Significant Contemporary Arts from the regions: d.

d.) Folk art tradition – The candidate must have engaged in a folk art
tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty (50)
GAWAD SA MANLILIKHANG BAYAN
years; and
In April 1992, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the National Living
e.) Character and integrity – As a precious treasure of the country, the
Treasures Award was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7355.
candidate must command the respect and admiration of the country for his
Tasked with the administration and implementation of the Award is the
character and integrity;
National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the highest policy-
making and coordinating body for culture and the arts of the State. The Award and other Incentive. – The award given to the Manlilikha ng Bayan
NCCA, through the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and an Ad Hoc shall be called Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan.
Panel of Experts, conducts the search for the finest traditional artists of the
In addition, the following incentives shall be enjoyed:
land, adopts a program that will ensure the transfer of their skills to others
and undertakes measures to promote a genuine appreciation of and instill a.) Plaque/Medal – The Awardee shall each receive a commemorative plaque
pride among our people about the genius of the Manlilikha ng Bayan. and/or medal, a duplicate set of which is to be donated to and permanently
displayed in the pertinent provincial museum or largest cultural center in
REPUBLIC ACT 7355
order to broaden community awareness of the significance of our traditional
As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen folk arts and to accord them the recognition they richly deserve;
engaged in any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose distinctive skills have
b.) An initial grant of One Hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and Ten
reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence and have been
Thousand peso (P10,000.00) a month thereafter for life, shall be given,
passed on to and widely practiced by the present generation in his/her
unless the Commission after due hearing finds good reason to discontinue the
community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.
grant arising from violations of pertinent terms and conditions herein stated.
Criteria and Qualifications. – To become a Manlilikha ng Bayan, the
This grant may be increased whenever circumstances so warrant provided
candidate must satisfy the following minimum criteria:
that the increase shall not be given retroactive effect;
a.) Techincal and creative skill – The candidate posses a mastery of the tools
c.) Documentation – All surviving samples of works by the awardee shall be
and materials needed by the art, and must have an established reputation in
catalogued and photographed, and his/her work methods and tools shall
the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality;
likewise be documented;
b.) Artistic quality – The work of the candidate must be outstanding
d.) A vocational course using materials, tools, methods and designs of the
aesthetically, and he/she must have consistently produced over a significant
awardee may be offered at the nearest arts and trades school through the
period, works of superior quality;
cooperative efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department
c.) Community tradition – The candidate must have transferred and/or willing of Education, Culture and Sports, and a private foundation and/or private
to transfer to other members of the community, skills in the folk art for which corporation, to effect the transfer of his/her skills and the preservation of folk
the community has become nationally known; art tradition;
e.) A feasibility study of converting the awardee’s art into specialized cottage
industry in the awardee’s province, preferably in the recipient’s barangay or
town, may be undertaken by the Department of Trade and Industry in
collaboration with private investors; and
f.) The recipient shall be invited to Manila-based and regional cultural events
that salute the importance of traditional folk arts in the Filipino cultural
heritage;
Duties and Responsibilities of Awardees. – The Manlilikha ng Bayan is a
link between the past, in which his/her traditional folk art found fertile soil for
growth, and the future, during which he/she seeks his/her art to be
permanently sustained. It becomes his/her responsibility therefore to
undertake the following;
a.) to transfer the skills of his/her traditional folk art to the younger
generation through apprenticeship and such other training methods as are
found t be effective;
b.) to cooperate with the implementing agency, as provided for in Section 7
of this Act, in the promotion and propagation of his/her traditional folk arts;
and
c.) to donate to the National Museum a sample or copy of his/her work.
The categories are, but not limited to, the following categories of traditional
folk arts:
folk architecture -maritime transport
-weaving -carving
-performing arts -literature
-graphic and plastic arts -ornament
-textile or fiber art -pottery
-Other artistic expressions of traditional culture may be added.
GINAW BILOG, 1993
Poetry (Ambahan)
Ginaw Bilog, 1993
Born on January 3, 1953
was a Hanunuo Mangyan who was a native of Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.
He was known for his efforts in preserving the mangyan poetry tradition
of ambahan.
Ginaw Bilog, Hanunoo Mangyan from Mansalay, Mindoro, grew up in such a
cultural environment. Already steeped in the wisdom that the ambahan is a
key to the understanding of the Mangyan soul, Ginaw took it upon himself to
continually keep scores of ambahan poetry recorded, not only on bamboo
tubes but on old, dog-eared notebooks passed on to him by friends.
