TWO TYPES OF MALONG
HANDWOVEN
Hand woven malongs are made by Maranao, Maguindanao, and T'boli weavers on a back strap loom. The pattern or style of the malong may indicate the weaver's tribal origin, such as the Maranao malong landap. Very rare malong designs and styles can indicate the village in which the malong was made, for example, the extremely intricate malong rawatan made only by a handful of Maranao weavers in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. Hand woven malongs, which are costly, are likely to be used only at social functions, to display the social and economic status of the wearer.
MACHINE-MADE
Machine-made printed cotton malongs are made in Indonesia specifically for export to the Philippines, and are commonly referred to as "batik" because the item is imported; those inexpensive machine-made malongs are used for everyday purposes. The designs of traditional handwoven designs are used in imported cotton from Thailand, allowing the purchaser to have a cotton machine-printed malong, which, from a distance, convincingly mimics the look of a much more expensive handwoven malong.-wiki.
HANDWOVEN
Hand woven malongs are made by Maranao, Maguindanao, and T'boli weavers on a back strap loom. The pattern or style of the malong may indicate the weaver's tribal origin, such as the Maranao malong landap. Very rare malong designs and styles can indicate the village in which the malong was made, for example, the extremely intricate malong rawatan made only by a handful of Maranao weavers in Lanao del Sur, Mindanao. Hand woven malongs, which are costly, are likely to be used only at social functions, to display the social and economic status of the wearer.
MACHINE-MADE
Machine-made printed cotton malongs are made in Indonesia specifically for export to the Philippines, and are commonly referred to as "batik" because the item is imported; those inexpensive machine-made malongs are used for everyday purposes. The designs of traditional handwoven designs are used in imported cotton from Thailand, allowing the purchaser to have a cotton machine-printed malong, which, from a distance, convincingly mimics the look of a much more expensive handwoven malong.-wiki.