If the men's attire of bahag was a bit shocking to the
Catholic Spaniard, the women were somewhat too scantily dressed in view of the
strict Spanish morality.
Generally, women wore short skirts. But those of the upper brackets of society wore their skirts a little over or below the knees. The slaves had even shorter skirts. Common folks made theirs of abaca, while the high-born women had silken ones, probably of Chinese origins.
Their breasts were covered with baro (or jackets) so short that they did not reach the waist. When their arms were raised, part of the breasts were exposed. Some wore kerchiefs that barely covered their heads; high-born ones had bigger kerchiefs reaching down to the shoulders.
Between the men and women, the latter seemed to have more time to make themselves beautiful. And of all the parts of their body, it was their hair that was most attended to. Observed Alzina: "Women grow their hair long, care for it more than any part of the body. In some instances, hair grows down to the floor.( Cutting it meant one was in mourning.) They wash it with a bark of a wood like soap, dress it with fragrant oils, the most common being sesame oil. They adorn their hair with flowers and sweet-smelling leaves."
Generally, women wore short skirts. But those of the upper brackets of society wore their skirts a little over or below the knees. The slaves had even shorter skirts. Common folks made theirs of abaca, while the high-born women had silken ones, probably of Chinese origins.
Their breasts were covered with baro (or jackets) so short that they did not reach the waist. When their arms were raised, part of the breasts were exposed. Some wore kerchiefs that barely covered their heads; high-born ones had bigger kerchiefs reaching down to the shoulders.
Between the men and women, the latter seemed to have more time to make themselves beautiful. And of all the parts of their body, it was their hair that was most attended to. Observed Alzina: "Women grow their hair long, care for it more than any part of the body. In some instances, hair grows down to the floor.( Cutting it meant one was in mourning.) They wash it with a bark of a wood like soap, dress it with fragrant oils, the most common being sesame oil. They adorn their hair with flowers and sweet-smelling leaves."
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| Women's clothes |
Freed from the worries of making a living, these high-born women kept themselves shut inside their houses, so that they were called binocot. Some never stepped on the ground and were carried on their shoulders when they left their abodes. A lot of them were even as fair as Spanish women.
Not to be outdone, men in some places wore their hair long too, a custom they acquired from the Chinese traders. Some cut it down to shoulder length like the Javanese.
Both men and women wore earrings of gold called panicas or pamarang. These earrings had spokes through the sides and golden flower through the center with pearls or precious stones. Some had nothing in the center but had edges extending out and designs carved on them. Some earrings were made of carabao horn, ivory, sea shells and turtle cases. The biggest erring would be at the bottom of the ear, the smallest at the top of the ear lobe.
Completing their bodily decorations were gold bracelets, rings in fingers and necklaces, beads of gold garnets of several color and sizes. After a few years of Spanish occupation, cornelians were used as the Spaniards took much of their gold.
(These bodily decorations of the 16th century Leyteño underwent drastic changes after a few years of Spanish rule. By the middle of the 17th century, these quaint traditions were being superceded by the Spanish haircut and manner of dressing. The bahag disappeared and the short skirts to go too. The Jesuit missionaries were in a large measure responsible for their disappearance.)
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