Ambahan, a poetic literary form composed of seven-syllable lines used to
convey messages through metaphors and images. The ambahan is sung and
its messages range from courtship, giving advice to the young, asking for a
place to stay, saying goodbye to a dear friend and so on.
MASINAO INTARAY, 1993
Poetry/ lyrical poems and playing accompanying instruments, epic chanting
and storytelling
was a Filipino poet, bard artist, and musician who is a Palawan native known
for his performance of the local traditions of basal, kulilal and bagit.
Intaray was born on April 10, 1943 in Makagwa Valley and lived Brooke's
Point, Palawan. He is known for playing multiple indigenous instruments
namely the basal (gong), aroding (mouth harp), and the babarak (ring flute).
Intaray is also known for his performance of kulilal or songs and bagit, a form
of vocal music.
He has the creative memory, endurance, clarity of intellect and spiritual
purpose that enable him to chant all through the night, for successive nights,
countless tultul (epics), sudsungit (narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin
and teachings of ancestors).
Masino and the basal and kulilal ensemble of Makagwa valley are creative,
traditional artists of the highest order of merit. (Prof. Felipe M. de Leon,
Jr.)
SAMAON SULAIMAN, 1993
Music (Kutyapi)
was a Filipino musician who is a recipient of the National Living
Treasure award. The Maguindanaon is known for his mastery of the
indigenous kutyapi instrument.
Born on March 3, 1953,
Samaon Sulaiman achieved the highest level of excellence in the art of
kutyapi playing. His extensive repertoire of dinaladay, linapu, minuna, binalig,
and other forms and styles interpreted with refinement and sensitivity fully
demonstrate and creative and expressive possibilities of his instrument.
Learning to play the kutyapi from his uncle when he was about 13 years old,
he has since, at 35 become the most acclaimed kutyapi master and teacher
of his instrument in Libutan and other barangays of Maganoy town, deeply
influencing the other acknowledged experts in kutyapi in the area, such as
Esmael Ahmad, Bitul Sulaiman, Nguda Latip, Ali Ahmad and Tukal Nanalon.
Aside from kutyapi, Samaon is also proficient in kulintang, agong (suspended
bossed gong with wide rim), gandingan (bossed gong with narrow rim),
palendag (lip-valley flute), and tambul.
Samaon was a popular barber in his community and serve as an Imam in the
Libutan mosque.
For his exemplary artistry and dedication to his chosen instrument, for his
unwavering commitment to the music of the kutyapi at a time when this
instrument no longer exists in many parts of Mindanao, Samaon Sulaiman is
worthy of emulation and the highest honors. (Prof. Felipe M. de Leon, Jr.)
LANG DULAY, 1998
Weaving (T’nalak)
Born on August 3, 1928, Lang Dulay was a T'boli princess from the Lake
Sebu region in South Cotabato. She first learnt weaving at the age of 12 from
her mother, Luan Senig.
Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay speaks more eloquently than
words can. Images from the distant past of her people, the Tbolis, are
recreated by her nimble hands – the crocodiles, butterflies and flowers, along
with mountains and streams, of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, where she and
her ancestors were born – fill the fabric with their longing to be remembered.
Through her weaving, Lang Dulay does what she can to keep her people’s
tradition alive.
Lang Dulay knows a hundred designs, including the bulinglangit (clouds), the
bankiring (hair bangs), and the kabangi (butterfly), each one special for the
stories it tells. Using red and black dyes, she spins her stories with grace. Her
textiles reflect the wisdom and the visions of her people.
Ironically modern designs get a better price than the traditional ones. Despite
this, and the fact that those modern designs are easier to weave, Lang
persists in doing things the old, if harder, way, to give voice, in effect, to the
songs that were her elders’ before her. Her textiles are judged excellent
because of the “fine even quality of the yarn, the close interweaving of the
warp and weft, the precision in the forms and patterns, the chromatic
integrity of the dye, and the consistency of the finish.”
Through the years, she has dreamed that, someday she could pass on her
talent and skills to the young in her community. Four of her grandchildren
have themselves picked up the shuttle and are learning to weave.
