Sabutan.

Botanical.—It is a question among botanists whether the
pandan known as sabutan is a variety of the common sea-shore pandan
(P. tectorius) or whether it has sufficient distinctive
characteristics to entitle it to be considered as a separate species
(P. sabotan). Botanists have not as yet succeeded in securing a
fruit of this pandan, which could settle the question, and it is
[64]very doubtful whether the fruit will ever be
found.7 Prof. Ugolino Martelli of Florence, Italy, an
authority on pandans, considers sabutan to be Pandanus tectorius
var. sinensis. This classification is for the present accepted,
as most evidence is in favor of such determination and in this paper
sabutan is therefore considered to be a variety of the common pandan,
the chief change in which, through generations of planting, has been in
the production of a leaf stronger, thinner, and of finer texture than
that of the parent stock.

Plate XXXVII. Flower of sabutan.

The sabutan plant is never found growing wild, though after it has
once been started and rooted it will endure neglect and even
abandonment. It produces better and finer leaves, however, if it
receives some care and attention. In the towns of Tanay and
[65]Pililla, Rizal Province, and in Mabitac, Laguna
Province, and in all the towns along the lake shore as far as Paete,
the suckers of the plant are set out in small plots of ground
surrounding the houses of the people. These form patches which in
several years (depending mostly on soil conditions) yield pandan leaves
large and fine enough to be used in the manufacture of hats and mats.
The ideal location for sabutan is along the banks of streams where it
can get the benefit of the light shade of bamboo or plants that happen
to grow in the vicinity. Ordinarily, good results are obtained by
planting the suckers of sabutan in a loose and moist, but well drained,
soil. Plants are set out one meter apart in each direction, as they
spread considerably. They need some shade, especially when young, but
not the heavy shade of an abacá or banana grove.

The plant grows to be from 2 to 4 meters high. The leaves are fine
in texture, about 2 meters long and as wide as 6 centimeters. Spines
occur on the margins and on the under surface of the midrib. The male
inflorescence procured from Tanay by the Bureau of Education is similar
in appearance to that of Pandanus tectorius and is about 27
centimeters long. At varying distances on the flower stalk are leaves
(bracts), thin and fine, from 10 to 24 centimeters long and with fine
spines on margins and midrib. The flowers have a pleasant, though not
very strong, odor.

Status of the sabutan mat industry.—As an industry, the
weaving of sabutan mats is confined to the towns of Tanay and Pililla,
in the Province of Rizal. The beginnings of this industry go back
beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitants or even of their parents.
It is probable that, as the people state, mat weaving has been carried
on ever since the towns were founded. Tanay is the older of the two and
it would seem (though reliable historical data of this kind are
difficult to obtain) that the town was the first to engage in sabutan
mat weaving and is probably the mother of all the sabutan industries
carried on around Laguna de Bay.

The present condition of the mat-weaving industry of these two
towns, however, is precarious; it appears to be gradually dying out.
The fabrication of sabutan hats has been introduced from Mabitac,
Laguna Province, into Pililla, with the result that the younger
generation is entirely engaged in making hats, and the relatively small
number of mats produced is being woven by the older women who have not
cared to learn the new art. As yet no hats are made in Tanay, but the
work is being taught in the schools and from conversation with people
of the town it is judged that they are becoming interested also.
[66]

The disappearance of the sabutan mat industry would be very
unfortunate, for the products are the finest samples of the mat
weaver’s art produced in the Philippines. The mats are of fine
straw; the natural gray of sabutan is pleasing; the designs used are
good; and the colors are usually well combined. The favorite patterns
consist of heavy plaids with some of the stripes containing
sub-patterns produced by floating straws; the simplest ones have narrow
border designs in straight lines. The most expensive mats are decorated
with embroidered designs. The combination of colors in these is
sometimes not pleasing and the designs themselves are not of special
merit. However, if better ones are substituted, these mats should be
excellent for a foreign trade demanding expensive articles of this
nature. Unlike most Philippine mat industries, this one has not as yet
been affected by coal tar dyes, and only vegetable dyes, found locally
in the town or in the forests, are employed. The straw dyes very well
and as a consequence the colors produced are even throughout the mat;
nor have any of the shades that brilliant effect or “off
color” which is so distasteful in certain fibers. The colors
obtained are only fairly fast in the light, however, and it is probable
that the new coal tar dyes will be faster and cheaper. In point of
durability, sabutan mats would be superior to all others produced in
the Islands if woven of double straws. In price they now vary from
forty centavos to thirty pesos, the ordinary ones bringing from
₱1.50 to ₱2.50.

Plate XXXVIII. Cheap sabutan mat.

If the industry is to be preserved intact, however, something must
be done to give it vitality, for the weavers know from [67]experience of neighboring towns that more money
can be made from weaving hats than in the fabrication of mats, and they
will naturally change to the more remunerative article. Unlike most
other weaving industries, the craft has not as yet been organized in
Tanay. The production of mats has been more or less haphazard, with but
little supervision by any person resembling the broker usually
connected with household industries. The weaver on completing a mat
sells it in the market or to some storekeeper. Up to the present time,
the chief trade in these mats has been at Antipolo in May during the
“romeria” or annual pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin
of Antipolo. Certain persons in Tanay have made it a practice to gather
up a store of mats and take them to Antipolo for sale there during the
fiesta. A few of them are on sale in Manila and in neighboring
provinces. Of late, however, persons have appeared who are taking up
the industry more thoroughly as brokers and it is to be hoped that the
workers will be organized into some better system for production than
now exists. There is a large opportunity not only for supervision but
also for division of labor. At present the men of the house cut the
leaves, and each weaver (all the weavers are women) carries out the
rest of the process. There would be a considerable saving of time if
certain persons devoted themselves to the preparation of the gray
straw, and the dyeing were left entirely to certain other workers. In
this way the weavers of the mats would be engaged only in the actual
fabrication of the article and much time would be saved to
them.8

Plate XXXIX. Smoothing sabutan, Tanay, Rizal.

