I have always seen the Bangsamoro Region in Mindanao as a home of rich and colorful traditions, among them indigenous woven textiles.
That impression was reinforced when I visited Maguindanao and saw their local textile, inaul. It featured vibrant colors interwoven with intricate patterns of gold and other glistening threads—creations befitting of Muslim princes and princesses.
Inaul, which means “woven” in the Maguindanaoan language, historically was a status symbol for royal and noble families. Master weaver Noraina “Jho” Abbas Ansing – more fondly known as “Nanay Jho” – shared more about inaul with me and said that there are patterns only royals are allowed to wear. Today, the fabric is also woven with cotton and rayon, and can be worn by many others, including everyday folk.
The earliest inaul weavers are believed to have arrived in Maguindanao alongside Shariff Mohammed Kabungsuwan, who introduced Islam to the region, in what is now modern-day municipality of Sultan Kudarat. Nanay Jho said that these first inaul weavers used sutra thread from spiderwebs, with thread so thin that a malong can fit inside a closed fist.
Weaving an inaul into a malong – a tubular cloth that both males and females wear – usually takes at least two days. More difficult patterns take five to six days.
Among the patterns I saw during my visit was the wavelike binaludan or biyaludan. It’s one of the most difficult and expensive to weave. The traditional way of weaving this is that the weaver first dyes the threads, wraps them up in banana leaves, and then dries them under the sun. This practice is similar to the ikat weaving of the T’boli, Blaan, and some other indigenous groups in Mindanao.
Nanay Jho said that some patterns are inspired by stories and objects, like the karanda, a metal case worn by a legendary datu to keep his precious belongings. Meanwhile, some patterns are inspired by emotions, such as lombayan, which means sadness.
Traditional inaul patterns are passed on from generation to generation. Nanay Jho studied the patterns under her mother, who also learned from her own mother. At 15, she started learning the craft and has been weaving for the past 40 years. For her, weaving was primarily a source of income. It was how she raised her six children when her husband died from a heart attack over 15 years ago.
Now, she also teaches women as young as 17 in her hometown, the municipality believed to be the birthplace of inaul in the country. Among the women she taught were her daughters, who used the income for their school allowance.
Together with other women, she formed a weavers’ association and sought financial support from the local government. The latter had envisioned inaul to continue well into the next generations, and had organized training programs for women in the province. While there are still challenges, and resources are not always enough for their needs, she is proud that more and more people are becoming aware of and buying the fabric, including customers from overseas.
I met Nanay Jho during the Inaul Festival before the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of their campaign to keep the inaul tradition alive, Maguindanao’s local government had been holding the festival annually for two consecutive years prior to my trip. I watched inaul-clad locals in street dances and beauty pageants and was floored to see even fashion models and Miss Universe winner Catriona Gray in a fashion show. During the entire festival, there was also a colorful bazaar with booths from Maguindanao’s different municipalities, where inaul was sold not just as malong but as items for daily use, such as mobile cases and laptop bags.
Probably because of COVID, I did not hear of succeeding festivals afterward, only fashion shows and exhibits some time after the pandemic. I also saw people proudly wearing inaul in different events in Manila.
Meanwhile, Nanay Jho continues to sell inaul face to face and online. I know she is not the only one. I saw inaul in online shops like Shopee, too.Today, more women are studying the art of weaving inaul. Just months ago, the Philippine Textile Research Institute organized an inaul training for Maguindanaoan weavers, including youth. Maguindanao’s Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Tourism is planning to establish a weaving center in the Bangsamoro Region, which is envisioned to be not just for cultural preservation but also innovation and economic empowerment of inaul weavers. With this latest news, the practice of inaul weaving will hopefully flourish for generations more to come.
