Climbing out of the jeepney, we find our attention at once fixed on several picturesque thatched-roof houses built on stilts about six feet off the ground. While heavy rains are good for growing rice, flooding is frequent, and elevated homes keep family and property high and dry. Slatted walls and floors as well as ample window area permit maximum movement of air, if not maximum privacy.

We climb the stairs and enter a farmer’s hut. The floor sinks with each step. After a few anxious moments, though, we realize that the slatted bamboo floor will not break. Inside we find that the rice farmers make good use of the time between their three annual plantings and harvests. On display are very fine, almost sheer piña cloth made from the pineapple plant and jusi cloth made from banana fiber, intricate embroidery, ceramics, and leather-work made from carabao or water-buffalo hide. Beautiful tables and chests of native wood called narra (Philippine mahogany) are delicately inlaid with carabao bone. Such handiwork often graces expensive furniture stores around the world. So widespread is this so-called “cottage industry” that it has become one of the major industries of the islands.

Spanish-style homes with trellised walkways give the visitor a taste of the way of life in years gone by.

Muslim Region

Sighting the fascinating village ahead, we forget our tired feet as we wind down the path toward it. In sharp contrast to the less colorful homes of the other regions, this village appears to be alive with color. Homes decorated with brightly painted, ornate wooden carvings​—some on stilts right out over the water’s edge—​all encircle a white mosque with five red minarets.

The thatched-roof homes of this region are built on four sturdy posts with a large round block of wood at the upper end of each to act as a rat guard. If one finds the ladder of the home down, visitors are welcome, so come on up. Inside, a fire is built, food is cooked and the family sleeps. During the heat of the day they spend most of the time beneath the house weaving and carving wood. Especially popular are carvings of carabao and of ancient warrior masks, reminiscent of the days when headhunting was an accepted part of life.

The house is small because the children do not live there for long. At the time of puberty the young men are transferred to male dormitories called atos and young women to a separate dormitory called an ulog.