(PIA) — Nails are very important in building construction to make the structure safe and stable. But have you heard or seen a house built without any steel or nails yet it can withstand earthquakes and typhoons.
Well, an indigenous knowledge in the western part of Mountain Province allows a sturdy house built without using nails. This is called the “Binangi.”
The “Binangi”, the traditional A-type house features an impressive ethnic engineering and architecture using wood as the primary material-from the post, walls, floors to the roofing. Even the nails used to fasten the pieces of wood together were made of wood.
This traditional way of building a house existed for years, believed to be have been in practice even before the Spanish era.
While its construction technique is something that tickles the brain, it is also amazing to know that the owners did not spend for labor cost for building the house.
This is because the “Binangi” was built through cooperation and unity via the “binnadang” or “ob-obbo”, an innate Cordilleran culture which means helping or working together to achieve a common goal.
The process of the “Binangi” construction takes valuable time and effort. It starts with the “sabat” , a moment where the attention of the community people is called to gather all the materials needed in making the “binangi”.
The materials that they were to prepare are the pine lumbers, “goon” (cogon grass), “pao” (sticks), and bamboo. All the materials gathered are dried under the sun for three months or more, but not exceeding one year.
After the main materials were dried, all the abled men in the community gather on the site where to build the “binangi”. The owner or the person-in-charge estimates how tall and wide the structure.
In the past, people did not have measuring tools, so, they used parts of their
body like “dangan” (by hand) and “dippa” (by foot).
Each has a role to play in this endeavor. Some help in measuring, digging the hole for the posts, cleaning the materials while some divide or cut the materials according to the uses and desire, and finally, the construction.
These were all being prepared manually with working tools such as “pa-et” (a sharp tool used in carving), “paltik” (used in marking the desired measurement before cutting) and “maso” (a hammer).
When everything was done, the elders perform the “demeg”, a ritual which gives a sign that the owner can now live in the house. It is done at night just after the roofing of the structure.
While the “Binangi’’ is a perfect example of the ingenuity of the people before when it comes to structure and house building, this also showcases the power of collaboration.
To constantly remind the public of this remarkable culture which is going extinct with the proliferation of modern buildings , the local government unit of Tadian built a “Binangi” within its capitol premises, and declared and dedicated as the Tadian’s Heritage Center through Municipal Ordinance No. 2018-01.
This intangible heritage is also one of the documented cultural traditions of the municipality through the cultural mapping program of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (JDP/CVBT-PIA CAR)
