Binukot

My first post about history is all about my country, the Philippines, specifically in the islands of Panay. Little was known about the pre-colonial era of our country. Centuries ago missionaries and Spanish conquistadors reached our shores and evangelized our archipelago. The conversion of the natives to Christianity threatened the extinction of our precious traditions. However, the Babaylans (Pagan Priests), Datus (Tribe chiefs) and some followers refused to be baptized and opted to stay in the highlands. There, they practiced freely their beliefs, customs and traditions. They organized themselves as a tribe and were called as Panay Suludnons.
One of the unique traditions that they have is the Binukot . They kept the most beautiful female offspring in their families hidden from sunlight until the day of her betrothal. For the entire time that she remained in the darkness of a room in their hut, food and drink was brought to her and the tribes-folk believed that this gave her the magical powers of a babaylan. As a result, these females became frail yet they cost a lot of dowry whenever there hands were asked for marriage.
Whenever the farms were being readied for planting in the uplands, the young sunlight-deprived lass is taken out to dance and chant in the fields under the moonlight, to ensure an abundant harvest. As would be expected, Binukot women are very good epic chanters having the longest recorded epic in the country of over thirty hours. In no time, the entire tribe became known for this practice of hiding their beautiful females from sunlight, locally known as 'bukot', and hence, the word 'binukot' which means 'to hide' or to 'keep'.
As is customary, and perhaps because of their 'binukot' tradition, the women have developed a passion for beauty wearing jewelry made from Spanish coins strung together called biningkit, a waistband of coins called a wakus, and a headdress of coins known as a pundong. Like some tribes in Central Africa and some parts of the Philippines, they also adorn their bodies with tattoos and file their teeth.
The Binukots lived in houses built from hardwood pillars, cogon roofs, and the bark of trees or bamboo for their salug or floors. Inside the house, which is a one-room-affair, there would usually be a duyan or hammock, a lusong kag hal-o or mortar and pestle and a bamboo bench. When the weather becomes hostile and typhoons become a common occurrence, the Suludnon stay in their kurob or a storm shelter that is a low dwelling with the ground as the floor. They also have their version of the dowry known as the pangayo and the labor offering of the groom-to-be called panghagad.

Credits to: Bryan Mari Argos and Jyh Ming Gonzales, The News Today