The malong is a traditional "tube skirt" made of handwoven or machine-made multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or okir designs. The malong is akin to the sarong worn by peoples in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous tribes in the Southern Philippines and the Sulu Archipelago.
Handwoven malongs are made by Maranao, Maguindanao, and T'boli weavers on a backstrap loom. The pattern or style of the malong may indicate the weaver's tribal origin, such as the Maranao malong landap. Very rare malong designs and styles can indicate the village in which the malong was made, for example, the extremely intricate malong rawatan made only by a handful of Maranao weavers in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. Handwoven malongs, which are costly, are likely to be used only at social functions, to display the social and economic status of the wearer. While modern malongs are made of cotton and Lurex threads, some contemporary handwoven malongs are made of inexpensive rayon thread, to reduce the manufacturing cost to the weaver and ultimate cost to the consumer. There are many grades of cotton thread, and the cost of a malong can also be reduced by using the lesser grades of cotton thread, or by creating a loose or coarse weave.
Machine-made printed cotton malongs are made in Indonesia specifically for export to the Philippines, and are commonly referred to as "batik" because the item is imported; those inexpensive machine-made malongs are used for everyday purposes. The designs of traditional handwoven designs are used in imported cotton from Thailand, allowing the purchaser to have a cotton machine-printed malong which, from a distance, convincingly mimics the look of a much more expensive handwoven malong.
The malong can function as a skirt for both men and women, a turban, a dress, a blanket, a sunshade, a bedsheet, a "dressing room", a hammock, a prayer mat, and other purposes. A newborn is wrapped in a malong, and as he grows this piece of cloth becomes a part of his daily life. When he dies, he is once again wrapped in a malong. Among traditional tribal peoples, the malong is used in everyday life. Even in areas where people wear Western-style clothing during the day, the malong is commonly used as sleepwear.The malong is also used in very big festivals, they wear this to show respect.
Reference: From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textiles of the Southern Philippines. Edited by Roy W. Hamilton. 1998. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California at Los Angeles.
Handwoven malongs are made by Maranao, Maguindanao, and T'boli weavers on a backstrap loom. The pattern or style of the malong may indicate the weaver's tribal origin, such as the Maranao malong landap. Very rare malong designs and styles can indicate the village in which the malong was made, for example, the extremely intricate malong rawatan made only by a handful of Maranao weavers in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. Handwoven malongs, which are costly, are likely to be used only at social functions, to display the social and economic status of the wearer. While modern malongs are made of cotton and Lurex threads, some contemporary handwoven malongs are made of inexpensive rayon thread, to reduce the manufacturing cost to the weaver and ultimate cost to the consumer. There are many grades of cotton thread, and the cost of a malong can also be reduced by using the lesser grades of cotton thread, or by creating a loose or coarse weave.
Machine-made printed cotton malongs are made in Indonesia specifically for export to the Philippines, and are commonly referred to as "batik" because the item is imported; those inexpensive machine-made malongs are used for everyday purposes. The designs of traditional handwoven designs are used in imported cotton from Thailand, allowing the purchaser to have a cotton machine-printed malong which, from a distance, convincingly mimics the look of a much more expensive handwoven malong.
The malong can function as a skirt for both men and women, a turban, a dress, a blanket, a sunshade, a bedsheet, a "dressing room", a hammock, a prayer mat, and other purposes. A newborn is wrapped in a malong, and as he grows this piece of cloth becomes a part of his daily life. When he dies, he is once again wrapped in a malong. Among traditional tribal peoples, the malong is used in everyday life. Even in areas where people wear Western-style clothing during the day, the malong is commonly used as sleepwear.The malong is also used in very big festivals, they wear this to show respect.
Reference: From the Rainbow's Varied Hue: Textiles of the Southern Philippines. Edited by Roy W. Hamilton. 1998. Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California at Los Angeles.
