Bulusan Karagumoy Process

Prior to the weaving process, there are several steps to follow, one is to make the karagumoy strips pliable and soft enough to weave. The 'hiyod' a bamboo stick used for softening is still the old and reliable method of making the strips soft. It is done by pressing the strips against the bamboo stick. The tension of pulling them in the opposite direction makes the strips more soft  to the touch of the weaver.

Other weavers go to the extent of making the strips soft and pliable by letting the strips be ran over by vehicles. This is a recent development due mainly with the increase of vehicles passing along the road of Bulusan. Not a good idea though for a weaver who likes her/his karagumoy strips clean--the chance of a vehicle running over it with a fresh carabao dung is not remote.

Karagumoy in Bulusan

In Bulusan, karagumoy (Pandanus simplex) is cultivated. These jurassic looking plants are botanically classified as trees and are very much visible in almost all farm patches in town.. The crop is synonymous to Bulusan.

Karagumoy has a strong presence in Bulusan's agricultural history. It is in fact cited in the archival bulletin The Philippine craftsman of 1913 as providing most of the karagumoy supplies in the province and neighboring areas.

The leaves of the plant  are the materials used in the making of the common hats, bay-ongs and mats.

Engkantada: Bulusan's Mystery Flower

Engkantada is as luminous as the high rise of the full moon. Her ethereal beauty is visible only to a night stalker--me.

I knew beforehand that it will be a one-night performance only for this ephemeral beauty. So, I have to be patient in the waiting game. Then the final hour, the flower reveals herself which is a cross between a lotus and an orchid. What a mesmerizing sight! An apparition in her whiteness. Her scent was the most subtle kind of sweetness unlike any other fragrance.

Photos: Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines