Townsfolk seek ways to keep textile tradition spinning

BANGAR, La Union—Sticking out in the agricultural land of Barangay Consuegra, in a corner where the paved village road curves, is a brick and stone structure that looks out of place.

Residents call it timbugan, one of the vestiges of an era when the town produced inabel (hand-loomed textile) in large volumes and residents planted cotton, spun it into thread, dyed it and turned it into fine fabric.

Bangar is still known for its inabel, which is used in colorful hand-loomed blankets, pillow cases, bath and hand towels, and gowns and dresses. But the threads are now bought in Metro Manila, and are mostly imported.

“It is unlike in the past when residents themselves produced the cotton thread,” said Councilor Irene Valencia, also the town’s tourism officer.

The timbugan, she said, was where residents used to dye the thread from cotton that was grown in the town.

Valencia said a number of timbugan used to be found in the villages of Ubbog, Reyna Regente, Adgepa and Alsate.

“But some residents sold the bricks of the timbugan in their areas,” said Valencia. She said she tried to preserve the structures, but found that only one was left.

The local government intends to preserve the timbugan as a reminder of the days when the town bustled with activity related to the inabel industry, she said.

The timbugan is a hollow, circular structure as high as 3 meters and as wide as 2 meters. Around its lower walls are holes that are plugged when the structure is full of dye water. The plugs are removed to drain used water after the dyeing process.

Beside the timbugan is a basin made also of brick and stone. It is where the newly dyed threads are rinsed with water fetched from a nearby well.

Valencia said the timbugan in different villages were assigned dye colors, so workers had to go to other villages if they needed a specific color for their threads.

The dye used was organic and extracted from barks of trees like duhat (red), siniguelas (reddish brown) and native plants like sago (blue violet) and koneg (yellow).

Timbugan areas also served as important meeting places for villagers. There, residents shared stories and problems.