Abstract:
The aspect of gender in the study and analysis
of vernacular architecture has often been
overlooked for more popular categories such
as methods of construction, motifs and
ornamentation. But gender being in itself a
social and cultural construct, becomes an
essential, even basic notion to which
architecture should be studied. It provides yet
another contextual framework that will bring
understanding to the socio-cultural dynamics
and the power relations that inform
architecture as a whole.
The study is focused on the weaving
communities of the Northern Cordillera tribes
of the Philippines as case studies, as it
primarily establishes women's status, their
economic and cultural role in these
indigenous societies. As weaving is an activity
closely associated with women, the paper
attempts to shed light on the correlation
between gender roles and the spatial
organization within the domestic setting, and
the extent of women's participation and
involvement in the decision-making process of
building the home and ultimately the
community.
A survey among the households in the
Cordillera shows how interior spaces in
indigenous houses and community spaces in
traditional settlements reflect how gender has
become a factor in the appropriation of both
private and public spaces.
