Pilipunas, Filipino Courtship via Handkerchief
Framed Broadsides
(poster in black metal frame)
By Dindo Llana
Before World War II, Filipinos indulged in a secret language of love using the panuelito. The female coyly configured her kerchief to signal an array of messages to the male object of her fancy. The various poses featured here are based on Pascual Poblete’s 1922 book Patnubay ng pagsinta: pantas na manga paraan at nang magtagumpayan sa pag-ibig (A Handbook of Erudite Ways to Achieve Success in Love).