SALINTA MONON, 1998
Weaving (Abaca – ikat / Inabal)
was born on December 12, 1920
grew up in Bituag, Bansalan in Davao del Sur
at age 12 she learned how to weave
Her favorite design is the binuwaya or crocodile which is said to be among
the most difficult to weave.
She was known for her Bagobo-Tagabawa textiles and was known as the
"last Bagobo weaver".Her ardent desire to excel in the art of her ancestors
enabled her to learn quickly. She developed a keen eye for the traditional
designs, and now, at the age of 65, she can identify the design as well as the
author of a woven piece just by a glance.
All her life she has woven continuously, through her marriage and six
pregnancies, and even after her husband’s death 20 years ago. She and her
sister are the only remaining Bagobo weavers in her community.
Her husband paid her parents a higher bride price because of her weaving
skills. However, he left all the abaca gathering and stripping to her. Instead,
he concentrated on making their small farm holding productive. Life was such
that she was obliged to help out in the farm, often putting her own work
aside to make sure the planting got done and the harvest were brought in.
When her husband died, she was left alone with a farm and six children, but
she continued with her weaving, as a source of income as well as pride.
When she has work to finish, Salinta isolates herself from her family to
ensure privacy and concentration in her art. At the moment, she does her
weaving in her own home, but she wants nothing better than to build a
structure just for weaving, a place exclusively for the use of weavers. She
looks forward to teaching young wives in her community the art of weaving,
for, despite the increasing pressures of modern society, Bagobo women are
still interested in learning the art.
Alonzo Saclag, 2000
Music and Dance (Kalinga)
was born on August 4, 1942
a native of Lubuagan, Kalinga province
Saclag taught himself of his people's traditions in the performing arts. He
learned how to play traditional Kalinga musical instruments and Kalinga ritual
dance movements without formal or informal instruction
Yet he has mastered not only the Kalinga musical instruments but also the
dance patterns and movements associated with his people’s rituals. His tool
was observation, his teacher, experience. Coupled with these was a keen
interest in – a passion, if you would – the culture that was his inheritance.
Much of his energy is channeled towards different preservation efforts. He
has for years urged the members of his community to preserve their artifacts
and archaeological sites. While the unwritten laws and epics chronicle their
victories as a people, their artifacts afford us a glimpse into their day-to-day
existence. One such artifact is the Kalinga gong or the gangsa, the making of
which is a disappearing trade. He has endeavored to revive this dying craft.
And to hold these and other treasures, he lobbied for two years with the
provincial government to grant funds to convert the abandoned Capitol
Building into a museum. His persistence was finally rewarded when, with
support from the provincial government and other patrons, the Lubuagan
branch of the National Museum was established.
To guarantee that his knowledge in the performing arts is passed on to
others, he formed the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe. He takes the young
men and women who come to him under his charge and they learn about the
music and dance of their ancestors. While many have expressed a genuine
desire to represent and promote Kalinga performing arts, he admits that a
handful have other, more personal, motives. Because the troupe occasionally
goes on tour, joining it is perceived by some as a chance to see places other
than mountains they call home. Who can resist the lure of foreign places, he
concedes.
Waiting, however, is a small difficulty. The greater obstacle appears to be
gaining the support of those who continue to question and challenge his
motives. One would think that with such a noble purpose, one would have no
trouble finding allies, not the least among the Kalinga themselves. Reality,
though, suggests the contrary.
But Alonzo Saclag remains unfazed. With characteristic generosity, he does
not, for instance, begrudge nor fear the efforts others take to put up a group
similar to his much-celebrated Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe. Moreover, he
welcomes the idea of collaborating with them, should the opportunity present
itself
FEDERICO CABALLERO, 2000
Poetry and Epic Chant (Sugidanon)
Born on December 25, 1938
He is known for his work on the documentation of the oral literature,
particularly the ten epics. These epics are rendered in an extinct
language related to Kinaray-a
Caballero is married to Lucia, who is a binukot a title similar to a princess in
Panay-Bukidnon tradition, and has three children.
His own love for his people’s folklore began when he was a small child. His
mother would lull his brothers and sister to sleep, chanting an episode in time
to the gentle swaying of the hammock. Sometimes it was his great-great-
grandmother, his Anggoy Omil, who would chant the epics. Nong Pedring
remembers how he would press against them as they cuddled his younger
siblings, his imagination recreating the heroes and beautiful maidens of their
tales.
