Sabutan.

Botanical. —It is a question among botanists whether the pandan known as sabutan is a variety of the common sea-shore pandan ( P. tectorius ) or whether it has sufficient distinctive characteristics to entitle it to be considered as a separate species ( P. sabotan ). Botanists have not as yet succeeded in securing a fruit of this pandan, which could settle the question, and it is [ 64 ] very doubtful whether the fruit will ever be found. 7 Prof. Ugolino Martelli of Florence, Italy, an authority on pandans, considers sabutan to be Pandanus tectorius var. sinensis . This classification is for the present accepted, as most evidence is in favor of such determination and in this paper sabutan is therefore considered to be a variety of the common pandan, the chief change in which, through generations of planting, has been in the production of a leaf stronger, thinner, and of finer texture than that of the parent stock.

Plate XXXVII. Flower of sabutan.

The sabutan plant is never found growing wild, though after it has once been started and rooted it will endure neglect and even abandonment. It produces better and finer leaves, however, if it receives some care and attention. In the towns of Tanay and [ 65 ] Pililla, Rizal Province, and in Mabitac, Laguna Province, and in all the towns along the lake shore as far as Paete, the suckers of the plant are set out in small plots of ground surrounding the houses of the people. These form patches which in several years (depending mostly on soil conditions) yield pandan leaves large and fine enough to be used in the manufacture of hats and mats. The ideal location for sabutan is along the banks of streams where it can get the benefit of the light shade of bamboo or plants that happen to grow in the vicinity. Ordinarily, good results are obtained by planting the suckers of sabutan in a loose and moist, but well drained, soil. Plants are set out one meter apart in each direction, as they spread considerably. They need some shade, especially when young, but not the heavy shade of an abacá or banana grove.

The plant grows to be from 2 to 4 meters high. The leaves are fine in texture, about 2 meters long and as wide as 6 centimeters. Spines occur on the margins and on the under surface of the midrib. The male inflorescence procured from Tanay by the Bureau of Education is similar in appearance to that of Pandanus tectorius and is about 27 centimeters long. At varying distances on the flower stalk are leaves (bracts), thin and fine, from 10 to 24 centimeters long and with fine spines on margins and midrib. The flowers have a pleasant, though not very strong, odor.

Status of the sabutan mat industry. —As an industry, the weaving of sabutan mats is confined to the towns of Tanay and Pililla, in the Province of Rizal. The beginnings of this industry go back beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitants or even of their parents. It is probable that, as the people state, mat weaving has been carried on ever since the towns were founded. Tanay is the older of the two and it would seem (though reliable historical data of this kind are difficult to obtain) that the town was the first to engage in sabutan mat weaving and is probably the mother of all the sabutan industries carried on around Laguna de Bay.

The present condition of the mat-weaving industry of these two towns, however, is precarious; it appears to be gradually dying out. The fabrication of sabutan hats has been introduced from Mabitac, Laguna Province, into Pililla, with the result that the younger generation is entirely engaged in making hats, and the relatively small number of mats produced is being woven by the older women who have not cared to learn the new art. As yet no hats are made in Tanay, but the work is being taught in the schools and from conversation with people of the town it is judged that they are becoming interested also. [ 66 ]

The disappearance of the sabutan mat industry would be very unfortunate, for the products are the finest samples of the mat weaver’s art produced in the Philippines. The mats are of fine straw; the natural gray of sabutan is pleasing; the designs used are good; and the colors are usually well combined. The favorite patterns consist of heavy plaids with some of the stripes containing sub-patterns produced by floating straws; the simplest ones have narrow border designs in straight lines. The most expensive mats are decorated with embroidered designs. The combination of colors in these is sometimes not pleasing and the designs themselves are not of special merit. However, if better ones are substituted, these mats should be excellent for a foreign trade demanding expensive articles of this nature. Unlike most Philippine mat industries, this one has not as yet been affected by coal tar dyes, and only vegetable dyes, found locally in the town or in the forests, are employed. The straw dyes very well and as a consequence the colors produced are even throughout the mat; nor have any of the shades that brilliant effect or “off color” which is so distasteful in certain fibers. The colors obtained are only fairly fast in the light, however, and it is probable that the new coal tar dyes will be faster and cheaper. In point of durability, sabutan mats would be superior to all others produced in the Islands if woven of double straws. In price they now vary from forty centavos to thirty pesos, the ordinary ones bringing from ₱1.50 to ₱2.50.

Plate XXXVIII. Cheap sabutan mat.

If the industry is to be preserved intact, however, something must be done to give it vitality, for the weavers know from [ 67 ] experience of neighboring towns that more money can be made from weaving hats than in the fabrication of mats, and they will naturally change to the more remunerative article. Unlike most other weaving industries, the craft has not as yet been organized in Tanay. The production of mats has been more or less haphazard, with but little supervision by any person resembling the broker usually connected with household industries. The weaver on completing a mat sells it in the market or to some storekeeper. Up to the present time, the chief trade in these mats has been at Antipolo in May during the “romeria” or annual pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo. Certain persons in Tanay have made it a practice to gather up a store of mats and take them to Antipolo for sale there during the fiesta. A few of them are on sale in Manila and in neighboring provinces. Of late, however, persons have appeared who are taking up the industry more thoroughly as brokers and it is to be hoped that the workers will be organized into some better system for production than now exists. There is a large opportunity not only for supervision but also for division of labor. At present the men of the house cut the leaves, and each weaver (all the weavers are women) carries out the rest of the process. There would be a considerable saving of time if certain persons devoted themselves to the preparation of the gray straw, and the dyeing were left entirely to certain other workers. In this way the weavers of the mats would be engaged only in the actual fabrication of the article and much time would be saved to them. 8

Plate XXXIX. Smoothing sabutan, Tanay, Rizal.

