The Bagobo are considered the most colorful people of the Philippines, heavily embroidering their abaca clothing with beads and stitchwork. They also produce fine metal craft, working in brass, bronze, and iron, and are known for their betel boxes. The constant jingling of innumerable tiny brass bells attached to the clothing is a Bagobo trademark.
The traditional layered necklaces of various ethnic groups in Mindanao, also worn by the Banwaon tribe.
Banwaon ethnic attires are patterned with geometric figures and lines that are the central design to their attire. the lines may also frame the neckline and vests. the colors red, yellow, blue, and black are prominent. men from the Banwaon tribe also wear vests, beaded headdresses, and scarves. women wear earrings and beaded necklaces as their accessories.
Other accessories with their Blaan terms are the following::
- Pakabo - Women’s blouse floral or plain will do, with linabian, ginontingan and kinabuka design, etc.
- Batadyong - Women’s skirt floral or plain with red, blue or white as the dominant color. Designed as balon with extended measure at the tip portion of the vest.
- Panika - Headdress to be worn during festivities made of native material and yarn thread. Common materials used are bamboo sticks, and chicken feather.
- Benoong - A ribbon designed fine cloth. Use as head ornament of the Bae during gatherings and other special occasions. This symbolizes respect for the woman chieftain.
- Balaring - A necklace made out of thread and beads (logbak). It is attached to both ears.
- Kapulan
- Small box made of gold, silver or bronze where kamama panaro(etc) of the bae are placed
- Lebod - Small bag made up of rattan (Balagon) decorated with beads, buttons (Tipay), hair of wild animals as edging. It is a regular carrying bag of a datu where kamama (mama^), panaru (perfume) etc. are placed.
- Songol - Women’s belt with red color
- Tacus - Women’s anklet made of beads
- Senibod - Women’s anklet made of wood
- Single - Galvanized iron for IP women’s legs
- Sonong - Women’s bag
- Bukala - Bangles
- Long Sleeve - Worn with collar and long pants. Dominant color red, black or blue. Decorated with any of the color combination using red, black, blue, yellow, green and white. Designed through Linabingan, ginontingan and kinabuka.
- Linabian - Straight cut design clothe into pieces, composing different kinds of colors, commonly decorated at the front of the polo, blouse, skirt and pants and at the sleeve endings.
- Ginontingan- Zigzag design usually decorated at the edging
- Kinabuka - Cut into small square pieces of clothe. Like Linabian and ginontingan. It is also sewed to the attire thru patching, originally hand sewed.
- Solang-Solang - Designed like ginontingan (zigzag) crown of the supreme datu or the high priest. It is made out of special cloth or material decorated with beads (logbak), hair of a wild animal or of goats or horses.
- Tangkulo - Special kind of cloth cut or designed in triangular form, decorated with beads, hairs of goats as edgings. It is used as a head cove of the datu during rituals or settling of disputes.
- Kalapi - Small bag made up of rattan (Balagon) decorated with beads, buttons (Tipay), hair of wild animals as edging. It is a regular carrying bag of a datu where kamama (mama^), panaru (perfume) etc. are placed.
- Salibulan - Small box made out of gold, silver or bronze. Kamama, panaro are placed inside the box and it is placed inside the vest of the datu.
- Sangi - Sharp curve designed knife with a special artistic sakuban (guma) attached to the vest of the datu.
- Bari - Bolo
- Kalasag - Taming
- Bangkaw - Kalawit
- Panutod - Tattoo on the body of any design using black ink
- Baliug - Kwentas (necklace) made of combination of red, white, black, blue, yellow beads
Blaans in Malapatan and Glan has different kind of designs in both female & male blouses
Blaan female blouses are differentiated by their respective decorations and embroidery like Mother of pearl/shell discs (Albong Takmon) which is also the most expensive, Beaded blouse (Albong Sanlah), blouse with Applique’ (Albong Knibang) and Cross-Stitched (Albong Ansif).
The traditional female tube skirt is called Tabih made from handwoven abaca (ikat weaving). Blaan women also uses the Maguindanao plaid Malong as an alternative to Tabih and it is called Gintlo.
Blaan male pants/trousers are generally called Salwal. Name can change to Salwal T’najung or Salwal Nihok based on the ikat material and embroidery design/motif applied.
One unique feature of the higaonon tribe’s clothing is the Panika, the headdress of the Higaonon women, symbolises a sacred responsibility to champion their cultural heritage. Not any Higaonon woman can wear the panika. She has to make the commitment, and be recognized as a conduit of continuing the Higaonon traditions. Pusaka pertains to precious resources, both tangible and intangible, that remains in the Higaonon’s ancestral territories. Thus, Panika ha Pusaka can be translated as women bearers of culture and values of the Higaonon. They chose this name to reflect the value of indigenous women, and use a term that is commonly known in the various Higaonon communities in Cagayan de Oro.
In terms of art, DAGMAY, a unique, traditional woven cloth of Mandaya. Dagmay is one of Mandaya revelation of artistry. It is brown and reddish in color, with human figure, and a crocodile form, designed during pol'lopok during threading time, with stripes and other enchanting patterns. Dagmay is worn as skirt, the linagkaw, with the ul'lun or waistband of a woman.
Men typically wear a bahag, a loincloth wrapped around the waist called “Wanes”, while women wear a blouse called a “tinangkulo” and a wrap-around skirt called a “malong” or “habul” Some Manobo traditional clothing may feature embroidery or beadwork, especially on ceremonial garments.
Traditional wear is a long sleeved jacket with knee length pants and head gears embellished with horse's hair and beads for men. Women wear mid-length blouses with a skirt and strands of beads attached to wooden disks on their ears. Their clothes are colorfully embroidered with geometric patterns
T'nalak is a traditional hand-woven cloth indigenous to the T'boli people from the Cotabato region. It is woven in order to celebrate and pay tribute to major life events such as birth, life, marriage, or death within the community.
The Mansaka have a very distinct fashion sense. The elaborate stitching on the shoulders of their blouse called panahiyan, composed of straight lines, diamonds, circles, and squares are common symbolic motifs of their attires.
Mansaka women have a penchant for straight lines as displayed in their prominently straight hair bangs.
In the west of Mindanao is a small tribe called the Tiruray, who dwell between the Moros and the Bilaans. They do not understand the arts of spinning and weaving and so depend upon their Moro neighbors for their clothes. The women wear sarong or loose skirt with a very tight jacket. Around the waist are girdles of spinal brass pieces embellished with beads, and their ankles are loaded with brass rings. They blacken and file the teeth and frequently color their lips a vivid red.
