Binukot

Binukot, also spelled Binokot, is a pre-colonial Visayan tradition from the Philippines that secludes a young woman with the expectation that seclusion will result in a higher value placed on the girl by marital suitors in the future.

[1] The practice survived until recently among the Sulodnon (Panay Bukidnon) people, descendants of ancient Visayans who escaped Spanish conversion.

A tribe or community deems a girl worthy of being secluded in order to protect them so they gain cultural prestige and are more appealing to high-class suitors.

[5] When a Binukot is ready for marriage, often at age 13 or 14 or younger, her parents ask for a high pangayu (Hiligaynon: bride price or dowry) from the family of the suitor.

She has a fair to white complexion and dresses in ankle length skirts and long-sleeved blouses that appear to be richly embroidered (Panubok) at the collar, cuffs, and hem.

The Binukot of Panay-Bukidnon wears jewelry made from Spanish coins that are strung together and called biningkit.