Handed down from generation to generation, the art of inabel weaving is a golden thread entwined in the Ilocano culture. Manually woven through a wooden loom, an abel fabric is made up of pure creativity, imagination, positivity, respect, discipline and keenness.
The Ilocanas of the olden times were taught this textile craft which once bolstered the economy of the Ilocos region during the colonial times, when abel products were largely exported to foreign lands. Spanish galleons sailed the seas with pieces of inabel sailcloth. The abel is certainly a representation of the elegant past of Ilocos.
The various abel weave designs are inspired by natural elements. It maybe land formation patterns, the colors of flowers and vegetation, the ripples of a calm blue ocean, or the sky on a bright night.
There is always an untold story behind each and every piece of inabel, but clearly, the very essence of inabel is the beautiful qualities of an Ilocana.
(I dedicate this post to Manang Cion, the one person who gifted me with all the love while taking care of me since birth up to the time I had my own family. It was she who let me appreciate the joys of simple living. On her days off, she brought me along to Suba, her hometown, to experience bamboo rafting by the Paoay Lake, “sarguelas” and “lomboy” picking around the Nagbacalan forests, native jewelry making with “bugbugayong” and “bitbittaog”, and “karison” rides from Suba to Currimao. Two days from now, I’ll be turning a year older, and I will miss her predictable present, inabel specially customized by the weavers of Nagbacalan, Paoay.)
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Location: Aleli Joy’s Inabel/ Masintoc Sand Dunes, Paoay/Laoag Central School
Aleli Joy’s Inabel Barangay Nagbacalan, Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Philippines 639176086478
Photos by Blauearth Copyright © Blauearth™ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
