IRENE BALUNGGAY, 70, concentrates on weaving a new “tapis” in Naneng village in Kalinga province. EV ESPIRITU
TABUK CITY, Kalinga–Irene Balunggay, 70, and Lucena Cadatal, 86, are sumisinnon (traditional weavers), whose skills in tapestry and producing Kalinga costume had impressed visitors on Dec. 15 when Barangay Naneng formally opened its doors as a community tour destination in Tabuk City in Kalinga province.
Naneng (population: 690 as of 2010), one of the city’s 42 villages, had never risked this much exposure before, particularly to strangers.
But the city’s tourism officials realized Naneng had much to share. Apart from a cultural lifestyle that still amazes lowlanders, Naneng is home to weavers who have sustained a community weaving practice that dates back to the 18th century, said Patricia Balawan, Balunggay’s older sister and also a sumisinnon.
The Naneng patterns are different from the tapestries of Kalinga communities which are familiar to many Filipinos, she said, and this is because the community has passed down the concept of experimenting with indigenous images.
Balawan said stories credit an 18th century woman named Sinali for deciding to change the established woven patterns. She said woven materials in the 1900s bore only a single color, which no one could recall.
Sinali discovered how to dye her threads from a tree she called the “Torak,” which grew in the area. This weaving technique had been passed down from generations, but its original nature and the meaning of the patterns had since been forgotten.
In 1997, Balunggay experimented with a new design, inspired by a unique G-string commissioned by an American tourist, who had watched her work at her home. It also gave Balunggay a new market because she was soon paid to make new designs by visitors.
Her designs are attractive. One fabric bears the ata image, a combination of circles and other shapes that make up a zigzag pattern that runs down the garment. Another fabric bears the gittot, diamond-shaped patterns set against a yellow or black stripe, which also runs the length of the woven material.
Some of Balunggay’s G-strings called lagto bear white and orange pompoms. Her tapis (wrap-around skirt) features overlapping diamond shapes, highlighted by orange, black and thin white stripes. The fabric is decorated with shells and beads.
The conventional Kalinga patterns are a combination of stripes and triangular patterns, all bearing a dominant red color but peppered with snatches of green or yellow patterns.
Naneng’s weavers have embraced the idea that they could continue their craft through aggressive promotion to attract tourists to the village.
First-time visitors can avail themselves of a P350-tour package through what is now known as Naneng Heritage Village, where they can see the weavers produce art or tour the community’s ayang (rice granaries) and partake of inandila (rice cakes) and freshly brewed coffee from Kalinga farms.
Visitors can also take a ride in the tal-tallak (wooden kart) with the village children, visit the Dawwang cold spring, picnic at the Naneng mini park, and reflect at St. Joseph Catholic Church.
St. Joseph was the first parish church built in Sitio Macapel in Naneng, which used to serve as the seat of the Tabuk municipal government in the 1920s.
The church was transferred to its present location in 1931. Its first parish priest was Fr. Leon Linderman, who built chapels in Tabuk until his death in 1972. His tomb rests beside the parish church.
Naneng also leads trekkers down to the mighty Chico River and is a stopover for the province’s white-water rafting tour.