Filipina Igorot Doll

 

My first dolls were modern Barbie clones. After nearly 2 decades of collecting Barbie dolls, I now find myself collecting clones dolls. I feel like they have their own stories to tell, just like this Filipina Igorot doll.

This doll appealed to me because it was made in my country. I also like the details (the authentic Igorot fabric and wooden beads) on the costume. Most importantly, it came in a clone doll price. It was inspired by the Ethnic Barbie dolls released in the 90s, but unlike the Mattel dolls, these dolls have flat feet. The face sculpt seems like a clone of the Teresa face mold.

A quick search on the web showed other variants. The dolls below were searched from the web, and are not mine.

The text on the back of the box reads as follows:

The  Philippines is an archipelago composed  of 7,100 islands. It was  named after King Philip the II of Spain when Ferdinand Magellan discovered it on  March 1521. The country was under Spain for about 333 years until they waged war against the Americans to whom they ceded the Philippines. Thus, began 48 years of American rule.  However, long before the Americans came, the Philippines already declared its independence  on June 12, 1898.  

The  Filipina Then and Now  

The people of Bontoc and Ifugao,  the interior uplands of Northern Luzon  are collectively called Igorots.  Their history predates the Spanish and Muslim colonial influence,  which is why the core of their culture  remains intact to this day.  

The Igorots' innovative approach to farming, as exemplified by the Banaue Rice Terraces, is hailed around the world  as one of mankind's grandest  scaled engineering feats. This originality of thought extends to their style of clothing as well.  

The female Igorot wears the bak-ut or getap,  a wraparound skirt woven together using blue and white, dark blue  designs, red, and red and yellow  stripes. The getap is tied around  the waist with a bakget (girdle).  Their upper bodies are usually  covered with the galey, a kind of woven  blanket that protects them from the cold weather. Necklaces made of stones and beads, earrings of pure gold or copper wire, and head decoration made of grass and seeds complement  their nature-inspired wardrobe.  

From wanes (men's g-string) to bakget,  getap to galey, the lgorot women weave  them with masterful craftsmanship  that's known even in the farthest reaches  of the earth, bestowing upon the modern  Filipina the legacy that is  truly ingenious and elegant.