[ 68 ]

Planting, maturing, and yield of sabutan. —The plants from which the straw mats at Tanay are made are set out in plots near the houses of the workers. The suckers are planted in April at the beginning of the rainy season, and, while it is always stated that straw prepared from the leaves grown in the shade is best for weaving, yet the plants are never intentionally set out in the shade but are planted wherever an unoccupied plot of ground is obtainable. As a matter of fact, the patches to be seen in the sabutan towns grow in a semi-shade such as one would expect to find in yards where the usual ornamental and fruit trees and banana plants grow. Much of the sabutan is in the sun from morning to night; some is shaded during all or part of the day. The suckers mature leaves in the third year 9 but these are cut off and thrown away as useless and it is not until the fourth year that the lower leaves can be stripped into straw. Harvest takes place every four months, five or six leaves being obtained from a plant at each cutting. The plants are never irrigated but it is to be noted that the soil around Laguna de Bay is very moist and that the water table is close to the surface with a good seepage from the hills which are near the shore. It is probable that the plants differ in their production of leaves because some have many more branches than others and the climatic and soil conditions affect the yield.

Preparation of the straw. —The best straw is prepared during the dry season, because at this time there is sufficient sunshine to produce a good colored material. As a consequence the workers prepare a large quantity at that season and store it in or under their houses, wrapped in mats.

The leaves used are about 2 meters in length and 6 cm. in width. The central thorns on the back of the leaves are removed by cutting away the midrib. Two lengths about an inch in width are thus produced from which the outer rows of thorns may or may not be removed, according to custom. The lengths thus obtained are left in the sunshine and wind for about half a day to render them more flexible, after which they are cut into straws. For this purpose there is used an instrument consisting of a narrow wooden handle about 2½ cm. wide at the base, into which narrow sharp teeth, usually of steel, are set. [ 69 ] Brass and even hard woods can be used for teeth. The point of the segment being cut off, the base is grasped in one hand, the inside of the segment being turned toward the operator. The comb-like instrument is forced into it about 4 cm. from the end of the base and the teeth are held against the first finger by pressure of the thumb. The leaf length is then drawn up by the other hand and is cut into straws depending in width upon the fineness of the comb used. If the leaves are too young they will break in this process. The stripped segments are then usually tied up into bundles as large around as the fist, and hung in some shaded place exposed to the wind. The length of time occupied by this process varies. In some places it is omitted, though it seems to be always carried out in Tanay. The bundles are then undone and the worker, holding the uncut base of each length in one hand, runs the straw between his fingers and the sharp edged ruler-like piece of bamboo held in the other. This is done several times and results in the removal of considerable moisture, the prevention of wrinkling, and greater pliability of the straw.

Plate XL. Weaving sabutan mat, Tanay, Rizal.

There are several variations in the processes followed for boiling sabutan. In the Province of Laguna a fistful of the stripped lengths with bases still attached are rolled up into a bundle and placed in fresh water in order to remove the coloring matter—in some places in clear, running river water, in other places in a can of clean, fresh water—for about twenty-four hours; the water is changed several times. In the last method the process is discontinued when the water remains clear. Bundles [ 70 ] are then placed in cold vinegar, water or lemon water to which green tamarind fruit has been added to make the color of the straw lighter and to toughen it; the water is brought to a boil. Bamboo is used as fuel, as that fire is not so hot as a wood fire. The length of time required for cooking differs. One good authority states that it should be stopped when the odor of sabutan can no longer be detected in the vapor, which occurs after about fifteen minutes boiling. This authority also states that the straw should be removed when it takes on a reddish hue. Many women put the straw into clear boiling water to which nothing has been added. After this process the straw is allowed to cool, is washed several times in clean, fresh water and is spread in the sun to dry, whereupon it assumes a gray color. If there is no sun the cool straw must be kept in fresh water which is changed every twelve hours until the sun appears. If a greenish shade is obtained the process has not been correctly carried out. Straw from dark green, thick, old leaves, or from those grown in the sun, is often reddish brown in color.

The boiling processes noted are those used in the preparation of straw for mats. The process followed in Tanay has been described by Mr. Amado Simpoco, principal of the Tanay Central School. The stripped lengths, after being wilted and drawn over the sharp edged piece of bamboo, are made up into fist bundles, tied at the middle and placed in a large copper pot 61 cm. in diameter and 84 cm. in depth and containing about 25 bundles. The pot is filled with water and the sabutan is boiled for 24 hours, care being taken that the straw is always covered. After boiling, the bundles are removed and untied and the strips are hung in the shade or in the house to cool; afterwards they are placed in the river for a day and are then washed carefully and dried thoroughly in the sun. The gray straw thus obtained is stored in bundles, still attached to the uncut bases, and is left in the air for three or four nights before it is woven into mats.

Dyeing sabutan. —Mr. Simpoco has also made a careful study of the methods used in Tanay in dyeing sabutan straw, and the results of his efforts are presented here.

Red orange : For the production of red orange straw the gray material, prepared as outlined above, is first treated by steeping in water containing kolis leaves and twigs. The leaves and chopped twigs are pounded in a mortar and are placed together with the sabutan in a large receptacle capable of containing from 25 to 30 bundles, filled with water. The material is allowed to remain in the receptacle for four days. Early in the morning of the fifth day the straw is removed and hung in a shaded [ 71 ] place until dry and is made up into bundles tied tightly at the larger end.

