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The Art of Pusô: Palm Leaf Art in the Visayas in Vocabularios of the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries
- Philippine Studies
- Ateneo de Manila University
- Volume 59, Number 2, June 2011
- pp. 251-272
- Article
- Additional Information
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An inquiry into the vocabularios (glossaries, word lists, dictionaries) and Spanish contact records from the sixteenth century to the nineteenth century brings to light the early Filipinos' creative use of materials such as lukay, or palm leaves, as medium for artistic creation and, complemented by the use of indigenous techniques and sensibilities, in creating various woven forms such as pusô, or palm leaf pouches for boiled rice. Spanish missionaries noted, recorded, and compiled the early expressions of these woven forms and the aesthetics of palm leaf art. Several contemporary forms survive, and this essay attempts to identify their congruence with the Spanish records.