Basey Banig and more

Posted by Enrico Dee on August 25, 2011

The last stop during our 6-day PHILTOA Media Familiarization trip of Eastern Visayas is the town of Basey, Samar. And when one mentions Basey, only one thing comes into my mind: multi-colored Banig or sleeping mats. What really made the Basey banig stand out are its zigzag and geometric patterns which is not usually found in banigs produced elsewhere.

Long before, when we say banig, often times, we picture it as something that we can roll out on the floor and sleep on it. But today, banig has evolved and has become more than just a sleeping mat. And the town of Basey Samar is leading the pack when it comes to innovating products made of banig.

Basey is always known for its beautifully crafted mats. These mats are usually made of grass locally known as tikog

The process of making a banig is long and tedious. First, tikog is harvested in swampy areas. They are then dyed according to desired color. After which, it is then sun dried to make the colors stick. Once dried, the tikog is pounded to make it flat. It is only then that the grass is now ready for weaving.

But the mats in Basey is only woven in one part of the town, on its caves. These are woven inside the cave because the temperature is much cooler. This makes the tikog grass more pliant and easy to handle.

Once finished it is then brought to the pasabong shops in the town center where tourists can buy. Many of the banigs are also shipped to Manila ans sometimes exported.

But the product of Basey doesn’t just stop there. The innovative Baseynon women, reinvented the banig and made products using this material. So aside from banig, oter products are now available for sale in various shops, like table runners, placemats, hand bags, wallets, room dividers, food trays, fruit basket and a whole lot more.

Prices also vary depending on the product and on the intricacy of the design. So when you are in Tacloban never fail to visit Basey. It is just 30 minutes away from the city.