The dye fluid is carefully prepared. Chips of sappan are boiled in a large copper pot for one day. A quantity of turmeric roots and annatto seeds are pounded separately in mortars until they are reduced to a very fine state. These are then separately treated with water and pressed, the result being a turmeric water and an annatto water. These two are mixed and poured into the boiling sappan. After about 25 minutes the bundles of sabutan are placed in the pot and the whole is allowed to boil until every part of the fiber is uniformly colored. After having been boiled sufficiently, the bundles are removed and placed in a large basket, later to be dried in the shade. They are left in the night air for three or four nights and are then rolled up in coarse mats. The shades procured vary with the proportions of the dye materials used. Some are a decided orange, others are light yellow.

Yellow : Yellow straw is produced in the same manner, using turmeric and annatto only.

Red : In the production of red straw the bundles are treated with kolis leaves in the same manner as in the preliminary process for red-orange straw. In a pot capable of holding 25 fist bundles of sabutan, four gantas 10 of finely chopped sappan are placed. Over this are placed 15 bundles of the straw, which in turn is covered with one ganta of chopped sappan. The remaining 10 bundles are then added and covered with still another ganta of sappan. The pot is filled with water and set over a fire for from twelve to fifteen hours. Care is taken that the bundles are always kept under the water and that all parts of the material are uniformly colored. The loss by evaporation is counterbalanced by adding water from time to time. When well colored, the straw is removed from the pot and placed in a large basket for a day and is then hung in the sunshine to be dried. It should be allowed to remain in the night air; when thoroughly dried it is rolled in coarse mats.

Black : Black straw, a warm dark gray, is prepared from the red material. Buds of bananas, leaves of kabling, talisay, camagon, and the castor plant are pounded in a mortar and are mixed with fine particles of black clay such as can be obtained from rice paddies. Sappan water, made by boiling sappan chips, is then added to the mixture and the entire mass is placed in a large receptacle for a day. Red straw is put into this mixture [ 72 ] and allowed to remain for two days. It is removed on the third day and again returned to the mixture on the fourth day. On the fifth day the straw is finally removed and placed in the sun, being kept in the air at night.

Coal tar dyes are used in the production of green and purple straws. These are purchased from the Chinese stores. The prepared gray fiber is also employed with these dyes. The usual method of boiling in a tin can until the desired shade is obtained, is followed. The straw is dried in the sun and kept in the night air. Colors produced are not so uniform or so satisfactory as the others described and are seldom used.

Plate XLI. Pandan of Majayjay.

Weaving the mats. —Before weaving the mat the worker runs the straw over the ruler-like piece of bamboo as already explained, and removes the uncut base to which it has been attached during the various processes of preparation, bleaching, and dyeing. One side of the mat is first woven the entire length, and is finished by having the edges turned in. This edge is then placed in a slit made in a narrow stick of wood and is tied in place with strips of sabutan straw running around the stick and through the mat. The mat is allowed to remain attached to this stick until it has been completely woven. As weaving proceeds, the finished part is rolled up on the stick, thus being out of the way of the weaver. This arrangement also serves to keep the mat in position during weaving and prevents it from getting out of shape. Single straws are used and consequently the mat has a right and a wrong side. 11 The most expensive mats, which are seldom made, are double and of very fine material. [ 73 ]

The extension and cultivation of sabutan. —For a number of years there has been an increasing interest throughout the Philippines in the propagation of sabutan. Teachers in various places have procured suckers from the towns along the east coast of Laguna de Bay, and have planted them out with the idea of having their own industrial material close at hand. Many of these attempts have been failures, since not enough information had been obtained concerning the soil and moisture conditions necessary for the cultivation of the plant. The Bureau of Education has therefore gathered as much information as possible on the cultivation of sabutan, based upon the experience of various persons who have attempted planting it.

It has been found that, in those regions having a dry season, the suckers should be planted early in the rainy season so that they may become well rooted before the rains stop, or else water should be provided through irrigation ditches. In nearly all cases it has been reported that the loss of plants resulted from lack of water at the planting period.

It is reported that difficulty is found in making the suckers live if planted in the sun, but that, when well established, those so planted grow and produce suckers better. As has been previously noted, no special attempt is made to set the plants out in either the sun or shade in the towns around Laguna de Bay, but all weavers state that leaves grown in the shade are the best for industrial purposes.

Sabutan plants need a moist but well drained soil. They should be set out about a meter apart each way (that is, the rows one meter apart and plants one meter apart in the row), since they spread out considerably when they become older. Where sufficient moisture does not exist, irrigation should be provided. If it is decided to shade the suckers, plants such as the papaya, having long roots rather than surface roots, are best. No sabutan plants should be planted within 6 feet of the papaya.

It is probable that with cultivation the plants will yield leaves suitable for straw in from one and one-half to two years, the time to mature depending upon the conditions noted in the preceding paragraphs. 12 [ 74 ]

Sabutan types. —In several places in the Philippines there are pandans which yield leaves similar to those of sabutan. It is probable that none of these are the true sabutan. The most important one is that growing along the northeastern shore of Tayabas Province. Mats are made at both Casiguran and Baler, and enter to a small extent, the interprovincial trade with neighboring provinces. It is stated, however, that these regions abound in the species of pandan from which the mats are made. Sabutan type mats are also reported made at Palanan in Isabela Province, and a trade is carried on in them with neighboring towns.

Other pandans reported under the name of sabutan and resembling it more or less have no commercial importance.

Sarakat.

Sarakat is a distinctive pandan of the Bangui Peninsula of Ilocos Norte. The climate of this region differs from the rest of Ilocos Norte in that it has rainfall practically throughout the year, receiving as it does the benefit of the northeast monsoon which is cut off from the country to the south. It has not as yet been determined whether sarakat is to be described as a new variety of P. tectorius or is to be designated as an entirely new species.

