Salakot dance, the dancers portray the use of the head gear in a graceful, almost flirtatious move.

Filipinos in small towns or barrios in the rural side always find ways to celebrate nature's bountiful gifts. Rich
cultural dances evolved from these places. One of them is the Sayaw Sa Salakot, a dance where young girls
of the village show off their colorful farm hats. I witnessed this lovely cultural dance at a friend's 25th Silver
Wedding Anniversary.

The salakot is a wide brimmed hat which protects the Filipinos from the heat of the sun and rain. In this
dance, the salakot is used to enhance the dance figure and hand movement

The salakot is a traditional wide-brimmed hat in the Philippines. It is usually made of either rattan or reeds. It
is one of the traditional hat worn by Filipinos besides the conical hat which is worn widely in East Asia & other
Southeast Asian countries.

An ancient tradition recounts that the first Malay settlers in the archipelago purchased the valleys and plains
of the Island of Panay in the Philippines from the native Aetas in exchange of a golden salakot and a very
long pearl necklace called manangyad, which touched the ground when worn by the wife of the Aeta chieftain.

The salakot is a common symbol for Filipino identity. It is often portrayed as the hat worn by Juan de la Cruz,
the symbol of the collective Filipino psyche equivalent to Uncle Sam of the Americans. The custom of
embellishing this Filipino headgear developed as a practice during the Spanish Regime. Though normally
worn by farmers, the wealthy and landed Christian Filipinos and mestizos (especially the members of the
Principalía), would also use the salakot, emboss this hat with silver, and sometimes hang silver coins and
pendants around the headgear's brim. Many depictions of gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangay would
portray these public functionaries during the colonial period wearing ornate salakots. It was not uncommon for
this class to wear salakot made of more precious materials (like tortoise shell and precious metals).[1]

Salacot or salakot is a wide-brimmed hat in the Philippines. It is called by many other names like "saruk,
"saduk", "sawing", "turong", "sayakut", etc. And they are made from various materials. Some a very simple
and cheap. Others are quite intricately created and quite expensive. Others are quite new. Others are
included in the antique collection of some museums.

Salakot – a dance showcasing/featuring traditional beautifulPhilippine straw Coolie hats. A salakot is a native
Filipino hat, typically a hard, conical (sometimes breast-shaped, with a brass "nipple" on top), wide-brimmed
headgear about a foot in diameter. The salakot varies from province to province - it can be woven rattan,
carved coconut wood, half of a large, dried gourd, woven strips of bamboo, or other similar materials. A cord
of abaca or other fiber is tied under the wearer's chin, to hold it in place.

Usually worn by farmers in the fields to protect from the sun, it can also double as a hard hat for light
construction work or durian harvesting.

There is also a native Filipino dance called the "salakot", which involves tossing the hat onto the floor, dancing
around it, and so on (it's been a while since I've last seen it).

According to legend, Malay settlers bought the island of Panay from the native Aetas with a pearl necklace
and a salakot of solid gold. The Aetas then withdrew to the mountains and ceded the lowlands to the Malays;
the festival of Ati-atihan is celebrated every year to commmemorate this event.

Barong Tagalog [top]

The barong tagalog is an embroidered formal dress shirt and is also the national
costume of the Philippines. It is very thin and lightweight, worn untucked over a
white undershirt. The barong dates back to the Spanish Colonial era. It is said that
Spaniards made Filipinos wear barongs untucked to distinguish them from the
ruling class and also to make sure that the wearer was not concealing any
weapons. During this time, the Filipino designs on the barongs contained hidden
messages, written in alibata, as ways of communication between the Filipinos
under Spanish rule.

Salakot [top]

The salakot is a traditional wide brimmed hat that is usually made of

either rattan or reeds. This hat is a common symbol for Filipino identity.
Though normally worn by farmers, wealthy Christian Filipinos and
mestizos would wear the salakot and decorate it with silver coins and
pendants around the hat's brim.