Tapis

Tapis FabricThe Tapis has been in use in the Philippine archipelago since at least the indigenous period that came before the arrival of European colonists. Those colonists would take note of this particular mode of dress, considering it immodest. Spanish chroniclers from the early period noted that this mode of dress remained common on many islands despite Spanish efforts to introduce what they considered more suitable clothing. The felt that the tight profile of the tapis on a female wearer was revealing, and made even worse by the often sheer fabric of the cloth. One noted that the tapis became even more revealing whenever the wearer was caught in the rain, or had just taken a bath. The locals, however, did not consider the revealing properties of the tapis to be immodest.[3] Among the lowland peoples who came under the full influence of the Spanish, this would soon change as Christianization and Hispanization brought along a much more conservative culture, and along with it, a mode of dress that emphasized modesty. The tapis would continue to be worn, but not in public venues, and usually only in more intimate locales such as ones own home. The tapis saw continued use among upland peoples, but as their upland environments were colder, their variation of the tapis tended to be thicker and thus less revealing.

Tapis Mestiza from PampangaIt is strikingly akin to most basic female garments in the Southeast Asian world, and seems somewhere related to the Indian sari. The Filipino wrap-around skirt called tapis or patadyong may have emerged from environmental conditions and technical repertoires similar to those that produced the sarong and the sari. · As the female counterpart to the loincloth, the tapis covered the genital area. Again, fertility may have been a associated value - but in what precise ways? One can only guess. · The tapis was wrapped around the lower half of the woman's body and tied at the waist or below the breasts. It was secured in place by the knotted ends or by a length of braided material. In some societies, belt-like pieces were used. · Short bark cloth wrap-around skirts would almost completely disappear with the advent of woven materials. These were at first plain-woven, then patterned and ornamented as design techniques developed. To this day, the tapis is worn by older women in barrios all over the Philippines. With the bahag, it is the oldest surviving genre of native costuming.

Trajedemestiza tulle tapisSeveral versions of the black, tulle tapis, embellished variously, worn as a sobrefalda over the saya, 1920s

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