From mats submitted to this office, it is to be judged that sarakat straw is as fine as sabutan. In fact, the material is so thin that even though the mats are woven of double straws they are no thicker, and are a good deal more pliable than all other commercial pandan mats, sabutan excepted, produced in the Philippines. The upper surface of pandan straw is glossy, and the under surface is rough. In making the double straw, the two rough surfaces are placed together so as to expose both glossy ones. Hence, unlike the sabutan, both sides of sarakat mats are similar in appearance. The material, however, is not so strong as sabutan. 13

The mats are not decorated either by weaving in colored straws or by embroidered or border designs. In price they vary from about ₱1 to ₱2.

Mr. Petronilo Castro, formerly Supervising Teacher of Bangui, has stated that that town supplies most of the mats used by the people of Ilocos Norte. Some buri mats and a few “pandan” mats (probably from the common seashore variety) are made. [ 75 ] The sarakat mats exceed those of pandan in numbers and in commercial importance and are more beautiful and stronger. The demand for the mats is great and many people are engaged exclusively in their fabrication.

The Pandan of Majayjay. 14

Plate XLII. Fruit of Pandanus utilissimus (Majayjay).

This pandan ( P. utilissimus ) is known in most places where it grows as “pandan” or “pandan totoo,” the true or tame pandan. It is extensively used in Laguna and Tayabas and is remarkable for its very large leaves and its heavy fruit. The tree occurs in groups in dry ground but thrives best in half shade near streams. It attains a height of from 4 to 8 meters. The trunk branches toward the top and is supported by a few short and thick prop roots.

The leaves are often 5 meters long and 2 decimeters wide. The lower part of the older leaves stands up straight, while the upper half droops. The younger leaves are erect with only their tips bent down. The leaf spines are short, blunt, and conical.

The fruits look like the jackfruit and are very large and heavy, being often 6 decimeters long and 2 decimeters in diameter and weighing at times 25 or more kilograms. The drupes ripen slowly and gradually; they are red in color when fully mature and possess a peculiar faint odor. It takes some time before all the drupes are shed, and in a grove of fruiting trees they can be found in all stages of maturity during the month of May.

P. utilissimus is found growing wild throughout the plateau region of Majayjay, Luisiana, and Cavinti in Laguna Province, and extending into Tayabas Province. It is only the leaves from those plants which have been set out in plots, however, that [ 76 ] are utilized in the making of mats, hats and telescope baskets. Like sabutan, this pandan grows best in the half-shade near streams, and leaves grown in the sun are considered inferior. Nevertheless, no attempt seems to be made to select a locality for their propagation, and plots are planted wherever land is available. This pandan will not live in stagnant water and is particularly adapted to hill-sides where there is a constant flow.

The most satisfactory statistics on the propagation of P. utilissimus are obtained from Cavinti, where the plant has been introduced within recent years and suckers are still being brought in from other towns. It is stated that suckers one-half meter in height mature in about three years, while suckers one meter in height or over will produce suitable leaves in one year or less. The most satisfactory results are obtained by transplanting the mature plants, since leaves are obtainable in a few months and in half a year suckers large enough for transplanting are produced. It is stated that in setting the plants out, the undergrowth is cleared away and the suckers are placed in the ground about 1½ meters apart. Some attention is given to the young plants such as loosening the earth around them; but as soon as they obtain a good foothold no cultivation is attempted.

Plate XLIII. Rolling pandan, Majayjay, Laguna.

Usually weavers own their patch of pandan from which the leaves are obtained for making the straw. Several workers sometimes have a patch in common and the few weavers who do not own pandans themselves must purchase. The leaves are sold on the tree, the purchaser cutting them off with a bolo. The price is from 20 to 30 centavos per hundred, depending [ 77 ] upon their size, softness, thickness, and imperfections. The longest, thinnest, darkest green leaves, with the fewest imperfections, are considered the best and cost the most. In Cavinti, where the leaves are imported from Luisiana and Majayjay, the price of the best leaves is 50 centavos per hundred. The estimates of the number of leaves yielded by a plant in a year differ considerably. By some it is stated that on the average one leaf is produced per month; others report that from three to five leaves are gathered in from three to six weeks.

The thorns are removed from the edges, and the midrib is cut away, thus reducing the leaf into two halves, each of which is again divided. These strips are placed in the sun for half a day. The unique process in the preparation of this pandan straw is the rolling which occurs at this point. While it is probable that any roller with sufficient weight could be used, that employed in the pandan districts of Laguna is the primitive “iluhan” by which sugar-cane and copra are also crushed. It consists essentially of three heavy wooden horses, in the grooves of which a log, heavily weighted with stones, rotates. The pandan lengths are placed in one of the grooves underneath the log and so rolled. The object of the process is to make the material thinner and more pliable. Straw is stripped from the lengths thus prepared by the use of the gauge. 15 The straw is then further dried in the sunshine and is ready to be woven. Sometimes the lengths are stripped before being rolled, hence the straw is left in the sunshine for another half day and then placed under the log in the iluhan.

