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Journey of the Barong Tagalog, Addendum Part 11.12: 19th Century English Artist Illustrations of Life in the Philippines

Cuadro de Costumbres by C. W. Andrews - Filipino women process rice and two men in Barong Tagalog

This piece is titled Cuadro de Costumbres [Scenes of Customs] (1859 or 1860) by English artist C. W. Andrews. It was published in the Philippine periodical Ilustracion Filipina. Our descriptions of Andrews and Ilustracion Filipina are in our previous installment 11.7.

The illustration depicts a common scene in the Philippine countryside - people beating and extracting rice from rice husks. The two women in the center background beat rice in a container to loosen the outer husks, and the two women in the center foreground remove the husks from rice grains by tossing the grains around in baskets. These women all wear white long sleeve baro (blouses) with the sleeves rolled, saya (skirts) and tapis (overskirts).

Cuadro de Costumbres by C. W. Andrews - left side - Filipino women process rice and a male vendor in barong interacts with woman vendor

The second image above is a closeup of the left side of the drawing where a man and a woman are interacting. The woman also wears a baro, saya and tapis, and she carries a container on her head. The man wears a white work Barong Tagalog, work pants with the legs rolled up, and a salakot on his head. He leans back on a long stick probably used for carrying things on the ends. There is a pile of containers between the man and woman. The stick and containers suggest that this man and woman are vendors.

 Cuadro de Costumbres by C. W. Andrews - right side - Filipino women process rice and a man in a Barong Tagalog sits on a fence

The third image above shows a closeup of the right side of the piece with another man sitting on a fence. He also wears a work barong, work pants with the legs rolled up and a putong (head wrap).