a friend sent me a history of the barong. very interesting so here it is....
History of Barong Tagalog
by Cezar Estrera
During the Spanish occupation of the Philippines (over 300 years from
1561-1889) the Barong Tagalog was required by the Spanish government for
Filipinos (indios) to be worn at most times to show the difference
between the rich and the poor. He said that the poor who serve the rich
must always be in uniform.
Take their chauffeurs, maids, and employees as examples. They are in
uniform to immediately distinguish them from the employers. When the
Spaniards colonized the Filipinos, they had to make it abundantly clear who
the boss was through the imposition of a dress code. Men were not
allowed to tuck their shirttails in. That was the mark of his inferior
status.
Second, the cloth material should be transparent so that he could not
conceal any weapon that could be used against the masters. Third, as a
precaution on thievery, pockets are not allowed on the shirt.
By the turn of the century a new middle class began to emerge among the
Filipinos. These were known as the principalia. They have mastered
Spanish laws and were able to obtain title to lands. They became
successful in business and agriculture and sent their sons to be educated
abroad. They were privileged to build their houses in the poblacion around
the plaza near the seats of power.
Only a member of the principalia could be addressed by the title DON,
and only they were allowed to vote. They had all the trappings of power
and status, but for one undeniable fact: they still had to wear their
shirttails out, if only to remind them that they were still Indios.
What the Spanish authorities did not smother out was the Filipino's
willpower and determination to psychologically conquer their colonial
masters, through improvisation and reinterpretation. The Filipino's
stylistic bongga (flashy dresser) was a reaction against the overt
discrimination and insensitive oppression o f the Spaniards.
For example, Filipinos were forbidden to use imported silk and fabrics
for their Barong, so they ingeniously used pineapple leaves to weave
the piña and jusi cloth of the barong, turning the outfit into such
delicate material, of luminous silky rich mixture much finer than silk. And
to add insult to injury, they hand-embroidered the front with such
exquisite abandon: Calado and hand-work all over.
Palgrave, the ethnographer noted, "The capitan's shirt was the native
barong, of fine and delicate fiber, embroidered and frilled; it was
light and cool and not tucked in the trousers"
The Barong Tagalog gained it power, prestige, and status when President
Quezon, the first Filipino president, declared i t the National dress.
The status of the lowly inferior Barong thus became another symbol of
Filipinos' resistance to colonization.
After World War II, Philippine presidents began wearing the Barong
Tagalog at their installation into office and on every formal state
occasion. In contemporary times the Barong Tagalog is the power dress. As an
abogado de campanilla, you cannot afford not to wear the Barong Tagalog
when arguing a case in Philippine courts.
Today, every visitor and foreign dignitary invited to
a MalacañangPalace state function must, by necessity, and dictated by protocol, be
dressed to the nines in a Barong Tagalog. The invitations specifically say
come in "Barong" instead of the traditional "Coat and Tie". Thus,
every one invited to dinner at the Presidential Palace and in many Filipino
homes will unknowingly and unwittingly have to experience directly,
what it feels to have to wear his shirttails out, to suffer the indignity
of having the material of his barong transparent so that he can not
conceal any weapon; and horrors, to be accused directly of incipient
thievery by having no pockets in his barong to put the silver.
the cloth material should be transparent so that he could not