Mats are woven in Majayjay and Luisiana only, the weavers of Cavinti devoting their entire time to the fabrication of hats. The mats are woven of single straw, but they are fairly thick and not at all limber. The number produced per week runs probably into the thousands, of which about 75 per cent are made of coarse straw and are intended for use in drying palay, copra, etc. These mats are known as “bangkoan,” a word having about the same significance as “bastos;” that is, coarsely or poorly made. The finer and better made mats are intended for use as sleeping mats and for the floor. They are decorated with colored buri straw, usually in some shade of red produced by mordanting with kolis leaves and boiling with sappan wood as explained for buri straw. Occasionally, other colors are used, produced from the imported coal-tar (“Chino”) dyes, but in all cases the shades produced are not very pleasing. The decorations [ 78 ] are embroidered in, and consist of simple borders in straight lines with an open center design of somewhat the same pattern. When first woven, the mats are usually of a dark green color. Before being sold, they are placed in the sun, which changes them to a grayish color somewhat resembling sabutan. After long use, however, the final shade is yellowish green.

There seems to be but little division of labor in the production of these mats. Usually the whole family goes out into the patch and cuts the leaves, removing the thorns before bringing them home. Only women weave the mats. In Majayjay a few workers color their own buri straw used in decorating the mats, but for the most part this material is obtained from dyers, one a Chinese, the other a Filipino, who prepare it for sale.

The weavers are independent of advances by brokers and sell their product to Filipinos or to the representatives of Chinese merchants in Pagsanjan and Manila. A few weavers take their mats to Lukban, whence they are distributed over Tayabas Province, but many more are gathered up by these brokers and sold in the market at Pagsanjan. The mat market there usually occupies one whole sidewalk running the length of the market building.

The pandan mats of Majayjay and Luisiana are notable for their strength and durability, and are excellent for the floor or bath. In price they range from ₱0.50 to ₱5.00. The usual price of the decorated mats is ₱1.50. The demand continues brisk and prices have recently risen. The weakest point in the mat at the present time is in the colored buri straw used to decorate it, for this tears long before the pandan shows signs of wear. If colored sabutan straw is substituted for the buri, a much stronger and probably more pleasing article will result. 16

Karagumoy. 17

The pandan P. simplex , known as “karagumoy” or “carogumoy,” is the economic pandan of the Bicol peninsula in southern Luzon. It is usually found growing in well drained soil under the shade of banana and abaca plants and areca palms. It needs this protection because the leaves are easily broken or ruined by hard winds. The leaves are generally longer than those of sabutan (they are 2 meters to 3½ meters in length) and [ 79 ] are but from 6 cm. to 10 cm. wide. They are very thick, being practically as coarse as the leaves of P. utilissimus . They bear stout spines on the midrib and along the margins, from two centimeters to three centimeters apart. A fungus disease often attacks them, causing dry hard patches, and not only spoiling the color but also making the material so brittle that it breaks in the preparation of the straw.

The plant is propagated by means of suckers in patches seldom over a half hectare in extent and often consisting of a few plants back of the house. The suckers are set out in rows and are probably one year old when the first leaves are taken, though the workers disagree on this point. At a specified time, from eight to fifteen leaves are cut from the plant each year; at other periods, two or three may be taken from the same plants. Most of the leaves are harvested during the rainy season. Karagumoy leaves have a commercial value in many of the places in which the plant occurs. In Tabaco, Albay, women cut the leaves and carry them in large bundles to the market, where they are sold at prices usually varying from 8 to 12 centavos per hundred.

Plate XLIV. Karagumoy.

Throughout the Province of Albay mats are made from karagumoy, and in some towns the industry is of considerable importance. For instance, in the barrio of San Lorenzo in Tabaco, mats may be found in the making in nearly every house. In Sorsogon, too, the industry is widespread though not so important commercially. In Balusa the production is large enough to supply the local demand and leave a surplus for export to neighboring towns. In the Bicol provinces karagumoy is considered the best of all straws for the production of mats. In price the mats vary from thirty to ninety centavos, according to fineness.

In preparing the material, the spines and midrib are first removed and the leaves are divided into four strips of about equal [ 80 ] width. The straw is prepared from these with the knife and gauge; it is dried in the shade for a few hours and drawn several times over a piece of bamboo as explained for sabutan in order to make it more supple and smooth. The mats are woven in the early morning and at night, the straw being more pliable then. Attempts have been made in the schools to dye karagumoy but no success has yet been attained. The mats are plain.

Bariu.

The stem of this plant, P. copelandii , grows from 4 to 9 meters high. The leaves have an average length of 2.1 meter and a width of 8 cm. 18 Spines occur along the entire margin. Near the base they are comparatively coarse and from 3 to 4 mm. long. Towards the apex of the margins and midveins, the spines are short and close together like the teeth of a fine saw. From 3 to 5 heads generally form on the fruit stalk, each of them from 7 to 12 cm. long and 5 to 7 cm. across, at first pale yellowish in appearance but soon turning red. Their drupes are 14 mm. long and 3 to 4 mm. in diameter. This pandan is found in Cagayan, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Samar, Bohol, Occidental Negros, Capiz, Surigao, Davao, and other provinces. 19

This pandan is not of economic importance in central and southern Luzon. In the Bicol provinces it is used to some extent but it is considered inferior to other materials. In parts of the Visayas, such as Bohol, Capiz and Samar, it is utilized to a considerable extent, but cannot be considered of commercial importance. It is the economic pandan of Surigao, but even there its commercial importance is local only.

[ 81 ]

Pandans of Minor Utility.

The species P. radicans is reported as olango from Leyte, wañgo in Bohol, owañgo in Surigao and uyagño in Sorsogon. It is usually found growing along rivers and in marshes. The trunk reaches a height of 8 m. and its largest leaves may be 6 m. long and 12 cm. wide. There are from 6 to 10 dark brick red fruits in a cluster. The fruit is 14 cm. long and 8 cm. wide and contains 100 or more drupes. Each drupe is 2.5 cm. in length and 12 mm. in diameter. The leaves are made into straw from which coarse mats are woven.

