POSTS
The Tausugs equate the building of a house to the development of a fetus

In Southern Tagalog, posts are erected following this procedure: posts are laid with their bottom ends at the footing on the ground and the top ends pointing towards the east. The post nearest the east is the first to be raised. The same procedure is followed for the other posts, one after the other in a clockwise direction as one reads the plan. This same clockwise manner of raising the posts is practiced on the island of Romblon in the belief that it will make the house windproof.
The Tausugs equate the building of a house to the development of a fetus. They believe that the first to appear in a woman’s womb is the navel. Hence, the first post to be erected should be the main post within the interior of the house. In Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, the first post to be raised is the one positioned nearest to the northeast. But this is done after the footings have been sprinkled with wine.
The old folks of Bataan caution against having a solitary post in the middle of a room. It is said to bring misfortune to the family. This belief is also common in Tagalog areas and it is said that posts situated this way augur a “heavily burdened” life (mabigat ang kabuhayan).
The Yakans do not use crooked wooden posts especially the ones with knotholes in them because they are said to symbolize death. In the older communities of Bayambang, Pangasinan, it is commonly believed that termites (anay) will not enter the house if the bottoms of all wooden posts are first charred. Informed master carpenters, however, suggest that these bottoms not just be charred but tarred as well. Others swear by the potency of rock salt sprinkled generously in all footing excavations as preventive measures against anay infestation.
Old people also caution against cutting old posts for reuse so as not to lose one’s wealth.

STAIRS
Tagalogs never use the space beneath the stairs as sleeping quarters

An orientation towards the east is also required for stairs. Ilocanos position their stairs so that they rise with the morning sun. To them, if it were the other way around, meant turning one’s back on fate. But builders in Pandi, Bulacan, just like many typical Filipinos, believe that a stairway facing east is considered bad luck because, they say, anything facing the early sun shrivels first so for the same reason, wealth taken into the house will dry up much faster.

If there is no way one can make the stairs face east, at least make them face a nearby mountain. If one’s lot abuts a river, position the stairs so they face upstream. This means good luck from the house will never be washed away with the river’s flow. In the same way, if the proposed house is beside the sea, or if one is building a beach house, plan the stairs so they run parallel to the shoreline. Stairs perpendicular to the shoreline means luck may flow in but also flow out with the tides.

Also, it is not advised to place a large window on the wall directly facing the stairs so that good fortune will not easily pass through that window.

Westerners believe it’s bad luck to walk under a ladder. Actually, this can be taken more as a safety precaution than a superstition. Locally, one should not use the space under the stairs as a passageway. Tagalogs don’t use the space beneath the stairs as a place to sleep. The underside of the wooden stairs of Ilonggo houses are usually completed covered not because of peeping Toms but because the old folks say so. For business establishments, especially smaller ones, the cashier or the place where money is kept should not be anywhere under the staircase. Rice should not be stored under the stairs either because it translates to treading on the grace of God whenever one goes up or down the stairs.

When planning a structure with two or more storeys, the stairway should not be positioned at the center of the structure so as not to divide the building into two equal parts.

It is believed that the dried umbilical cord of a son or daughter of the house owner hidden somewhere in the staircase will strongly bind the stringer with its supporting girder.

There are guidelines, too, governing the number of steps in one’s stairs. Starting with the first landing, count the steps using the words oro (gold), plata (silver), and mata (death). The perfect last step should be oro. Ending up plata is not too bad but, understandably, do not ever end up with mata. This rule is strictly observed especially if it involves the first steps going into the house. If your home has a slight elevation, choose four steps, never three.

This building belief is not limited to stairs alone. It also applies to walkways made of individual flagstones or the popular circular or square slabs of pebbled concrete or even an entire concrete walkway or ramp divided into sections by lines drawn onto the pavement itself, especially if they lead to the main entrance of the house.

The Yakans of Mindanao, however, believe in odd numbering of steps. They also require an odd number of bedrooms. Chinese Filipinos, on the other hand, count their steps by fours.

DOORS
In Bulacan wide doors facing each other are considered lucky

Doors should not face each other. The people in the north associate this with the easy passage of a coffin through two doors that directly face each other. Most regions in the country also avoid positioning the main gate of the lot opposite the main entrance of the house itself.

In Sta. Maria and San Miguel, Bulacan, however, wide doors facing each other are considered lucky, especially if they lead to the terrace or garden. One’s door also should not directly face one’s neighbor’s to avoid future conflicts as well as avoid wrestling with each other for the possession of the luck that passes in front of both houses.

BEDS AND BEDROOMS
Don’t position beds under a cross beam

It is advised that one must plan the doors of one’s bedrooms so that when opened, one does not face the foot or the head of the bed. There should always be ample space between the door and the bed. The headboard of the bed should not rest against a window opening. Neither should you put beds under a cross beam, regardless of whether the beam is made of wood or concrete. Position the bed so that the occupant will not be lying perpendicular to the beam. Overly strict homeowners do not have exposed beams at all even if these are veneered with different materials.

For houses with second floors, drainage pipes should not run inside or under the floor where the bed is located. Drainpipes contain unclean fluids associated with bad energies which may affect the good spirits of the people sleeping over these pipes.

Do not turn basements into bedrooms. Luck-wise, the bedroom floor should be higher than the living room. Other rooms like the library, den, foyer, etc. – as long as they’re not used as bedrooms – can be positioned at a lower level than that of the living room.

LIVING ROOMS
Ilocanos don’t want basements because only coffins should be found under the ground

Sunken rooms, like basements are looked upon as pockets of caves where evil spirits can hide. It is balanced only when an exit lower than the said room is provided. Some Ilocanos do not want basements in their homes because they believe only coffins should be found under the ground.

The old folks of Sta. Maria, Bulacan advise that the floors of the living and dining rooms must be of the same level. They say the imaginary “ball of fortune” must be able to freely roll across both floors. Overly ornate living and dining room ceilings, especially those with cornices, moldings, and other superficial decorations should be avoided as they tend to make the ceiling look like a coffin. Even the “mansard” or flat type of roof invented at the turn of the century is avoided as it reminds people of a coffin.

DINING ROOMS
Pampanguños love to eat so their dining rooms are on the sunniest part of the house

Pampangueños love to cook (and eat), so most of their dining rooms are situated in the sunniest and brightest locations of the house. Ilocanos, on the other hand, prefer subdued lighting because they consider eating a solemn occasion. ?

Excerpted from the book Oro, Plata, Mata: Filipino Building Beliefs published by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. For inquiries on the book, contact NCCA Public Affairs at +632.527-2192 local 614 or email address cyberspace@ncca.gov.ph. Available also at all National Bookstores.

Reprinted with permission from the NCCA.

Architect Ernesto R. Zarate has been in his profession for the past forty years. It was during his service as the National Director of the Philippine Institute of Architects (PIA) that he was able to gather these beliefs involved in Filipino architecture.