[68]

Planting, maturing, and yield of sabutan.—The plants
from which the straw mats at Tanay are made are set out in plots near
the houses of the workers. The suckers are planted in April at the
beginning of the rainy season, and, while it is always stated that
straw prepared from the leaves grown in the shade is best for weaving,
yet the plants are never intentionally set out in the shade but are
planted wherever an unoccupied plot of ground is obtainable. As a
matter of fact, the patches to be seen in the sabutan towns grow in a
semi-shade such as one would expect to find in yards where the usual
ornamental and fruit trees and banana plants grow. Much of the sabutan
is in the sun from morning to night; some is shaded during all or part
of the day. The suckers mature leaves in the third year9
but these are cut off and thrown away as useless and it is not until
the fourth year that the lower leaves can be stripped into straw.
Harvest takes place every four months, five or six leaves being
obtained from a plant at each cutting. The plants are never irrigated
but it is to be noted that the soil around Laguna de Bay is very moist
and that the water table is close to the surface with a good seepage
from the hills which are near the shore. It is probable that the plants
differ in their production of leaves because some have many more
branches than others and the climatic and soil conditions affect the
yield.

Preparation of the straw.—The best straw is prepared
during the dry season, because at this time there is sufficient
sunshine to produce a good colored material. As a consequence the
workers prepare a large quantity at that season and store it in or
under their houses, wrapped in mats.

The leaves used are about 2 meters in length and 6 cm. in width. The
central thorns on the back of the leaves are removed by cutting away
the midrib. Two lengths about an inch in width are thus produced from
which the outer rows of thorns may or may not be removed, according to
custom. The lengths thus obtained are left in the sunshine and wind for
about half a day to render them more flexible, after which they are cut
into straws. For this purpose there is used an instrument consisting of
a narrow wooden handle about 2½ cm. wide at the base, into which
narrow sharp teeth, usually of steel, are set. [69]Brass
and even hard woods can be used for teeth. The point of the segment
being cut off, the base is grasped in one hand, the inside of the
segment being turned toward the operator. The comb-like instrument is
forced into it about 4 cm. from the end of the base and the teeth are
held against the first finger by pressure of the thumb. The leaf length
is then drawn up by the other hand and is cut into straws depending in
width upon the fineness of the comb used. If the leaves are too young
they will break in this process. The stripped segments are then usually
tied up into bundles as large around as the fist, and hung in some
shaded place exposed to the wind. The length of time occupied by this
process varies. In some places it is omitted, though it seems to be
always carried out in Tanay. The bundles are then undone and the
worker, holding the uncut base of each length in one hand, runs the
straw between his fingers and the sharp edged ruler-like piece of
bamboo held in the other. This is done several times and results in the
removal of considerable moisture, the prevention of wrinkling, and
greater pliability of the straw.

Plate XL. Weaving sabutan mat, Tanay, Rizal.

There are several variations in the processes followed for boiling
sabutan. In the Province of Laguna a fistful of the stripped lengths
with bases still attached are rolled up into a bundle and placed in
fresh water in order to remove the coloring matter—in some places
in clear, running river water, in other places in a can of clean, fresh
water—for about twenty-four hours; the water is changed several
times. In the last method the process is discontinued when the water
remains clear. Bundles [70]are then placed in cold vinegar, water or
lemon water to which green tamarind fruit has been added to make the
color of the straw lighter and to toughen it; the water is brought to a
boil. Bamboo is used as fuel, as that fire is not so hot as a wood
fire. The length of time required for cooking differs. One good
authority states that it should be stopped when the odor of sabutan can
no longer be detected in the vapor, which occurs after about fifteen
minutes boiling. This authority also states that the straw should be
removed when it takes on a reddish hue. Many women put the straw into
clear boiling water to which nothing has been added. After this process
the straw is allowed to cool, is washed several times in clean, fresh
water and is spread in the sun to dry, whereupon it assumes a gray
color. If there is no sun the cool straw must be kept in fresh water
which is changed every twelve hours until the sun appears. If a
greenish shade is obtained the process has not been correctly carried
out. Straw from dark green, thick, old leaves, or from those grown in
the sun, is often reddish brown in color.

The boiling processes noted are those used in the preparation of
straw for mats. The process followed in Tanay has been described by Mr.
Amado Simpoco, principal of the Tanay Central School. The stripped
lengths, after being wilted and drawn over the sharp edged piece of
bamboo, are made up into fist bundles, tied at the middle and placed in
a large copper pot 61 cm. in diameter and 84 cm. in depth and
containing about 25 bundles. The pot is filled with water and the
sabutan is boiled for 24 hours, care being taken that the straw is
always covered. After boiling, the bundles are removed and untied and
the strips are hung in the shade or in the house to cool; afterwards
they are placed in the river for a day and are then washed carefully
and dried thoroughly in the sun. The gray straw thus obtained is stored
in bundles, still attached to the uncut bases, and is left in the air
for three or four nights before it is woven into mats.

Dyeing sabutan.—Mr. Simpoco has also made a careful
study of the methods used in Tanay in dyeing sabutan straw, and the
results of his efforts are presented here.

Red orange: For the production of red orange straw the gray
material, prepared as outlined above, is first treated by steeping in
water containing kolis leaves and twigs. The leaves and chopped twigs
are pounded in a mortar and are placed together with the sabutan in a
large receptacle capable of containing from 25 to 30 bundles, filled
with water. The material is allowed to remain in the receptacle for
four days. Early in the morning of the fifth day the straw is removed
and hung in a shaded [71]place until dry and is made up into bundles
tied tightly at the larger end.