Plate XLV. Weaving a karagumoy mat, Tabaco, Albay.

Taboan is the name given to Pandanus dubius in Surigao while in Bohol it is known as bacong. It is a rare species. It is said to be a heavy, clumsy appearing tree with stem about 8 m. high, wide spreading branches near the top, and soft, pulpy and stringy wood. The flowers are grouped into an inflorescence. The male inflorescence, about 60 cm. long and partly covered by creamy yellow bracts, is erect and occurs at the end of the branches. The leaves are deep green in color on both sides, with an average length of 2.25 cm. and a width of 20 cm. The drupes of this pandan are from 8 cm. to 13 cm. long and from 5 cm. to 8 cm. wide. The plant is utilized to a small extent in making mats.

In the Tagalog speaking provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, and in and around Manila, Pandanus luzonensis is called “alasas.” It is also called “pandan” but this name should be reserved for Pandanus tectorius . The former is restricted in its habitat to the provinces around Manila Bay, while the latter is found in most of the seacoast provinces of the Philippines as well as in other tropical parts of the world. Pandanus luzonensis attains a greater height than Pandanus tectorius , but has narrower leaves than the latter. The male flowers are borne in a fleshy, much-branched inflorescence from 20 to 30 cm. long. Each [ 82 ] branch is partly surrounded by a broad thin bract, 8 cm. wide. Each individual flower has from 4 to 9 stamens. The whole fruit is about 20 centimeters long and contains from 30 to 60 drupes, yellowish red in color when ripe. Each drupe is from 3 to 4 cm. long, 2 to 2.5 cm. thick, and contains from 6 to 10 seeds. The straw from this pandan is of inferior quality, though it is said to be used in Bulacan for mats.

Unidentified Pandans.

Besides the pandans, the identity of which has been explained above, there are several unidentified specimens or varieties from which mats are made. It may be that some of these will be found identical with those already discussed when sufficient botanical material has been gathered to determine them.

In Isabela Province, a pandan known as “langu” having long, strong, thin leaves, is made into mats in Santa Maria, Delena and Bolasi.

Mats are made along the coast of Cagayan Province, in the Ilocano barrios of the towns of Claveria and Sanchez Mira, from a pandan known as “pataga.” These are very coarse and thick and have an unusually shiny surface. According to Mr. Otto Harwood, the leaves vary in length from 10 cm. to 35.5 cm. and in width from 7.5 cm. to 15 cm. The straw is made by cutting the leaf into strips and drying them in the sun. Although the industry is yet small, it is developing.

A species of pandan is employed in the towns of Camalaniugan, Aparri, Gataran, and Lal-loc in Cagayan Province for making mats. Locally they are valued at from 40 to 50 centavos, but in Isabela Province to which they are exported they sell for as high as a peso and a half.

The only municipality in Pangasinan province in which the making of mats has reached provincial and interprovincial importance is Bolinao. The species of pandan employed is not known. The mats are shipped to towns along the seacoast of Ilocos and Zambales Province by sailing vessels, and are sold in the local markets or to local merchants.

In Mindoro the town of Subang makes pandan mats which are shipped to Batangas, Cavite, and Manila.

Plate XLVI. Philippine distribution of chief utilized pandans.

Two pandans, called lingo and baring were sent to the General Office of the Bureau of Education from Guindalman, Bohol. It was impossible to identify them as no fruit was included. They probably represent two new species. Lingo has a leaf 2.9 m. in length and of an almost uniform width of 5.5 cm. At 80 cm. from the tip, it is 4.5 cm. wide, then gradually becomes [ 84 ] acuminate. The marginal spines are 2 mm. long, curved forward, from 6 to 8 mm. apart near the stem, but closer together at the distal one-third of the leaf. Spines of 1 mm. or less in length and 4 mm. or less apart, curved forward and extending throughout the length of the leaf, occur on the lower surface of the midrib only. The surface of the leaf is smooth and shiny. The leaf of baring is 72 cm. long, 2.8 cm. wide, apparently spineless, smooth and fine in texture. Both of these pandans would probably yield good industrial materials.

In Iloilo, the town of Banate has a pandan mat industry of interprovincial importance, whose product is an article of commerce as far as Negros. The mats sell at about 50 centavos each.

Plate XLVII. A Moro mat.

There is a large export of pandan mats from Dao, Antique, to the province of Iloilo.

Pandan mats are exported from Cuyo Island in Palawan. Some are sent to the mainland of Palawan and others to Antique.

The Moro pandan mats are the most richly colored of all those produced in the Philippines. At this writing, information is not at hand to determine the method of preparing the straw or the species of pandan from which they are made. Mats which have been exhibited at successive Philippine expositions have undoubtedly been dyed with imported coloring matter. The designs are of the general effect of the mat reproduced on page 84. The colors are often well combined and the effect is very striking. The Cottabato mats are double; the under portion is woven of thick, heavy, uncolored straw, and the upper portion is of finer material; the two parts are spliced together. [ 85 ]

Gathering the Straw.

The best known tikug mats are produced on the Island of Samar, where the sedge grows wild. 21 It has never been cultivated there. Different grades are recognized in the height and width of the straw. The finest is 1½ mm. in diameter while the largest straws are fully four times that width. Full grown stalks sometimes reach 3 meters in height, but the average is 1½ meters. In most places in Samar only very coarse tikug is found and this is especially true in the northern half of the island. The best material grows near the towns of Basey and Sulat, a circumstance probably due to the fact that most of these sedges are pulled up for weaving before they become old and coarse, for it is in these two towns that the mat industry of Samar is centered. All grades of tikug can be used in making mats; but as the straw cannot be split into finer pieces, it is only from the narrower material that the fine mats are made. The map on the distribution of tikug shows the regions in Samar in which this sedge occurs. 22

Plate LI. Philippine distribution of tikug.