- A tubular dress in royal colors
- Worn by Maranaw men and women of royal status
- Philippine cultural minorities weave and decorate textiles and clothing
- It is an major expression of their decorative art
- Most textiles are used as apparel, some simply by wrapping a piece of cloth around the body some by stitching parts together to make a blouse
- Strips woven in 'kelim' technique, cotton, with floral and geometric motifs
- Designs usually show the sun and star
- Motifs come in different colours
- The materials are cotton and yellow silk
- The malong is decoarted with finely woven langkit
- Malong is a major source of the Philippine Muslim ethnic pride
- It is mainly worn as a skirt but can also be used a head-piece, shawl or mantel
- Dimensions: Length: 166 cm., width: 170cm. (round)
- Ethnic group: Maranaw of Mindanao
This fabric, which runs 61 or 62 inches long and some 70 inches wide, is worn by both men and women. It simply wraps around the body and is known traditionally as the dress for the Maranao, Maguindanao, Samals and many Tausug.
How does one wear a malong? Running from the waist to the ankle as it usually does, it is overlapped at the waist and knotted and the ends tucked into the waist to secure it. It is also sashed it to keep it in place if you happen to feel insecure.
You can also cuddle inside it. It’s said that lovers slip into this tube to hide under it for caressing and sleeping together, which is why they come in a wider tubular shape. Others use it as a blanket snuggling inside it because it can go up till under the chin. The malong is used for modesty’s sake when taking a bath, perhaps if the woman’s residence is in a crowded neighborhood with a common water pump. You can even use it for swimming.
Some women bring an extra malong to market like the Tausug. The women put one part over one shoulder and let the other end drag near their legs. The malong is turned into a handbag or sack when market stuff is put in between the malong’s folds.
The malong is hazardous to those who forget they’re not pinned, so fold left over right at the waist and hold on to it on the left arm like the Moro women do. The reason why the excess fabric is made to rest on a woman’s left arm is because, as a Maguindanao Royal tells me, when Muslims pray they put first their left hand on their bosom then the right hand over it. Similarly, the wearing of the malong is patterned after their prayer habit.
On a hot day that same malong is used over the head to shield the wearer from the sun. Sometimes it is used as a hammock for little weightless babies, or as a bedspread or wall decor.
I wear the malong like many women or men do at home or even at formal dinners. It’s very feminine. No matter how fat or thin a woman is her behind is accentuated in a malong. I like wearing the malong because it identifies me as Asian.
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The landap, which is distinguished by the horizontal sewing together of nine plain-colored panels of the finest cloth. Only two colors are used for the panels, alternatingly arranged, except that at the ends of the top and bottom panels there are narrow borders of multicolored stripes. Sewn into the malong landap are three brightly colored langkit, marked by a profusion of intricate geometric designs. There are three such langkits: one about six inches wide and sewn vertically, called lakban. There are two three-inch strips sewn horizontally about 18 inches apart called tobiran. The two tobiran girdle and malong intersect with the lakban. The malong landap is worn only on ceremonial occasions.
The andon is now a rare and highly-prized type of malong with white, yellow, green and black geometric figures on a red background. The thread is prepared and woven using the complicated tie-dye process. The tie-dyed pattern is repeated but demarcated by an intensification of the design to form a langkit, which is woven into the malong.
The kosta is a style of malong featuring lines and cross lines of contrasting primary colors along with black and white hues. Malong kosta resembles the color schemes and checkered-plaid designs of Scottish kilts.
The malong is a traditional “tube skirt” made of hand-woven (and sometimes machine-made) multi-colored cotton cloth, bearing a variety of geometric or ‘okir’ designs – a term used for geometric and flowing de-signs. The malong is akin to the ‘sarong’ worn by peo-ples of Malaysia, Brunei Darrusalam and Indonesia. The malong is traditionally used as a garment by numerous other tribes in the Southern Philippines and the smaller Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines.
The traditional women’s version shows
this cloth of countless colorful designs; used mostly as a skirt, woven
in many different ways, and depending on the purpose of the wearer.
Other ways women wear the malong is as a shawl, a mantle, or a
head-piece.
The malong can function as a skirt for
both men and women; as a dress, a blanket, a sun-shade, a bed sheet, a
“dressing room”, a hammock, a prayer mat, and just about any other
purpose depending on how creative its user is. For example, a newborn is
wrapped in a malong, and, as the child grows older, this piece of cloth
becomes a part of daily life. In death, the lifeless body is once again
wrapped in a malong.
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