The dye fluid is carefully prepared. Chips of sappan are boiled in a
large copper pot for one day. A quantity of turmeric roots and annatto
seeds are pounded separately in mortars until they are reduced to a
very fine state. These are then separately treated with water and
pressed, the result being a turmeric water and an annatto water. These
two are mixed and poured into the boiling sappan. After about 25
minutes the bundles of sabutan are placed in the pot and the whole is
allowed to boil until every part of the fiber is uniformly colored.
After having been boiled sufficiently, the bundles are removed and
placed in a large basket, later to be dried in the shade. They are left
in the night air for three or four nights and are then rolled up in
coarse mats. The shades procured vary with the proportions of the dye
materials used. Some are a decided orange, others are light yellow.

Yellow: Yellow straw is produced in the same manner, using
turmeric and annatto only.

Red: In the production of red straw the bundles are treated
with kolis leaves in the same manner as in the preliminary process for
red-orange straw. In a pot capable of holding 25 fist bundles of
sabutan, four gantas10 of finely chopped sappan are
placed. Over this are placed 15 bundles of the straw, which in turn is
covered with one ganta of chopped sappan. The remaining 10 bundles are
then added and covered with still another ganta of sappan. The pot is
filled with water and set over a fire for from twelve to fifteen hours.
Care is taken that the bundles are always kept under the water and that
all parts of the material are uniformly colored. The loss by
evaporation is counterbalanced by adding water from time to time. When
well colored, the straw is removed from the pot and placed in a large
basket for a day and is then hung in the sunshine to be dried. It
should be allowed to remain in the night air; when thoroughly dried it
is rolled in coarse mats.

Black: Black straw, a warm dark gray, is prepared from the
red material. Buds of bananas, leaves of kabling, talisay, camagon, and
the castor plant are pounded in a mortar and are mixed with fine
particles of black clay such as can be obtained from rice paddies.
Sappan water, made by boiling sappan chips, is then added to the
mixture and the entire mass is placed in a large receptacle for a day.
Red straw is put into this mixture [72]and allowed to remain for two
days. It is removed on the third day and again returned to the mixture
on the fourth day. On the fifth day the straw is finally removed and
placed in the sun, being kept in the air at night.

Coal tar dyes are used in the production of green and purple straws.
These are purchased from the Chinese stores. The prepared gray fiber is
also employed with these dyes. The usual method of boiling in a tin can
until the desired shade is obtained, is followed. The straw is dried in
the sun and kept in the night air. Colors produced are not so uniform
or so satisfactory as the others described and are seldom used.

Plate XLI. Pandan of Majayjay.

Weaving the mats.—Before weaving the mat the worker
runs the straw over the ruler-like piece of bamboo as already
explained, and removes the uncut base to which it has been attached
during the various processes of preparation, bleaching, and dyeing. One
side of the mat is first woven the entire length, and is finished by
having the edges turned in. This edge is then placed in a slit made in
a narrow stick of wood and is tied in place with strips of sabutan
straw running around the stick and through the mat. The mat is allowed
to remain attached to this stick until it has been completely woven. As
weaving proceeds, the finished part is rolled up on the stick, thus
being out of the way of the weaver. This arrangement also serves to
keep the mat in position during weaving and prevents it from getting
out of shape. Single straws are used and consequently the mat has a
right and a wrong side.11 The most expensive mats, which
are seldom made, are double and of very fine material. [73]

The extension and cultivation of sabutan.—For a number
of years there has been an increasing interest throughout the
Philippines in the propagation of sabutan. Teachers in various places
have procured suckers from the towns along the east coast of Laguna de
Bay, and have planted them out with the idea of having their own
industrial material close at hand. Many of these attempts have been
failures, since not enough information had been obtained concerning the
soil and moisture conditions necessary for the cultivation of the
plant. The Bureau of Education has therefore gathered as much
information as possible on the cultivation of sabutan, based upon the
experience of various persons who have attempted planting it.

It has been found that, in those regions having a dry season, the
suckers should be planted early in the rainy season so that they may
become well rooted before the rains stop, or else water should be
provided through irrigation ditches. In nearly all cases it has been
reported that the loss of plants resulted from lack of water at the
planting period.

It is reported that difficulty is found in making the suckers live
if planted in the sun, but that, when well established, those so
planted grow and produce suckers better. As has been previously noted,
no special attempt is made to set the plants out in either the sun or
shade in the towns around Laguna de Bay, but all weavers state that
leaves grown in the shade are the best for industrial purposes.

Sabutan plants need a moist but well drained soil. They should be
set out about a meter apart each way (that is, the rows one meter apart
and plants one meter apart in the row), since they spread out
considerably when they become older. Where sufficient moisture does not
exist, irrigation should be provided. If it is decided to shade the
suckers, plants such as the papaya, having long roots rather than
surface roots, are best. No sabutan plants should be planted within 6
feet of the papaya.

It is probable that with cultivation the plants will yield leaves
suitable for straw in from one and one-half to two years, the time to
mature depending upon the conditions noted in the preceding
paragraphs.12 [74]

Sabutan types.—In several places in the Philippines
there are pandans which yield leaves similar to those of sabutan. It is
probable that none of these are the true sabutan. The most important
one is that growing along the northeastern shore of Tayabas Province.
Mats are made at both Casiguran and Baler, and enter to a small extent,
the interprovincial trade with neighboring provinces. It is stated,
however, that these regions abound in the species of pandan from which
the mats are made. Sabutan type mats are also reported made at Palanan
in Isabela Province, and a trade is carried on in them with neighboring
towns.

Other pandans reported under the name of sabutan and resembling it
more or less have no commercial importance.

Sarakat.

