RESEARCH DATA:

A jar-shaped rattan basket called ulbung or ulbong, also ulfung, by the Ifugao. Just like its Bontoc and Kankana-ey equivalents, kamuwan, is used as storage for hulled rice. It was very common for every Ifugao household to have at least one of these distinct Ifugao baskets (Hamilton, 1998). It is one of the few types of baskets in the Cordillera that is constructed using the coiling technique, or what is locally known as the binali style. Ulbung can be hung with a rattan strap affixed to its sides to keep rodents from reaching it (Mittersakschmoller, 2009). This particular ulbung from the collection has no strap attached.Chinese ceramic jars have long been highly prized in the Cordillera as heirlooms. These ceramic jars, that the Ifugao use for storing rice wine, are known to be modelled after and inspired by the Ifugao basket weavers to create the ulbung's curved form or jar-like shape (Hamilton, 1998).