Iranun Binalodan

The Iranun & Philippine Textile Heritage

The Iranun-speakers belong to a group of three Danao languages, the other two – Meranaw and Maguindanao – spoken in contiguous areas in Central Mindanao. In the entirety of the Philippine archipelago, only the Iranun and Meranao hold a weft ikat weaving tradition. But, like the language distinctions among the deeply-related Danao languages, the differences in weaving conventions are marked among them. The Iranun weft ikat tends towards floriates.

Exhibit Provenance

These pieces were executed by a rarity in island Southeast Asian traditional weaving, a male, Moamar Bansil, 25, of Ladia Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. He is guided by his mother, Manie Bansil, 44. The mother-and-son collaboration is represented by another family member, Leonardo Bansil; the commission, supervised and liaised by Glenn Francis Laticse, 41, curator at the Bangsamoro Museum in Cotabato City. 

The area in which they live is only now emerging from a 50 year armed conflict, with the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as a globally important peace agreement. BARMM is expected to address historical injustice, and facilitate recognition of cultural heritage. The family work of the Bansils is a signal contribution, if at the moment imperceptible, to the restoration of peace and legacy integrity for their people.