Sarakat is a distinctive pandan of the Bangui Peninsula of Ilocos
Norte. The climate of this region differs from the rest of Ilocos Norte
in that it has rainfall practically throughout the year, receiving as
it does the benefit of the northeast monsoon which is cut off from the
country to the south. It has not as yet been determined whether sarakat
is to be described as a new variety of P. tectorius or is to be
designated as an entirely new species.

From mats submitted to this office, it is to be judged that sarakat
straw is as fine as sabutan. In fact, the material is so thin that even
though the mats are woven of double straws they are no thicker, and are
a good deal more pliable than all other commercial pandan mats, sabutan
excepted, produced in the Philippines. The upper surface of pandan
straw is glossy, and the under surface is rough. In making the double
straw, the two rough surfaces are placed together so as to expose both
glossy ones. Hence, unlike the sabutan, both sides of sarakat mats are
similar in appearance. The material, however, is not so strong as
sabutan.13

The mats are not decorated either by weaving in colored straws or by
embroidered or border designs. In price they vary from about ₱1
to ₱2.

Mr. Petronilo Castro, formerly Supervising Teacher of Bangui, has
stated that that town supplies most of the mats used by the people of
Ilocos Norte. Some buri mats and a few “pandan” mats
(probably from the common seashore variety) are made. [75]The
sarakat mats exceed those of pandan in numbers and in commercial
importance and are more beautiful and stronger. The demand for the mats
is great and many people are engaged exclusively in their
fabrication.

The Pandan of Majayjay.14

Plate XLII. Fruit of Pandanus utilissimus
(Majayjay).

This pandan (P. utilissimus) is known in most places where it
grows as “pandan” or “pandan totoo,” the true
or tame pandan. It is extensively used in Laguna and Tayabas and is
remarkable for its very large leaves and its heavy fruit. The tree
occurs in groups in dry ground but thrives best in half shade near
streams. It attains a height of from 4 to 8 meters. The trunk branches
toward the top and is supported by a few short and thick prop
roots.

The leaves are often 5 meters long and 2 decimeters wide. The lower
part of the older leaves stands up straight, while the upper half
droops. The younger leaves are erect with only their tips bent down.
The leaf spines are short, blunt, and conical.

The fruits look like the jackfruit and are very large and heavy, being
often 6 decimeters long and 2 decimeters in diameter and weighing at
times 25 or more kilograms. The drupes ripen slowly and gradually; they
are red in color when fully mature and possess a peculiar faint odor.
It takes some time before all the drupes are shed, and in a grove of
fruiting trees they can be found in all stages of maturity during the
month of May.

P. utilissimus is found growing wild throughout the plateau
region of Majayjay, Luisiana, and Cavinti in Laguna Province, and
extending into Tayabas Province. It is only the leaves from those
plants which have been set out in plots, however, that [76]are
utilized in the making of mats, hats and telescope baskets. Like
sabutan, this pandan grows best in the half-shade near streams, and
leaves grown in the sun are considered inferior. Nevertheless, no
attempt seems to be made to select a locality for their propagation,
and plots are planted wherever land is available. This pandan will not
live in stagnant water and is particularly adapted to hill-sides where
there is a constant flow.

The most satisfactory statistics on the propagation of P.
utilissimus are obtained from Cavinti, where the plant has been
introduced within recent years and suckers are still being brought in
from other towns. It is stated that suckers one-half meter in height
mature in about three years, while suckers one meter in height or over
will produce suitable leaves in one year or less. The most satisfactory
results are obtained by transplanting the mature plants, since leaves
are obtainable in a few months and in half a year suckers large enough
for transplanting are produced. It is stated that in setting the plants
out, the undergrowth is cleared away and the suckers are placed in the
ground about 1½ meters apart. Some attention is given to the
young plants such as loosening the earth around them; but as soon as
they obtain a good foothold no cultivation is attempted.

Plate XLIII. Rolling pandan, Majayjay,
Laguna.

Usually weavers own their patch of pandan from which the leaves are
obtained for making the straw. Several workers sometimes have a patch
in common and the few weavers who do not own pandans themselves must
purchase. The leaves are sold on the tree, the purchaser cutting them
off with a bolo. The price is from 20 to 30 centavos per hundred,
depending [77]upon their size, softness, thickness, and
imperfections. The longest, thinnest, darkest green leaves, with the
fewest imperfections, are considered the best and cost the most. In
Cavinti, where the leaves are imported from Luisiana and Majayjay, the
price of the best leaves is 50 centavos per hundred. The estimates of
the number of leaves yielded by a plant in a year differ considerably.
By some it is stated that on the average one leaf is produced per
month; others report that from three to five leaves are gathered in
from three to six weeks.

The thorns are removed from the edges, and the midrib is cut away,
thus reducing the leaf into two halves, each of which is again divided.
These strips are placed in the sun for half a day. The unique process
in the preparation of this pandan straw is the rolling which occurs at
this point. While it is probable that any roller with sufficient weight
could be used, that employed in the pandan districts of Laguna is the
primitive “iluhan” by which sugar-cane and copra are also
crushed. It consists essentially of three heavy wooden horses, in the
grooves of which a log, heavily weighted with stones, rotates. The
pandan lengths are placed in one of the grooves underneath the log and
so rolled. The object of the process is to make the material thinner
and more pliable. Straw is stripped from the lengths thus prepared by
the use of the gauge.15 The straw is then further dried
in the sunshine and is ready to be woven. Sometimes the lengths are
stripped before being rolled, hence the straw is left in the sunshine
for another half day and then placed under the log in the iluhan.

