Okir

Okir, also spelled okil or ukkil, is the term for rectilinear and curvilinear plant-based designs and folk motifs that can be usually found among the Moro and Lumad people of the Southern Philippines, as well as parts of Sabah. It is particularly associated with the artwork of the Maranao and Sama (Badjao) tribes, although it can also be found to a lesser extent among the Maguindanao, Iranun, Tausug, Yakan, and Lumad groups. The design elements vary among these ethnic groups, with the greatest refinement being found among the Maranao. The origins of okir are pre-Islamic. They are believed to have originated from the much earlier okil or okil-okil decorative carving traditions of the Sama (Badjao) people, which are often highly individualistic and rectilinear. The Sama are master carvers, and they made lavish decorations on ritual animistic objects, grave markers (both in wood and stone), and their houseboats. These precursor forms of the okir designs can still be found in the art traditions of the Maranao in the basak (lowland) regions of Lake Lanao, and they contrast markedly from the later flowing okir designs. The rectilinear designs of the Sama were adopted and refined by the Maranao to decorate the torogan houses of the ruling dato class. The most prominent parts of the torogan are the panolong, the carved floor beams modeled after awang boat prows. These protrude in the front of the house and styled with elaborate okir designs, usually that of a naga (a sea serpent or dragon). These were meant to drive away evil spirits. Okir were also featured in the central housebeam, the tinai a walai ("intestine of the house"), which had ritual significance. Unlike the decorative carving traditions of the Sama, the panolong of the torogan became a symbol of power and status. As such, they increasingly became more and more elaborate, developing the flowing characteristics that it possesses today. It influenced other Maranao artforms greatly due to its association with rank and prestige, becoming used in textiles, musical instruments, betel quid containers, sculptures, weaponry, silver inlays, and so on.