Bahag (garment)

[1] Bahag survives in some indigenous tribes of the Philippines today - most notably the Cordillerans in Northern Luzon.

The design of the weave is often unique to the tribe of the person wearing the bahag.

[3] Among pre-colonial Visayans, wearing a bahag as casual clothing was common, even among nobility, because it showed off tattoos that indicate rank and prestige.

[4][5] Modern bahags have since found their way to the lowlands as table runners, serviettes, and other decor and fashion accoutrements.

[2] The native Tagalog word for "rainbow", bahaghari, literally means "loincloth of the king".

A Mangyan man in a bahag (1904)
Part of the Visayan Principalia during the early Spanish colonial period, wearing richly-embroidered pre-Hispanic Visayan clothing typical of the upper classes in the 16-17th centuries. Note that the datu only wears a bahag under a long cotton tunic ( baro ), with clearly seen tattooed legs and face . He is accompanied by a binukot or local princess with golden bangles. Depicted in Historia de las Islas e Indios de Bisayas (1668) by Francisco Ignacio Alcina .