II.

Islamic Colonial

As the Islamization process in Mindanao strengthened, Islam became the driving force that enabled
the natives to resist centuries of Spanish colonization. Islam was embraced as a religion and as a way of
life by the peoples of Mindanao. Among them, the Tausug, Maranao, Maguindanao, Yakan, Samal,
Badjao, to name a few, as well some areas in Palawan.

Main Beliefs of Islam that Influence the Ways Art is Made and Interpreted:

1.) Ummah - a community of believers

•Filipino Muslims recognize that they belong to an ummah or a community of believers

2.) Tawhid - unity of God

• Central to the Islamic faith is the doctrine of Tawhid or unity of God

Influenced By the Notion of Tawhid

• Interior of mosques are with elaborate patterning in the form of reliefs

• Muslim organize space in Architecture also telling of their adherence to the Tawhid and other Islamic
belief.
 Michab – niche Qibla wall

According to Prof. Abraham Sakili, we can then relate this with two
aspects of reality.
1.) The object perceived by the ordinary sense
2.) The sense of nothingness, a space or a void empty of all things, to evoke that God is above and
beyond all things.

Prof. Abraham Sakili observed that many of the Islamic forms are inclined to project, grow, or have
an upward orientation, in tune with the regard for heaven and to veer from the "material earth".

• We can see this upward orientation of design elements in the panolong

•Elaborately carved protrusion akin to a wing attached to the torogan or the royal house of the
Maranao.

•The mythical sarimanok is a legendary bird of the Maranao people who originate from Mindanao, a
major island in the Philippines. It comes from the words “sari” and “manok.” “Sari” means cloth or
garment, which is generally of assorted colors. Manòk, which makes up part of its name, is a Philippine
word for chicken.

•The burraq, a horse with the head of a woman, is also an important figure believed to carry the Prophet
in his ascension to heaven.
An Islam continues to shape the art of the Philippine Muslims

•Influence of folk (non-Muslim) appears

Ukkil/Okir (motif) is an exclusive artistic cultural heritage of the Maranaos of Lanao, Philippines. It is as
an artistic design of the Maranao native inhabitants of southern Philippines beginning from the early 6th
Century C.E. before the Islamization of the area.

Luhul or Canopy - a cover (as of cloth) fixed or carried above a person of high rank or a sacred object