I once saw this Dragon Mask at a friends house when I was young and it was scary looking but kind a cool. It made me curious but I never got a chance to ask what it was and what's the story behind it. To this day, I haven't seen any information on this even online. You can search for the Philippine Ifugao Dragon Mask and it will only tell you that its made in Northern Luzon of the Philippines in and sold by street vendors specifically for tourist as a souvenir. There's a lot of them for sale on ebay, cultural sites and tiki stores but none of them offer any information or background on the mask other than the dimension and physical attribute of the mask. There also a lot of inquiry but not even the online community can provide any thing substantial.The only thing I've seen is that its used to ward of evil spirit which plays into most of the tiki mask story.
One of the sites provided a link to a Bakunawa which is a totally different story and entity. The Bakunawa is believed to be a huged dragon that ate the moons. It was believed that at the beginning of time there were 7 moons and the dragon has eaten them all except one. When he does eat the last moon darkness will fall. So idea of a moon eclipse, the people feared it was the Bakunawa eating the moon. Another great Philippine mythological story which by the way, we have so many.
If anyone knows and willing to share more information on this cultural item the Philippine Ifugao Dragon Mask please feel free to contact and share at michaelthomas@ugatclothing.com
This design was made Pauline Cuevas
Make sure to check out her beautiful work and follow!!
Ifugao Tribal Dragon Mask
4 colors
Limited Edition 50 pcs
Available on November 10th at www.ugatclothing.com
Yellow-Gold
Represent the abundance of gold and other minerals in the Philippines. Were Rich!!! But our current system has not allowed our people to benefit from our own resources but allowed other multi-national and foreign interest exploit our people and our land.
Green
Represents the richness in our soil. Philippines is an agricultural nation and 75% of the population is a peasant working for a landlord which is system called Feudalism. Ibagsak!! The peasants work and till the land which they don't own and pay excessive rent and have to provide their own means. At the end of the day they barely have anything to provide for themselves and their family.
Red
Represents the blood spilled by martyrs of the Philippines who died and made the ultimate sacrifice protecting our people and our land.
Purple
Represents the women who hold up half the sky.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) the Philippines label as the new Bayani (Hero) which provides over 10% of the GDP and keep the country afloat by their remittances. 25 Billion dollars annually. Oh yeah, majority of our OFW's are WOMEN who makes sacrifice and leave their love ones to provide a better life for them. If your interested in womens rights and learning about womens issues particularly Filipino women, please check out Gabriela.