By Joel B. Belinan
Last Sunday, fellow boxing enthusiast Rikky Ngannoy came to do boxing at the park in wanes or bahag (G-string) the famous Igorot native attire. The day before Rikky who hails from Banaue Ifugao was telling us he may come to play in such attire but none of us paid attention to it. Thus we were all surprised when he came in an Ifugao wanes and of course also the park-goers especially the visitors. He even got more attention when he put on the boxing gloves and did his pad works with me holding the mitts. He automatically became the center of attraction as passersby started aiming their CP camera on us either to take photos or videos. To his credit, I did not see any hesitation or embarrassment and, in fact, he acted he was wearing ordinary pants.
Rikky narrates that he was with some friends but his friends went straight to the Athletic Bowl as they were embarrassed by his attire. He expressed surprise saying that in their place in Banaue, Ifugao seeing someone in wanes walking around is very common. I also said that in Bontoc, Mtn. Province such a scene was very common. This brings back memories on that post in social media of a European guy who completely abandoned wearing pants, shirts, and shoes and instead wears Igorot wanes with native woven chalico everyhere he goes.
Wanes or Bahag had been our ancestors’ age-old clothing but due to misplaced and discriminating descriptions and definitions that majority of Filipinos made on such attire, most Igorots shied away from it. That was the reason why using the traditional Igorot garb for men was almost lost except for some who used the same on important occasions. It was also due to this discriminating attitude towards Igorots that some well-known personalities in the past took it upon themselves to promote its use and bring back its novelty as it is the best way to counter its negative connotation. Former Gov. Bado Dangwa, former Gov. and Congressman Alfredo Lam-en were two of the most famous Igorots who had been using the wanes in public. Despite that, it was only in the 1990s that it became popular, thanks to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan of Baguio who single-handedly brought back the prestige of wearing the wanes.
As the worldwide consciousness and appreciation of Indigenous Peoples’ Culture got awakened in the ’90s, the example set by Mayor Domogan wearing native attires resulted in better appreciation, and more and more of the younger generation started wearing the same. Indeed Mayor Domogan’s public use of the wanes on fitting occasions was a turnaround in the wearing of wanes. As described by members of the media, Domogan’s mastery of public speaking, getting the attention of the public wherever he spoke coupled with his very eloquent way of integrating native colors to his topics contributed a lot to the wanes’ popularity. This is not to mention the wide-ranging publicity that local and international media generated. Thus more and more people not only local leaders but even youngsters started wearing the Igorot garb (including wanes) during fitting occasions, like the Panagbenga (flower festivals) wedding celebrations, foundation days, graduations, among others.
I remember during the time of Pres. Estrada (I forgot the event) when Mayor Domogan was in full Igorot regalia at the Baguio Convention Center. Pres. Estrada was all smiles looking at the mayor then suddenly held on to the wanes and lifted it jokingly to the laughter of the media and people around the two officials. In 1997 when the Philippine Ad Congress was held in Baguio, Mayor Domogan was invited as the keynote speaker during the opening ceremony. He attended and delivered his keynote speech in full Igorot attire, and captivated the more than 5,000 media executives and personalities with his Cordilleran accent and anecdotes. No less than 15 times that the mayor had to pause his speech to give way for the applause of the audience and at least 10 minutes of standing ovation after the speech. After which, the master of ceremony had to break the sequence of the program for more than 30 minutes to give a chance for everyone to take photos with Mayor Domogan in full Igorot regalia. As expected, such a story and with matching, photos and videos were the headliners in almost all media outfits in the country and many foreign media here and abroad. Nowadays some Cordilleran leaders have been using their complete native attire in public. One of them is former Ifugao Congressman Teddy Baguilat who roams around the country campaigning for his senatorial bid in his native wanes and other Igorot garb..
Going back to Rikky Ngannoy’s boxing in his wanes, there have been sports personalities that wore one during their events. Among them were the famous Igorot Kickboxer Louie Mateo (AKA Bahaghari), Chris Delfin during his 2019 Sea Games events where he captured the gold medal in anyo (forms), and several others who have used the wanes as their attire during their events which only shows that indeed wanes has become an attire not to be ashamed of but to be proud of.
Admittedly, while I admire people who can casually wear their wanes, I have yet to wear one in public. Hopefully, in the future, I could do it just like my two kids who have been wearing the wanes on some of their special occasions even if these were borrowed.**
