E Masferre

the banaue rice terraces, one of the most breaktaking sites I have ever seen

Since most of the jewelry we carry is from the Philippines, specifically the mountain province, my last post inspired me to dig out one of my favorite photo books of all time, "E Masferre, People of the Philippine Cordillera, Photographs 1934-1956". Here I must mention that one of the authors of the book, Jill Gale de Villa, is the mother of my dear friend Becky. I am lucky enough to personally own a copy of this book which I think is now out of print.

From 1934-1956, self-taught Filipino photographer Eduardo Masferre documented the traditional ways of the indigeneous people of the Philippine Cordillera mountains, creating a collection of photographs of both ethnographic and artistic note. Here are some of my favorites.

kalinga girl smoking a cigar

butbut, tinglayan, kalinga 1954

young woman smoking a cigar

buscalan, tinglayan, kalinga 1952

Her earrings are the traditional "ling-ling" design : a good luck symbol promising fertility, and abundance. We have some in stock.

gaddang man in his finery

calaccad, natonin, mountain province 1952

If you ever find yourself in the Philippines and have the opportunity to travel to the Cordilleras, especially Banaue or Sagada, you should definitely go. Although many of the traditional ways are slowly being lost and the young people would much rather go to university than farm the steep rice terraces, it is a beautiful, beautiful part of the world. The terraces are over 2000 years old and are the oldest example of rice terrace farming in the world. In fact the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are not only breathtaking, they are also a UNESCO World Heritage site.