Products of Industry 423 



was the operator seen to beat two strips together to gain greater 

 breadth or to repair breaks. 



Basket Making. — In most districts the men are the basket weav- 

 ers, but in some towns, especially of Ilocos Norte, the women are skilled 

 in this industry (Plate LXVII). The materials used are rattan, which 

 may be gathered at any time, or bamboo, which is cut only during 

 the dry season and under the waning moon. It is firmly believed that 

 boring insects will not injure bamboo cut at this time, and it is known 

 that the dry period stalks are the strongest. 



The tools employed are a short knife or a miniature head-axe 

 and an awl. With the former the operator scrapes the outer surface, 

 and then splits the tube into strips of the desired width and thickness. 

 A certain number of these strips, which are to be used for decoration, 

 are rubbed with oil, and are held in the smoke of burning pine or of 

 rice-straw until a permanent black is obtained. 1 



Five weaves are recognized by the Tinguian, but they are really 

 variations of two — checkerwork and the diagonal or twilled. 



The first and most simple is known as laga, the technic of which 

 is the passing of each element of the weft under one and over one 

 of the warp elements. Where the warp and weft are of uniform size, 

 as in mats, it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other, but 

 in many cases the weft is the smaller. Fish traps and storage baskets 

 for mangoes and cotton are generally of this type (Fig. 19, Nos. 1 

 and 2). 



A variation of the laga known as minmindta — "many eyes" — 

 (Fig. 19, No. 3), is found in certain types of carrying baskets, the 

 woven tops of hats, and the like. Here the warp is crossed, and the 

 weft passes through it in regular order so as to produce hexagonal 

 openings. 



Another variant is known as kaldwat 2 (Fig. 19, No. 4). In this 

 the warp stems are in threes. Starting from A they are bent down, 

 pass over and under similar sets of three, curve on themselves or 

 other warp stems so as to leave open spaces between. The rattan wall- 

 hangers for coconut shell dishes are usually in this weave. 



The greater part of the baskets are in the diagonal or twilled 

 weave, in which each element of the weft passes over two or more 

 warp elements. Variations are numerous, either to produce certain 



1 It is not essential that the oil be applied, and oftentimes whole sections are 

 colored before being split. 



2 From kdzvat, the twisting of vines about a tree. 



