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1. KURAN AT PASU (Sto. Tomas)
Utilitarian and decorative clay vessels and containers
were among the earliest crafted objects made by man. All sorts of
earthenware—including the ubiquitous
‘kuran’ (round-bottom cooking pot)—have been produced in parts of
Pampanga, as recorded by American Thomasite Luther Parker in the 1900s. Sto. Tomas is the acknowledge pottery center
of the province, with many major potters clustered along Quirino street. According to oldtimers, one pioneer potter was Apung Sindung
Mercado who made “pilones”, clay jars used in the manufacture of molasses. From
making traditional oya, tapayan, kuran, gusi, balanga and pilun , the potters
also added ornamental pasu or masetas for growing garden plants and flowers,
2. PUKPUK (Betis,
Apalit)
The fine art of metalsmithing was known to pre-Hispanic
people in our archipelago, blossoming in the the late 16th to the 19th century,
when the Spanish missionaries arrived to introduce the idea of sacred art in
which the Chinese excelled. To decorate the altar, Mexican silver coin were melted
and fashioned into tabernacles, altar frontals and vessels, ramilletes (silver
floral standees), carrozas, and more. Betis artisans mastered the art, locally
termed as ‘pukpuk’ (to hammer) as designs were created by chasing and using the repoussé
method, in which designs are raised on a
metal sheet by pounding a pattern from the back using a sinsil (blunt chisel).
This is achieved by working on the metal against a wooden block, on which
designs have been incised. Artisans spread the art to Apalit which once had the
largest number of ‘pukpuk’ shops. Names like the Ramirez Family, Edgardo Yutuc
and Jeric Canlas continue this tradition to this day.
3. DUKIT (Betis)
Betis is the town synonymous with quality carved
woodcrafts (“dukit” -to carve) —from church and home furniture, decorative
architectural pieces, to religious
statuaries and relief sculptures. One of its ancient barrios—Sta. Ursula—was known
as the premiere source of such carved masterpieces. A famous resident is Maestro Apung Juan
Flores, who started as a santo carver an
expanded into “muebles” and carved wooden furnishings. He made the decorative
wooden carvings of Malacanang Palace during the term of Marcos. Angeles, with
its many Clark residents, was a major market of woodcarved products during the
50s thru the 80s. Modern-day mandudukit include the descendants of the Flores
family, Willy Layug, Peter Garcia, Salvador Gatus, and the artisans of Betis
Crafts of Myrna Bituin, who exports their prized furniture worldwide.
4. PARUL (San
Fernando)
The lantern industry owes its popularity to San Fernando
lantern maker pioneers who evolved the parul from the simple wooden and paper
star lanterns for the “lubenas” (procession)
to the giant kaleidoscopic lanterns that the world marvels at, every
December’s Giant Lantern Festival. The advent of electricity gave rise to the
invention of the rotor by Rodolfo David; which is used to give the lanterns
their amazing play of colors. Well-known parol makers include the Quiwas (led
by Ernesto David Quiwa), Rolando Quiambao, Arnel Flores, and Jesus Maglalang.
The Christmas capital of the Philippines
has parul stores all over the city still selling traditional lanterns.
The Dau Expressway exit is line with lantern stores, hawking paruls of all
sorts—capiz, LED-lit, wire and plastic,
and even “rope” lanterns.
5. BURARUL (Angeles)
Kite-making, though
not exactly an industry, requires a
certain degree of artistic and technical skill. Believe to have originated in
China, these paper and wood air craft are flown mainly for leisure and play—but
they were said to be used also for measuring distances and for military
communications. In Pampanga, they are called “burarul”, from the Spanish “volador”, one that flies. The basic “karang-karang” is
nothing more than a folded paper with thread. But the more elaborate kites come
in box (“tukong”) or diamond shapes (“sapin-sapin”). There are high-flyers
(“gurion”) and competition fighter kites (“panyaklit”). The most complicated
ones are figural kites mastered by the professional kite-maker Eulogio Catalan
of Angeles City. A former sepulturero, Mang Eloy won renown for his imaginative,
award-winning kite creations. He made kites in the forms of birds, fishes,
angels, saints and figures of our national heroes—all using wooden framework, paper and paint. His most elaborate was a ferris
wheel kite with seated human figures, that actually turned when flown on a
string. He also introduced the concept of folding kites. The art of kite making
died with him, and today, just a handful in Pampanga know how to fashion
homemade kites from “tingting” and papel de hapon.
6. DASE (Candaba, San
Luis, San Simon)
As early as the 18th century, dictioanarist
Fray Diego Bergaño made mentioned of towns lining the Candaba Swamp that were
known for weaving house mats or “dase”. Made from “ebus” (buri palm leaves) .
These included weaving families from San Luis and San Simon who are skilled in
the art of “pamaglala”, or weaving, usually done communally, after the day’s
work. Mat weavers or”magdadase” wove fine mats of large, medium and small
sizes—made for sleeping or for covering the bamboo floor. For variety, the
leaves are dyed in different colors to produce mats with appealing patterns.
7. KUPIA (Apalit)
An allied product from the province’s weaving tradition are
hats or “kupia”, an essential accessory for our tropical climate, where wearing a head protection from the scorching sun or sudden rains is mandatory.Before
commercial hat shops were established in Pampanga, everday functional
hats—"kupia"-- were made all over the province. Apalit was once a hat
center, and in Barrio Sucad, ‘kupyang ebus’ by the thousands were woven and
commercially sold in town markets from as far as Tarlac, Baguio, Bataan,
Zambales and Manila. But due to the scarcity of ‘ebus’ materials, production gradually slowed down in the 1920s. Pampanga
shops that operated in the 1930s sold hats of all shapes, sizes and materials.
In San Fernando, one could go to La Fernandina, Zapateria Moderna or to the
Japanese bazaar of T. Tsuchibashi along Mercado St. and the Indian Bazaar of
Battan Singh. "Sombreros del pais y del extranjero" (local and
imported hats) could be bought in Macabebe at the Bazar L. Magat, while
"El 96" in Angeles offered a few headwear selections.
8. SANTOS (Betis,
Macabebe, Bacolor, Apalit)
Although Betis is the center of woodcarving in Pampanga, it is Macabebe town which is
known as the home of santeros. A santero is a craftsman who uses wood, ivory, cement
or fiber glass to produce an ecclesiastical art piece known as santo, in the image
of Christ, Mary or a Saint. Before the war, fishing and farming were the only
means of livelihood of the people of Macabebe. Santo making was then merely an
expression of their ingenuity, and the products were mostly for personal use. Pablo
“Ambo” Bautista, a local businessman, is credited with promoting santo-making
in the town by gathering local artists and putting them to work in a talyer he
opened just for them. Sons Antonio (a painter) and Gener (a carver) further
grew the business and improved the craft of santo making. This inspired other carvers
to put up shops that soon proliferated along the whole stretch of the town’s
main road. Others found their way in the other towns of Pampanga. U.P. Fine
Arts graduate Maximiano Jingco also set up a pre-war religious statuary shop in
Guagua. Second and third generation carvers continued the santo tradition like
Rolando and Boyet Flores (from the Flores family of Sta.Ursula), while a new
breed of highly trained carvers came to fore—Nick Lugue (Apalit).Wilfredo
Layug (Betis), Joseph Magcalas (Apalit) , Joed Miclat (San Luis) and the Viray brothers
(Bacolor).
9. GITARA (Guagua)
Cebu may have a reputation as the Philippines’ guitar industry
leader, but the more well-known guitar brands are made in Guagua, Pampanga. The
“gitara” has its origins in Spain, and there’s a mention of a guitar-prototype in Byron Pabalan’s zarzuela
“Ing Managpe”—a stringed instrument called “kalaskas”. Another is the pre-Hispanic
“kudyapi”, which, like the guitar, has a box and a fretboard. The pioneer guitar
maker in Pampanga is a Matuang Bacani who managed to copy an old Spanish
guitar. He passed on his techniques to his son-in-law, Angel Lumanog who
mastered the craft of guitar-making, opened a shop and started supplying
Macabebe, Bacolor, and San Fernando stores. Son, his guitars were being sought
after in Manila. Today, the Lumanog brand is a name synonymous to fine guitars.
Apart from the Lumanogs, families like the Garcias, Dizons, Mallaris, Jucos and
Manansalas engaged in the production guitars.
10. GAWANG PANDE
(Apalit)
The first cannon maker of the country was a Kapampangan
named Pande Pira, a smith who put up a foundery in Manila to make “lantakas” or
cannons, and other artillery to protect the Intramuros and for use in Spanish
galleons. Apalit takes pride in continuing this smithing tradition, and is the
leading source of world-class steel crafts in the province, such as bolo, machete, all types of knives and
daggers, plus home and garden implements like rakes, hoes, spades, and other
tools. The steel products are made the old fashioned way by hammering sheets of
metal , made malleable by superheating
them, then shaped into blades for bolos, palang, knives, scythes, spears or any bladed
implement. The industry gave Apalit town its nickname, “The Blacksmith Capital
of Pampanga”. In Floridablanca, smiths produced aluminum crafts, using “aluminyu”
that are heated and pounded into shape, using molds.
SOURCE:
SINGSING MAGAZINE, "Pampanga's Folk Arts & Crafts: Going, Going, Gone?", Vol. 5, No. 1.Published by the Center for Kapampangan Studies,Holy Angel University. Excerpted and edited from the articles of JoelPabustan Mallari (Dase, Gitara, Kuran, Burarul, Kupia), Arwin Lingat (Santo), Alex R. Castro (Pukpuk),
www.viewsfromthepamang.blogspot.com (Hold on to that Hat, Hamming on an Old Guitar, The Art of the Kuran)PHOTOS:
Alex R.Castro (Pande, Kupia, Gitara, Santos, Parul, Pande, Pukpok, )
Best, Jonathan. A Philippine Album: American Era Photographs 1900-1930, The Bookmark Inc.(Dase)
Miss Millenial Pampanga 2017 FB Page: (Betis Carving-Dukit)
Singsing Magazine: (Burarul)