Mats are woven in Majayjay and Luisiana only, the weavers of Cavinti
devoting their entire time to the fabrication of hats. The mats are
woven of single straw, but they are fairly thick and not at all limber.
The number produced per week runs probably into the thousands, of which
about 75 per cent are made of coarse straw and are intended for use in
drying palay, copra, etc. These mats are known as
“bangkoan,” a word having about the same significance as
“bastos;” that is, coarsely or poorly made. The finer and
better made mats are intended for use as sleeping mats and for the
floor. They are decorated with colored buri straw, usually in some
shade of red produced by mordanting with kolis leaves and boiling with
sappan wood as explained for buri straw. Occasionally, other colors are
used, produced from the imported coal-tar (“Chino”) dyes,
but in all cases the shades produced are not very pleasing. The
decorations [78]are embroidered in, and consist of simple borders
in straight lines with an open center design of somewhat the same
pattern. When first woven, the mats are usually of a dark green color.
Before being sold, they are placed in the sun, which changes them to a
grayish color somewhat resembling sabutan. After long use, however, the
final shade is yellowish green.

There seems to be but little division of labor in the production of
these mats. Usually the whole family goes out into the patch and cuts
the leaves, removing the thorns before bringing them home. Only women
weave the mats. In Majayjay a few workers color their own buri straw
used in decorating the mats, but for the most part this material is
obtained from dyers, one a Chinese, the other a Filipino, who prepare
it for sale.

The weavers are independent of advances by brokers and sell their
product to Filipinos or to the representatives of Chinese merchants in
Pagsanjan and Manila. A few weavers take their mats to Lukban, whence
they are distributed over Tayabas Province, but many more are gathered
up by these brokers and sold in the market at Pagsanjan. The mat market
there usually occupies one whole sidewalk running the length of the
market building.

The pandan mats of Majayjay and Luisiana are notable for their
strength and durability, and are excellent for the floor or bath. In
price they range from ₱0.50 to ₱5.00. The usual price of
the decorated mats is ₱1.50. The demand continues brisk and
prices have recently risen. The weakest point in the mat at the present
time is in the colored buri straw used to decorate it, for this tears
long before the pandan shows signs of wear. If colored sabutan straw is
substituted for the buri, a much stronger and probably more pleasing
article will result.16

Karagumoy.17

The pandan P. simplex, known as “karagumoy” or
“carogumoy,” is the economic pandan of the Bicol peninsula
in southern Luzon. It is usually found growing in well drained soil
under the shade of banana and abaca plants and areca palms. It needs
this protection because the leaves are easily broken or ruined by hard
winds. The leaves are generally longer than those of sabutan (they are
2 meters to 3½ meters in length) and [79]are but
from 6 cm. to 10 cm. wide. They are very thick, being practically as
coarse as the leaves of P. utilissimus. They bear stout spines
on the midrib and along the margins, from two centimeters to three
centimeters apart. A fungus disease often attacks them, causing dry
hard patches, and not only spoiling the color but also making the
material so brittle that it breaks in the preparation of the straw.

The plant is propagated by means of suckers in patches seldom over a
half hectare in extent and often consisting of a few plants back of the
house. The suckers are set out in rows and are probably one year old
when the first leaves are taken, though the workers disagree on this
point. At a specified time, from eight to fifteen leaves are cut from
the plant each year; at other periods, two or three may be taken from
the same plants. Most of the leaves are harvested during the rainy
season. Karagumoy leaves have a commercial value in many of the places
in which the plant occurs. In Tabaco, Albay, women cut the leaves and
carry them in large bundles to the market, where they are sold at
prices usually varying from 8 to 12 centavos per hundred.

Plate XLIV. Karagumoy.

Throughout the Province of Albay mats are made from karagumoy, and
in some towns the industry is of considerable importance. For instance,
in the barrio of San Lorenzo in Tabaco, mats may be found in the making
in nearly every house. In Sorsogon, too, the industry is widespread
though not so important commercially. In Balusa the production is large
enough to supply the local demand and leave a surplus for export to
neighboring towns. In the Bicol provinces karagumoy is considered the
best of all straws for the production of mats. In price the mats vary
from thirty to ninety centavos, according to fineness.

In preparing the material, the spines and midrib are first removed
and the leaves are divided into four strips of about equal [80]width.
The straw is prepared from these with the knife and gauge; it is dried
in the shade for a few hours and drawn several times over a piece of
bamboo as explained for sabutan in order to make it more supple and
smooth. The mats are woven in the early morning and at night, the straw
being more pliable then. Attempts have been made in the schools to dye
karagumoy but no success has yet been attained. The mats are plain.

Bariu.

The stem of this plant, P. copelandii, grows from 4 to 9
meters high. The leaves have an average length of 2.1 meter and a width
of 8 cm.18 Spines occur along the entire margin. Near the
base they are comparatively coarse and from 3 to 4 mm. long. Towards
the apex of the margins and midveins, the spines are short and close
together like the teeth of a fine saw. From 3 to 5 heads generally form
on the fruit stalk, each of them from 7 to 12 cm. long and 5 to 7 cm.
across, at first pale yellowish in appearance but soon turning red.
Their drupes are 14 mm. long and 3 to 4 mm. in diameter. This pandan is
found in Cagayan, Benguet, Nueva Ecija, Samar, Bohol, Occidental
Negros, Capiz, Surigao, Davao, and other provinces.19

This pandan is not of economic importance in central and southern
Luzon. In the Bicol provinces it is used to some extent but it is
considered inferior to other materials. In parts of the Visayas, such
as Bohol, Capiz and Samar, it is utilized to a considerable extent, but
cannot be considered of commercial importance. It is the economic
pandan of Surigao, but even there its commercial importance is local
only.

[81]

Pandans of Minor Utility.

The species P. radicans is reported as olango from Leyte,
wañgo in Bohol, owañgo in Surigao and uyagño in
Sorsogon. It is usually found growing along rivers and in marshes. The
trunk reaches a height of 8 m. and its largest leaves may be 6 m. long
and 12 cm. wide. There are from 6 to 10 dark brick red fruits in a
cluster. The fruit is 14 cm. long and 8 cm. wide and contains 100 or
more drupes. Each drupe is 2.5 cm. in length and 12 mm. in diameter.
The leaves are made into straw from which coarse mats are woven.

