IGOROTS AND MOROS

Fernando Amorsolo intimately understood the diversity of the Philippine people.  He endeavored to capture the marginalized, non-Catholic ethnic groups, to reveal their dignity and to emphasize their important place in Philippine culture and history.   His renditions of the mountain Igorot peoples of the extreme North, and Muslim Moro peoples of the South, included colorful studies of their lifestyle and unique apparels.

Geography

The Philippines is comprised of about 7,641 islands, of which about 2000 are inhabited.

This stretches over 1100 miles, with territory in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The three stars in the Philippine flag symbolize the three main regions these islands are grouped together into.  The largest area in the Northern most region is named Luzon, the principal area of population and commerce, which includes Manila.  The central region is the Visayas, and the Southern region is Mindanao.    

IGOROTS, THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLES 

Most envision the Philippines as a vast network of farmlands and rain forests, interspaced with large areas of urban sprawl.    The Northern-central region of the main island of Luzon is dominated by the Cordillera Mountain Range, which covers 8700 square miles.  These mountains are the highest points in the country, reaching elevations of over 9600 feet.  Unlike the tropical weather experienced year round by most of the rest of the country, temperatures in these mountains can often approach freezing during the winter months.   

A major feature of the Northern Philippines is the city of Baguio, and future north, the Banaue Rice Terraces.  These terraces were carved by hand into the mountains over the last 2000 years, by the ancestors of the Igorot peoples, and are located about 4,900 feet above sea level.  They are often called the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, and if put end to end might cover half the globe. 

Fernando Amorsolo was fascinated by both the grandeur of these ancient human-crafted marvels, many of which are still farmed in modern times, and the Ifugao peoples who worked and lived on them.  He did many paintings that showed the majesty of colorful mountains in the backdrop, with groups of Igorots huddled together in their native attire.   

Many artists rattled off fast busts of Igorot and Moro types to sell to tourists for quick profits.   Amorsolo’s versions were truly anthropological and psychologically imbued.  They masterfully captured the intricate details of layered,  carefully dyed, striped garments, head dress, and intricate accoutrements; such as detailed bead work necklaces and dangling golden earrings.   The faces of the beautiful Igorot women in these portraits, also accurately conveys the harsh nature of their difficult existence.   

In one such painting, there is a group of colorfully dressed Igorots coming around a mountain pass into the morning light.  They are all carrying large back packs full of life’s necessities.  The second figure has four dogs on leashes, that are enthusiastically pressing forward.  Amorsolo frames the scene with a tree in the left foreground and a large dirt hill on the right, bringing the image to life in three dimensions.   This is further amplified by the sheer drop off behind them, which extends to a pale ocean inlet far below.   

MOROS, THE MUSLIM PEOPLES 

Islam was first believed to have come to the Philippines in the 14th century, as Muslim traders made their way there from surrounding areas.  These visits eventually resulted in Sultanates in the main island of Mindanao, as well as the out-branching Sulu archipelago.  The mostly Sunni religion expanded rapidly, until the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the 16th century, when Catholicism took root and eventually became the dominant religion of the country.   In Amorsolo’s time, as well as now, the Muslim religion accounted for about 5% of the Philippine population. 

The United States took possession of the Philippines in 1898, after the settlement of the Spanish American War with the Treaty of Paris.  Subsequently, there was an insurrection war declared between Philippine revolutionaries and the United States which ended In 1899.  From 1901 to 1913 the Moros, as these Philippine Muslims are called, continued to battle United States forces in a series of skirmishes, known to many, as the “Moro Wars.”  Over the years, the Moros continued to maintain separatist ideals, accentuated during the communist backed post WWII Huk movement, which ended in the mid-1950's.   

As one could imagine, the Moros were a prominent counter force in the Philippines for most of Fernando Amorsolo’s life, and sometimes a focus of his artistic attention.  As was his way, rather than to produce propagandize images of his country’s struggle with these peoples, or vice a versa, he instead focused on their history, culture and craft.   While not as prevalent as his depictions of the Igorot population, largely due to their proximity in Luzon and easier access to the artist, Amorsolo did glamorize the idealized Moro existence.   

In a very popular image Amorsolo painted many times, he shows a topless young Princess Urduja being groomed by an attendant behind her, presumably for her wedding.  This is a rare interior scene, of which Amorsolo did few, but there is also a known version of the same event taking place near a river.   The Princess is positioned kneeling on a rug, with her right arm lifted behind her head.  She is adorned with three gold bracelets on her left bicep, and a simple pink cloth draped over her waist and thighs.  On either side of her are heirloom earthenware jars, that would have been kept in the family for hundreds of years, brought to the country by Arab or Chinese traders.  

Moro images done by the artist include fierce chieftains adorned with a menacing Kris, proudly looking out to the viewer in a challenging posture.  Amorsolo was also a fan of depicting the colorful Moro vessels that one would see transversing the open ocean in their territories.   In other important historical paintings, Amorsolo captured the surrender of the Moros to the Spanish, and painted an imagined scene of their conversion to Christianity.   ​

ALL ARE FILIPINOS 

By deftly capturing the ethnic peoples of the Philippines, Amorsolo wanted to ensure that both visitors and his predominantly Catholic countrymen, would appreciate that there were others in their country as well – fully as Filipino as themselves, but very different in their thoughts, prayers, and approach to daily life.  Seeing the awesome beauty of Baguio and Banaue in person, as well as taking pages from history to represent the long standing Moro presence, there is no doubt Fernando Amorsolo wanted them all to be thought of as an important part of the entire Philippine experience.