Bleaching.

Plate LII. Dyeing tikug, Basey, Samar.

In some parts of Samar rough mats are made from tikug dried in the shade. In Basey and Sulat bleached straw is used. In the bleaching process only the sun is used, the bundles being spread out where there is neither grass nor shade. The straw must be kept perfectly dry at all times, for if it becomes wet or damp it will mildew and turn an unsightly black or brown. In the morning it must not be put out until the ground is dry and in the evening it should be taken in before dew is formed upon [ 90 ] it. The best results are obtained by drying the material in a place where there is no grass, as the turf generally holds considerable moisture and retards the process. With proper care clean white straw can be obtained in about one week under the most favorable conditions. Sometimes, but not often, the above process is preceded by boiling the straw for ten or twenty minutes in plain water. Several bleaching experiments have already been made with tikug, but as yet none has been entirely successful. In one experiment straw was boiled in alum, but the resultant material was not so white as that obtained by simply drying it in the sun. Boiling green tikug in water containing acetic acid from the juice of limes and lemons was unsatisfactory. The best straw obtained was that produced by simply boiling the green stalk for a few minutes in water and rinsing it well and then drying in the sunshine for several days.

The straws are of different lengths and diameters; after bleaching they must be sorted. The seed clusters are removed and the bunches are tied in a big bundle which is laid on the floor with root toward the worker. The longer straws of small diameter are then pulled out and placed in small bundles, the process continuing until the several different grades are thus separated and nothing remains but a few short thick straws which are kept for embroidering designs. Each bundle is then trimmed by cutting off the roots and ragged tops and the straw is ready for storing, dyeing, or flattening. If tikug remains in a damp place it will mold and become worthless. It is easily kept during the dry season, if frequently exposed to the sun. During the rainy season it should be wrapped in a blanket or cloth. [ 91 ]

Dyeing.

Very few uncolored straws are used in Samar mats. The dyed material is more durable and does not mildew as readily as the uncolored straws. Tikug dyes easily and this is probably one of the reasons why the mats of Samar have so much color. The cost of the dye in a Basey mat is no small part of the total expense of production. Consequently it is necessary to employ a cheap dye. For instance, one of the best commercial dyes known in Manila was used with great success on Samar mats, but the value of the coloring material consumed in making them was greater than their selling price. The dye used in making the cheapest of Samar mats costs the weavers about 10 centavos while the more elaborate products need as much as 65 centavos worth of dye to color them. A common mat containing 15 centavos worth of dyestuff sells for about a peso. 23

The colors obtained by the Basey mat weavers have a greater variety of shades and tints than those produced by any other workers in the Philippines on tikug or any other mat material. The shades and tints depend upon two considerations: (1) The amount of dyestuffs used and (2) the length of time the boiling process is continued. Four dyestuffs are used. Yellows are obtained from turmeric; greens and reds are obtained from coal-tar dyes; and a red-orange from deora. The leaves of the latter plant are crushed and the pulpy mass thus obtained is boiled to yield the dye fluid. By combining these four dye materials in different proportions, by using varying amounts of the material, and by boiling varying lengths of time, different colors, shades and tints are obtained.

The method of dyeing is as follows: The bunches of tikug are coiled and placed in a can of hot dye, where they are boiled from two to ten minutes, or until the desired intensity has been secured. The more the straw is boiled, the more nearly permanent will be the color and the greater will be its intensity. Care must be taken to see that the dye fluid is not too strong; otherwise the color will be too intense. In order that the material may be evenly colored, the tikug is submerged in the dye so that it is well covered and is turned over several times during the process. After the coils are removed they should be laid upon the ground or floor, allowed to cool, and then hung in the shade to dry. [ 92 ]

Flattening.

The straws composing the bleached or dyed bundles of material are stiff and uneven; some are bent and others are round. The process of flattening them and making them more pliable is carried on during damp days, in the morning or evening, for if done in the open air on cloudless days, or at any time when the atmosphere is dry, the straw becomes brittle and breaks. However, climatic conditions may be overcome by wrapping the straw in banana leaves or damp cloth for an hour or more and then working it where no breeze can dry it out. No water should be applied. The workers employ the usual blunt-edged, ruler-like piece of wood; between this and the thumb the straw is drawn by the free hand. This process flattens the straw and makes it pliable so that it does not split during weaving.

The Weaving of Samar Mats.

Up to three years ago tikug was but little used in Samar except for weaving mats. Commercially, mat weaving was confined to Sulat and Basey. Since the American occupation it has been widely done and the work has been introduced into most of the schools. Not only have methods been greatly improved but new uses have been found for the material. To-day the sedge is woven into floor and wall mats, hats, table mats, slippers, book-bags, hand-bags, necktie cases, pencil holders, pencil cases, and pillow and cushion covers. Recently the weaving of matting on looms has been undertaken in the schools and a fine product, similar to the matting of Japan, has been produced on the ordinary loom adjusted to the straw.

