to the roof.
• Yakan
• Location: Mountainous interior of Basilan
• Plan:
• Elevated 2 to 3 meters above the ground
• single-room structure rectangular in plan with approximately 50
to 100 sq. mts. floor area
• does not have partitions
• kitchen is used as the family’s dining area
• porch is used for entertaining guests and as a resting place for
the household
• In the Living room, one will find a cloth-weaving Loom located
near the door which leads to the porch outside
Structural:
• Posts are made of sturdy wood
onto which floor beams are
attached
• walls are made of sawali or
horizontal wooden boards or
bamboo poles attached to one
another by rattan lashings
• Roof eaves overhang the wall at
.50 meters
Doors are oriented towards
the east for prosperity while
few and small windows are
provided because of the
belief that bad spirits
cannot pass through the
small openings quite easily.
A small window is often
provided at the end wall
opposite the kitchen.
References:
Arkitekturang Filipino
By Ar. Gerald Lico