Plate XLV. Weaving a karagumoy mat, Tabaco,
Albay.

Taboan is the name given to Pandanus dubius in Surigao while
in Bohol it is known as bacong. It is a rare species. It is said to be
a heavy, clumsy appearing tree with stem about 8 m. high, wide
spreading branches near the top, and soft, pulpy and stringy wood. The
flowers are grouped into an inflorescence. The male inflorescence,
about 60 cm. long and partly covered by creamy yellow bracts, is erect
and occurs at the end of the branches. The leaves are deep green in
color on both sides, with an average length of 2.25 cm. and a width of
20 cm. The drupes of this pandan are from 8 cm. to 13 cm. long and from
5 cm. to 8 cm. wide. The plant is utilized to a small extent in making
mats.

In the Tagalog speaking provinces of Bulacan, Bataan, and in and
around Manila, Pandanus luzonensis is called
“alasas.” It is also called “pandan” but this
name should be reserved for Pandanus tectorius. The former is
restricted in its habitat to the provinces around Manila Bay, while the
latter is found in most of the seacoast provinces of the Philippines as
well as in other tropical parts of the world. Pandanus
luzonensis attains a greater height than Pandanus tectorius,
but has narrower leaves than the latter. The male flowers are borne in
a fleshy, much-branched inflorescence from 20 to 30 cm. long. Each
[82]branch is partly surrounded by a broad thin bract,
8 cm. wide. Each individual flower has from 4 to 9 stamens. The whole
fruit is about 20 centimeters long and contains from 30 to 60 drupes,
yellowish red in color when ripe. Each drupe is from 3 to 4 cm. long, 2
to 2.5 cm. thick, and contains from 6 to 10 seeds. The straw from this
pandan is of inferior quality, though it is said to be used in Bulacan
for mats.

Unidentified Pandans.

Besides the pandans, the identity of which has been explained above,
there are several unidentified specimens or varieties from which mats
are made. It may be that some of these will be found identical with
those already discussed when sufficient botanical material has been
gathered to determine them.

In Isabela Province, a pandan known as “langu” having
long, strong, thin leaves, is made into mats in Santa Maria, Delena and
Bolasi.

Mats are made along the coast of Cagayan Province, in the Ilocano
barrios of the towns of Claveria and Sanchez Mira, from a pandan known
as “pataga.” These are very coarse and thick and have an
unusually shiny surface. According to Mr. Otto Harwood, the leaves vary
in length from 10 cm. to 35.5 cm. and in width from 7.5 cm. to 15 cm.
The straw is made by cutting the leaf into strips and drying them in
the sun. Although the industry is yet small, it is developing.

A species of pandan is employed in the towns of Camalaniugan,
Aparri, Gataran, and Lal-loc in Cagayan Province for making mats.
Locally they are valued at from 40 to 50 centavos, but in Isabela
Province to which they are exported they sell for as high as a peso and
a half.

The only municipality in Pangasinan province in which the making of
mats has reached provincial and interprovincial importance is Bolinao.
The species of pandan employed is not known. The mats are shipped to
towns along the seacoast of Ilocos and Zambales Province by sailing
vessels, and are sold in the local markets or to local merchants.

In Mindoro the town of Subang makes pandan mats which are shipped to
Batangas, Cavite, and Manila.

Plate XLVI. Philippine distribution of chief
utilized pandans.

Two pandans, called lingo and baring were sent to the General Office
of the Bureau of Education from Guindalman, Bohol. It was impossible to
identify them as no fruit was included. They probably represent two new
species. Lingo has a leaf 2.9 m. in length and of an almost uniform
width of 5.5 cm. At 80 cm. from the tip, it is 4.5 cm. wide, then
gradually becomes [84]acuminate. The marginal spines are 2 mm.
long, curved forward, from 6 to 8 mm. apart near the stem, but closer
together at the distal one-third of the leaf. Spines of 1 mm. or less
in length and 4 mm. or less apart, curved forward and extending
throughout the length of the leaf, occur on the lower surface of the
midrib only. The surface of the leaf is smooth and shiny. The leaf of
baring is 72 cm. long, 2.8 cm. wide, apparently spineless, smooth and
fine in texture. Both of these pandans would probably yield good
industrial materials.

In Iloilo, the town of Banate has a pandan mat industry of
interprovincial importance, whose product is an article of commerce as
far as Negros. The mats sell at about 50 centavos each.

Plate XLVII. A Moro mat.

There is a large export of pandan mats from Dao, Antique, to the
province of Iloilo.

Pandan mats are exported from Cuyo Island in Palawan. Some are sent
to the mainland of Palawan and others to Antique.

The Moro pandan mats are the most richly colored of all those
produced in the Philippines. At this writing, information is not at
hand to determine the method of preparing the straw or the species of
pandan from which they are made. Mats which have been exhibited at
successive Philippine expositions have undoubtedly been dyed with
imported coloring matter. The designs are of the general effect of the
mat reproduced on page 84. The colors are often well combined and the
effect is very striking. The Cottabato mats are double; the under
portion is woven of thick, heavy, uncolored straw, and the upper
portion is of finer material; the two parts are spliced together.
[85]

Gathering the Straw.

The best known tikug mats are produced on the Island of Samar, where
the sedge grows wild.21 It has never been cultivated
there. Different grades are recognized in the height and width of the
straw. The finest is 1½ mm. in diameter while the largest straws
are fully four times that width. Full grown stalks sometimes reach 3
meters in height, but the average is 1½ meters. In most places
in Samar only very coarse tikug is found and this is especially true in
the northern half of the island. The best material grows near the towns
of Basey and Sulat, a circumstance probably due to the fact that most
of these sedges are pulled up for weaving before they become old and
coarse, for it is in these two towns that the mat industry of Samar is
centered. All grades of tikug can be used in making mats; but as the
straw cannot be split into finer pieces, it is only from the narrower
material that the fine mats are made. The map on the distribution of
tikug shows the regions in Samar in which this sedge occurs.22

Plate LI. Philippine distribution of tikug.