The chief use of tikug in Samar is in the weaving of mats in the towns of Basey and Sulat. Since time immemorial tikug mats have been woven in Samar. At Palapag, Oras, Dolores, Taft, Balangiga, Santa Rita, Gandara, Oquendo, and Catarman, a few rough ones, the product of unskilled workmen, were made, but they were of no commercial importance, since the people did not weave enough to supply their own demand. As far back as can now be traced, the people of Basey and Sulat have been making mats for the provincial and interprovincial trade. Since 1907 the people of Dolores, Oras, Santa Rita, and Balangiga have improved in weaving and are now producing a few mats for the market. Their work is much inferior to that of Basey and Sulat. In the year 1911 Basey produced about 9,000 mats and Sulat about 300. The latter town could have increased its production greatly, but its remoteness from the market and from the routes of commerce reduces the large demand which [ 93 ] might otherwise exist for the mats. Basey is better situated in these respects; moreover, the people have been forced to fall back on mat weaving as their chief means of support, for typhoons have destroyed their coconuts and abaca, and their rice crop is scant. Almost every night mat weavers are found at work in many of the houses.

Several years ago, when American soldiers were stationed in the vicinity of the town, there grew up a great demand for mats, and the weavers, taking advantage of their need and their little knowledge of values in the Philippines, demanded exorbitant prices and received them. Most of the Basey people spent their time producing mats, and to a great extent sacrificed quality for quantity. The grade of mat that sold for ₱18 several years ago can now be bought for about ₱8; that which sold for ₱3 two years ago can be bought to-day for ₱2. Lately there has been a rise in price owing to increased commercial demand. Mats made to order, particularly special mats, cost more than those bought already woven, the price depending upon the size of the article, the character of the design, and the fineness of the straw and the weave. A mat two meters by one meter, made of the finest grade of tikug, would require several months for completion and would probably cost between ₱30 and ₱40. There is hardly a limit to the size of the mat which can be woven. Three years ago one having dimensions of 10 meters by 12 meters was made for a church, as many as 30 women working on it at the same time.

Plate LIII. Incomplete Samar mat of medium grade showing woven-in design.

[ 94 ]

Basey mats are of two general kinds: those with plaid designs woven in and those on which the designs are embroidered. The former are the more difficult to weave; but as there is no decoration to be added, they are the cheapest mats obtainable, the prices for the ordinary grades ranging from ₱0.80 to ₱3 each. Some weavers turn out only blank mats of one color and do neither designing nor decorating. Straw used on these is usually dyed, very few mats of natural colors being made. They are worth from ₱0.50 to ₱2 each and are generally sold to girls who are skillful in embroidering designs. These girls decorate the mats and sell them for from ₱2.50 to ₱6 each, the price depending upon the original cost of the mat and the amount of decoration put upon it. The ideas for the designs on Basey mats are usually obtained from pictures or textiles. The straws, both bleached and dyed, are split in two for embroidering purposes. This makes them thinner and more pliable.

Plate LIV. A cheap Samar mat with woven-in design.

The time necessary for making a plaid mat sold for two pesos was found to be as follows, an eight-hour day being used as the basis of a day’s work:

The selling price of the mat was one peso, the cost of the dye 15 centavos, which left the weaver a balance of 85 centavos for [ 95 ] five days’ labor. The plaids used in Basey mats are simple, but the embroidered designs are extremely intricate. They consist for the most part of foliage, flowers, and animals. Weavers are often given a contract to make a stated number of mats in accordance with a design furnished them. A few are capable of reproducing almost any pattern presented, 24 but if they are not told exactly what colors to use they employ every shade, color and tint they can secure. The Basey mats are distinguished by the multitude of colors used. In general it may be stated that the chief criticism of this product is the gaudy effect produced by the colors used. In some cases the colors are well toned and harmoniously combined, but the majority of the mats produced contain vivid colors which are not all harmonious. Through the schools, efforts have been made to reduce the number of colors and to modify the gaudy and complicated floral designs. An improvement is seen each year.

Plate LV. Detail of a woven-in design.

The ordinary mat is usually about 2 meters by 1½ meters, though smaller and larger ones are made. During the past three [ 96 ] years the weavers have been encouraged to make mats about the size of an ordinary cot and to use no more than two colors in weaving them. A few mats suitable for placing under dining tables are also made.

Sulat weavers produce fewer mats than those of Basey but make them of fine, closely woven straw. Most of the mats with a woven-on border come from Sulat. These people, while able to produce a fine, soft, pliable mat, can not embroider decorations on them nearly so well as do the people of Basey.

Samar mats wear well. Wall mats last indefinitely and sleeping mats are used from two to ten years or more. 25

Plate LVI. An embroidered mat with simple decorations in comparison with most mats from Basey.

The Marketing of Basey Mats.

Plate LVII. Small table mats.

The port of Tacloban, Leyte, due to its proximity to Basey, is the chief center for the distribution of Samar mats. As soon as the mats are completed the weavers take them across the straits to Tacloban, where they are sold to Chinese brokers, transients and residents, both American and native. Few ships leave [ 97 ] Tacloban that do not carry away from 5 to 20 mats; often they take away as many as 50, the amount generally depending upon the number of passengers aboard the boat. Some of the ship’s employees are regular customers of the weavers and buy mats at stated prices to sell them again at a reasonable profit at Manila and other ports of call. Besides, there is quite a sale of mats in the towns of Samar, Leyte, and Cebu through vendors, residents of Basey, who secure the mats in their home town at low prices and sell them at a profit. These persons usually deal only in the mats, and sell them for cash, not trading for other articles. Plaid Basey mats are on sale in nearly all the Chinese general merchandise stores of Manila.

As yet there is little supervision by brokers in Basey. The mat industry there needs but the introduction of some system of supervision by brokers to regulate the size, quality, design and color scheme of the mats, and a foreign market to become a much more extended industry. The schools have already done much toward improving workmanship and design; it must remain for individual enterprise, however, to get in touch with foreign demand and supervise the weaving of mats to suit it. 26