Baguio City Philippines Igorote Men Traditional Dress Real Photo Postcard

Indigenous men, likely from a community in Southeast Asia such as the Philippine Cordillera or Borneo, are depicted in this photograph, which probably dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. Their traditional attire, including simple loincloths or skirts, distinctive hairstyles, and the pipe held by one individual, reflect indigenous cultural practices and material life prior to extensive Western assimilation.

This type of ethnographic portraiture was a common practice during the colonial era, serving to document and categorize "native" populations for Western audiences. Such images are historically significant not only for providing a visual record of diverse indigenous cultures and their customs but also for illustrating the colonial gaze and the ways non-European peoples were presented and perceived in the early 20th century.