Bleaching.

Plate LII. Dyeing tikug, Basey, Samar.

In some parts of Samar rough mats are made from tikug dried in the
shade. In Basey and Sulat bleached straw is used. In the bleaching
process only the sun is used, the bundles being spread out where there
is neither grass nor shade. The straw must be kept perfectly dry at all
times, for if it becomes wet or damp it will mildew and turn an
unsightly black or brown. In the morning it must not be put out until
the ground is dry and in the evening it should be taken in before dew
is formed upon [90]it. The best results are obtained by drying the
material in a place where there is no grass, as the turf generally
holds considerable moisture and retards the process. With proper care
clean white straw can be obtained in about one week under the most
favorable conditions. Sometimes, but not often, the above process is
preceded by boiling the straw for ten or twenty minutes in plain water.
Several bleaching experiments have already been made with tikug, but as
yet none has been entirely successful. In one experiment straw was
boiled in alum, but the resultant material was not so white as that
obtained by simply drying it in the sun. Boiling green tikug in water
containing acetic acid from the juice of limes and lemons was
unsatisfactory. The best straw obtained was that produced by simply
boiling the green stalk for a few minutes in water and rinsing it well
and then drying in the sunshine for several days.

The straws are of different lengths and diameters; after bleaching
they must be sorted. The seed clusters are removed and the bunches are
tied in a big bundle which is laid on the floor with root toward the
worker. The longer straws of small diameter are then pulled out and
placed in small bundles, the process continuing until the several
different grades are thus separated and nothing remains but a few short
thick straws which are kept for embroidering designs. Each bundle is
then trimmed by cutting off the roots and ragged tops and the straw is
ready for storing, dyeing, or flattening. If tikug remains in a damp
place it will mold and become worthless. It is easily kept during the
dry season, if frequently exposed to the sun. During the rainy season
it should be wrapped in a blanket or cloth. [91]

Dyeing.

Very few uncolored straws are used in Samar mats. The dyed material
is more durable and does not mildew as readily as the uncolored straws.
Tikug dyes easily and this is probably one of the reasons why the mats
of Samar have so much color. The cost of the dye in a Basey mat is no
small part of the total expense of production. Consequently it is
necessary to employ a cheap dye. For instance, one of the best
commercial dyes known in Manila was used with great success on Samar
mats, but the value of the coloring material consumed in making them
was greater than their selling price. The dye used in making the
cheapest of Samar mats costs the weavers about 10 centavos while the
more elaborate products need as much as 65 centavos worth of dye to
color them. A common mat containing 15 centavos worth of dyestuff sells
for about a peso.23

The colors obtained by the Basey mat weavers have a greater variety
of shades and tints than those produced by any other workers in the
Philippines on tikug or any other mat material. The shades and tints
depend upon two considerations: (1) The amount of dyestuffs used and
(2) the length of time the boiling process is continued. Four dyestuffs
are used. Yellows are obtained from turmeric; greens and reds are
obtained from coal-tar dyes; and a red-orange from deora. The leaves of
the latter plant are crushed and the pulpy mass thus obtained is boiled
to yield the dye fluid. By combining these four dye materials in
different proportions, by using varying amounts of the material, and by
boiling varying lengths of time, different colors, shades and tints are
obtained.

The method of dyeing is as follows: The bunches of tikug are coiled
and placed in a can of hot dye, where they are boiled from two to ten
minutes, or until the desired intensity has been secured. The more the
straw is boiled, the more nearly permanent will be the color and the
greater will be its intensity. Care must be taken to see that the dye
fluid is not too strong; otherwise the color will be too intense. In
order that the material may be evenly colored, the tikug is submerged
in the dye so that it is well covered and is turned over several times
during the process. After the coils are removed they should be laid
upon the ground or floor, allowed to cool, and then hung in the shade
to dry. [92]

Flattening.

The straws composing the bleached or dyed bundles of material are
stiff and uneven; some are bent and others are round. The process of
flattening them and making them more pliable is carried on during damp
days, in the morning or evening, for if done in the open air on
cloudless days, or at any time when the atmosphere is dry, the straw
becomes brittle and breaks. However, climatic conditions may be
overcome by wrapping the straw in banana leaves or damp cloth for an
hour or more and then working it where no breeze can dry it out. No
water should be applied. The workers employ the usual blunt-edged,
ruler-like piece of wood; between this and the thumb the straw is drawn
by the free hand. This process flattens the straw and makes it pliable
so that it does not split during weaving.

The Weaving of Samar Mats.

Up to three years ago tikug was but little used in Samar except for
weaving mats. Commercially, mat weaving was confined to Sulat and
Basey. Since the American occupation it has been widely done and the
work has been introduced into most of the schools. Not only have
methods been greatly improved but new uses have been found for the
material. To-day the sedge is woven into floor and wall mats, hats,
table mats, slippers, book-bags, hand-bags, necktie cases, pencil
holders, pencil cases, and pillow and cushion covers. Recently the
weaving of matting on looms has been undertaken in the schools and a
fine product, similar to the matting of Japan, has been produced on the
ordinary loom adjusted to the straw.

