Tapis

What the tapis is

In the Philippines the word tapis covers more than one thing. Most simply it is one plain rectangular length of cloth wrapped around the body to cover it, a meaning that survives in the verb nagtatapis, said of someone putting on such a wrap, even a blanket or a towel. More particularly it means a colorful hand-woven skirt that a woman winds around her waist, ties at the ends with a sash, and wears down to about the knees. Among Cordilleran women of Northern Luzon the same garment is called the alampay, and theirs is the best known example still in use.

Before the Spanish arrived

Spanish chroniclers writing after Europeans reached the archipelago recorded that the tapis had been worn in the islands since before they came, going back to the indigenous period. They also complained that it stayed common on many islands even though the Spanish tried to introduce what they thought was more suitable clothing. To these writers the tight line of the skirt on a woman's body looked revealing and immodest, and the sheer fabric made it worse. One of them observed that the cloth showed even more when the wearer had been caught in the rain or had just bathed.

Under Spanish rule

Among the lowland peoples who came fully under Spanish influence, the older ease with the body gave way. Christianization and Hispanization pressed a more conservative standard of modesty, and with it a way of dressing that answered a Christian-colonial sense of what was proper. The tapis did not vanish. It went on being worn, but no longer in public, mostly in private settings such as a person's own house. Upland peoples kept it more openly, and since their surroundings are colder, their versions were thicker and so covered more. The skirt remains part of the María Clara gown and of the dress of conservative communities.

Pattern and meaning

The weave carries meaning. A tapis is woven with a pattern that, as the records of it put it, tells of the wearer's tribe, its culture and its temperament, so the cloth says something about the person wearing it. The same word also belongs to a wider set of Philippine wraps: across many cultures in the islands, one rectangular cloth wrapped around the body takes this name. The Cordilleran alampay of Northern Luzon is the best known example still worn.

How Tapis is kept

A woman wraps a length of hand-woven cloth around her waist and brings the ends together, holding them with a sash tied tightly. The cloth reaches down to about the knees. In the Cordilleran north the same wrap is called the alampay, and it is the best surviving example. The word is also used for any cloth wrapped around the body to cover it, a blanket or towel among them, and a person doing this is said to be nagtatapis. It is still worn with the María Clara gown and by conservative communities.

When and where

It is not fixed to a date. The tapis is dress, put on when a woman wraps it around her waist, and it is kept today in the María Clara gown and among communities that hold to older ways of dressing. It has been worn in the Philippine islands since before the arrival of Europeans.

The tapis belongs to the Philippines, where it has been worn on many islands. Its most prominent surviving form is in the north, worn by Cordilleran women of Northern Luzon, who know it as the alampay. It also remains part of the María Clara gown, and is kept by culturally conservative tribes.

What Tapis means

The pattern of a tapis is read as a statement of identity. Those who know the designs say a weave tells of the wearer's tribe, its culture and its temperament, so the cloth carries something of who she is. In the Spanish period the same garment became a point of argument about modesty: outsiders saw the tight, sheer wrap as immodest, while the people who wore it did not think that being revealing was shameful. That difference is part of its story.

Questions people ask about Tapis

See also

Barong tagalogThe Philippine national shirt for men: embroidered, worn loose and never tucked inBali-ogLayered necklaces and fringed collars from the Visayas and MindanaoBaju MelayuThe long-sleeved Malay man's shirt and trousers, formal national dress in Malaysia and BruneiPatadyongA traditional Philippine wrap skirt and versatile woven cloth from the Visayas

Good reading and sources

• Tapis (Philippine clothing) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-09.