ILOILO CITY – The dying embroidery art in the mountains deep in central Panay finds hope as the children have shown interest in the craft of the indigenous Panay Bukidnon.

At least 20 children from the mountain villages of Calinog, Iloilo and Tapaz, Capiz, attended the second “Panubok,” in Calinog on April 25, where they sat down with surviving master-embroiderers who have kept alive the waning needlework.

One of them is Angelie Gilbaliga, 12, who won first prize in shawl embroidery, besting other embroiderers who were old enough to be her mother. Gilbaliga showed interest in embroidery when she was only seven, even before she could read and write, said her mother Gliceria, herself a “hantup” or master embroiderer in Barangay Garangan, Calinog.

“Panubok” comes from “tubok,” which means to embroider. Panubok means to embroider designs on the costumes of “binanog” dancers. “Binanog” is a courtship dance imitating the movements of a hawk. Without the embroidered finery – consisting of a blouse, white for women and black for men, and shawl or the handkerchief – no dancing will take place because the Panay-Bukidnon dancers do not find themselves “complete.”

The array of needle work, done by women, is primarily seen as signs of vanity but they also communicate a worldview and a way of life of the Panay Bukidnon, said Maria Christine Muyco, a professor of the College of Music in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, who conducted research on the music and dance of the indigenous people.

Among the distinct designs that often find their way in dance costumes are “matang-punay” (pigeon’s eye), “sudli-kama” (scales of python), and flowers of “putik,” a shrub, and “labog,” a plant with leaves used for souring. Other designs – mermaids, turtles, freshwater crabs, vines, tiny spines and contours of land – were mentioned in “sugidanon,” the chanted epics of Panay-Bukidnon. The designs are rendered mainly in stem, back, satin, cross and chain stitches using black, red, orange, green and blue threads, or whatever colored threads are available.

Appliquéing, done by cutting a design and sewing it on the cloth, is also used to decorate the collars of men and women’s blouses. Not only are the outer blouses of women decorated. Their white underblouse called “koton” is just as adorned.

There are now only a few master-embroiderers practicing the craft of Panay Bukidnon, said Muyco.

“Panubok” was not meant to be a livelihood like slope farming or working in the lowlands as maids or farm laborers. “Panubok” was part of the way of life when there was plenty for everyone, when the farms and rivers yielded enough food to eat and to trade in the lowlands.

But this is no longer true these days.

Poverty, along with environmental degradation and other lowland influences, had caused the waning of the embroidery art and other arts and crafts. Muyco said some women who knew the craft left their villages to find work in the towns or cities.

Panubok’s recent revival was the work of Alice Magos, a former professor of the University of the Philippines Visayas, and Muyco.

Magos, who considers her research among the Panay-Bukidnon a lifetime mission, said that the needlecraft should be taught to the children to instill pride among them, in the same way that they have slowly appreciated their dances and chanted epics when these were taught to them.

Alfonso Catolin, regional director of the National Commission on Indigenous People, said the embroidery craft could become a source of livelihood in the community. He said the women could embroider and sell their products during lean months, instead of leaving home.

The recent Panubok was inspired by the first one, which was a contest of needlework designs from Panay-Bukidnon communities in Calinog and Tapaz in 2005. It featured designs on “koton.”

Buoyed up by the interest in the craft, Magos and Muyco introduced the craft to Panay-Bukidnon children and teenagers during the Calinog Agro-Industrial Fair on Dec. 9, 2007. At least a dozen children, among them boys, joined the embroidery contest. It had created interest among artists, teachers, education and local government officials of the town.

Magos and Muyco had asked local artists and their friends to contribute cloth and colored threads for the recent activity. They also asked them to bring along and donate some colored threads and yarn when they attend the Panubok so that the young Panay-Bukidnon could be inspired to be keepers of the craft.