The chief use of tikug in Samar is in the weaving of mats in the
towns of Basey and Sulat. Since time immemorial tikug mats have been
woven in Samar. At Palapag, Oras, Dolores, Taft, Balangiga, Santa Rita,
Gandara, Oquendo, and Catarman, a few rough ones, the product of
unskilled workmen, were made, but they were of no commercial
importance, since the people did not weave enough to supply their own
demand. As far back as can now be traced, the people of Basey and Sulat
have been making mats for the provincial and interprovincial trade.
Since 1907 the people of Dolores, Oras, Santa Rita, and Balangiga have
improved in weaving and are now producing a few mats for the market.
Their work is much inferior to that of Basey and Sulat. In the year
1911 Basey produced about 9,000 mats and Sulat about 300. The latter
town could have increased its production greatly, but its remoteness
from the market and from the routes of commerce reduces the large
demand which [93]might otherwise exist for the mats. Basey is
better situated in these respects; moreover, the people have been
forced to fall back on mat weaving as their chief means of support, for
typhoons have destroyed their coconuts and abaca, and their rice crop
is scant. Almost every night mat weavers are found at work in many of
the houses.

Several years ago, when American soldiers were stationed in the
vicinity of the town, there grew up a great demand for mats, and the
weavers, taking advantage of their need and their little knowledge of
values in the Philippines, demanded exorbitant prices and received
them. Most of the Basey people spent their time producing mats, and to
a great extent sacrificed quality for quantity. The grade of mat that
sold for ₱18 several years ago can now be bought for about
₱8; that which sold for ₱3 two years ago can be bought
to-day for ₱2. Lately there has been a rise in price owing to
increased commercial demand. Mats made to order, particularly special
mats, cost more than those bought already woven, the price depending
upon the size of the article, the character of the design, and the
fineness of the straw and the weave. A mat two meters by one meter,
made of the finest grade of tikug, would require several months for
completion and would probably cost between ₱30 and ₱40.
There is hardly a limit to the size of the mat which can be woven.
Three years ago one having dimensions of 10 meters by 12 meters was
made for a church, as many as 30 women working on it at the same
time.

Plate LIII. Incomplete Samar mat of medium grade
showing woven-in design.

[94]

Basey mats are of two general kinds: those with plaid designs woven
in and those on which the designs are embroidered. The former are the
more difficult to weave; but as there is no decoration to be added,
they are the cheapest mats obtainable, the prices for the ordinary
grades ranging from ₱0.80 to ₱3 each. Some weavers turn out
only blank mats of one color and do neither designing nor decorating.
Straw used on these is usually dyed, very few mats of natural colors
being made. They are worth from ₱0.50 to ₱2 each and are
generally sold to girls who are skillful in embroidering designs. These
girls decorate the mats and sell them for from ₱2.50 to ₱6
each, the price depending upon the original cost of the mat and the
amount of decoration put upon it. The ideas for the designs on Basey
mats are usually obtained from pictures or textiles. The straws, both
bleached and dyed, are split in two for embroidering purposes. This
makes them thinner and more pliable.

Plate LIV. A cheap Samar mat with woven-in
design.

The time necessary for making a plaid mat sold for two pesos was
found to be as follows, an eight-hour day being used as the basis of a
day’s work:

The selling price of the mat was one peso, the cost of the dye 15
centavos, which left the weaver a balance of 85 centavos for
[95]five days’ labor. The plaids used in Basey
mats are simple, but the embroidered designs are extremely intricate.
They consist for the most part of foliage, flowers, and animals.
Weavers are often given a contract to make a stated number of mats in
accordance with a design furnished them. A few are capable of
reproducing almost any pattern presented,24 but if they
are not told exactly what colors to use they employ every shade, color
and tint they can secure. The Basey mats are distinguished by the
multitude of colors used. In general it may be stated that the chief
criticism of this product is the gaudy effect produced by the colors
used. In some cases the colors are well toned and harmoniously
combined, but the majority of the mats produced contain vivid colors
which are not all harmonious. Through the schools, efforts have been
made to reduce the number of colors and to modify the gaudy and
complicated floral designs. An improvement is seen each year.

Plate LV. Detail of a woven-in design.

The ordinary mat is usually about 2 meters by 1½ meters,
though smaller and larger ones are made. During the past three
[96]years the weavers have been encouraged to make
mats about the size of an ordinary cot and to use no more than two
colors in weaving them. A few mats suitable for placing under dining
tables are also made.

Sulat weavers produce fewer mats than those of Basey but make them
of fine, closely woven straw. Most of the mats with a woven-on border
come from Sulat. These people, while able to produce a fine, soft,
pliable mat, can not embroider decorations on them nearly so well as do
the people of Basey.

Samar mats wear well. Wall mats last indefinitely and sleeping mats
are used from two to ten years or more.25

Plate LVI. An embroidered mat with simple
decorations in comparison with most mats from Basey.

The Marketing of Basey Mats.

Plate LVII. Small table mats.

The port of Tacloban, Leyte, due to its proximity to Basey, is the
chief center for the distribution of Samar mats. As soon as the mats
are completed the weavers take them across the straits to Tacloban,
where they are sold to Chinese brokers, transients and residents, both
American and native. Few ships leave [97]Tacloban that do not
carry away from 5 to 20 mats; often they take away as many as 50, the
amount generally depending upon the number of passengers aboard the
boat. Some of the ship’s employees are regular customers of the
weavers and buy mats at stated prices to sell them again at a
reasonable profit at Manila and other ports of call. Besides, there is
quite a sale of mats in the towns of Samar, Leyte, and Cebu through
vendors, residents of Basey, who secure the mats in their home town at
low prices and sell them at a profit. These persons usually deal only
in the mats, and sell them for cash, not trading for other articles.
Plaid Basey mats are on sale in nearly all the Chinese general
merchandise stores of Manila.

As yet there is little supervision by brokers in Basey. The mat
industry there needs but the introduction of some system of supervision
by brokers to regulate the size, quality, design and color scheme of
the mats, and a foreign market to become a much more extended industry.
The schools have already done much toward improving workmanship and
design; it must remain for individual enterprise, however, to get in
touch with foreign demand and supervise the weaving of mats to suit
it.26