Skirt

The Maranao make their home along the shores of Lake Lanao on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. The people of this region are renowned for their weaving, wood carving, and brass work. The most famous of their textile forms is the cylindrical skirt. Maranao weavers have developed a vocabulary of more than a hundred names for different styles of this garment. The skirt shown here uses one of the most common decorative schemes: yellow and magenta silk panels. The horizontal and vertical decorative bands are executed separately with a tapestry weave technique. The patterns on these strips echo the scroll and vine motifs found on woodcarvings and brass containers of the region.
This type of skirt has traditionally been used as a garment, a blanket, and a baby sling. When used as a garment it can be rolled at the waist or secured at the left shoulder. Handwoven examples are rarely worn today. For the most part the Maranao women have either adopted Western dress or wear a Islamic mode of dress common in the Malay peninsula: pants, a loose fitting blouse, and some form of head covering.