When Anggoy and his mother died, he went on to continue the traditions
and documented these epics which are referred to as the Labaw Dunggon
and Humadapnon epics with researchers. He worked with the Bureau of
Nonformal Education, to teach people how to read and write and would
promote the tradition of epic chanting despite the initial objection of his
children.
He also worked as the manughusay in his local community, an arbiter who
helps resolves disputes and conflicts in the community. He is considered as
a bantugan due to his positive influence extending beyond his community.
And he is good at doing anything that peoples tell him to do, So he's basically
a jack of trade
Uwang Ahadas, 2000
Music (Yakan specifically Kulintang, kwitangan kayu, gabbang, agung, and
tuntungan)
was born on February 15, 1945
is a Filipino folk musician of the Yakan people, to whom instrumental music is
of much significance, connected as it is with both the agricultural cycle and
the social realm.
He went near blind when he was five years old.
Even as a young child, Uwang joyously embraced the demands and the
discipline necessitated by his art. His training began with the ardent
observation of the older, more knowledgeable players in his community. His
own family, gifted with a strong tradition in music, complemented the
instruction he received. He and his siblings were all encouraged to learn how
to play the different Yakan instruments, as these were part of the legacy of
his ancestors. Not all Yakan children have such privilege.
From the gabbang, a bamboo xylophone, his skills gradually allowed him to
progress to the agung, the kwintangan kayu, and later the other instruments.
Even musical tradition failed to be a deterrent to his will. Or perhaps it only
served to fuel his determination to demonstrate his gift. Yakan tradition sets
the kwintangan as a woman’s instrument and the agung, a man’s. His genius
and his resolve, however, broke through this tradition. By the age of twenty,
he had mastered the most important of the Yakan musical instruments, the
kwintangan among them.
He believes it is best for children to commence training young, when interest
is at its peak and flexibility of the hands and the wrists is assured. His own
children were the first to benefit from his instruction. One of his daughters,
Darna, has become quite proficient in the art that like her father, she too has
begun to train others.
His younger brother, Rohas, worries about how best to preserve his
techniques so that they can be passed on to others even after he is gone. For
his part, he has started documenting his brother’s instruction, creating a
notation system that will simplify instruction. Already he has begun using this
method for training students and declares that it shows promise.
Darhata Sawabi, 2004
Weaving (Pis Syabit)
The families in her native Parang still depend on subsistence farming as their
main source of income. But farming does not bring in enough money to
support a family, and is not even an option for someone like Darhata Sawabi
who was raised from birth to do only household chores. She has never
married. Thus, weaving is her only possible source of income. The money she
earns from making the colorful squares of cloth has enabled her to become
self-sufficient and less dependent on her nephews and nieces. A hand-woven
square measuring 39 by 40 inches, which takes her some three months to
weave, brings her about P2,000. These squares are purchased by Tausug for
headpieces, as well as to adorn native attire, bags and other accessories. Her
remarkable proficiency with the art and the intricacy of her designs allows her
to price her creations a little higher than others.
At 48, and burdened by years of hard work, Sawabi no longer has the
strength or the stamina for this. Instead, she hires one of the neighboring
children or apprentice weavers to do it at the cost of P300. It is a substantial
amount, considering the fact that she still has to spend for thread.
In the 1970s, when Jolo was torn apart by armed struggle, Sawabi and her
family were often forced to abandon their home in search of safer habitats.
The first time she was forced to abandon her weaving was very painful
experience as it was impossible for her to bring the loom along with her to
the forest where they sought refuge. They returned to their home to see the
pis she had been working on for nearly a month destroyed by the fighting.
There was nothing for her to do except pick up the pieces of her loom and
start again. Because of the conflict, she and her family had been forced to
relocate twice finally establishing their residence in Parang. During this time,
Sawabi supported her family by weaving and selling her pieces to the
participants in the conflict who passed through her village. Because of her
dedication to her art, generations of traditional Tausug designs have been
preserved and are available for contemporary appreciation and future study.
She continues to weave at home, while teaching the other women of her
community.
Eduardo Mutuc, 2004
Metalwork (Bronze and Silver)
is an artist who has dedicated his life to creating religious and secular art in
silver, bronze and wood. His intricately detailed retablos, mirrors, altars, and
carosas are in churches and private collections. A number of these works are
quite large, some exceeding forty feet, while some are very small and feature
very fine and delicate craftsmanship.
He was 29 when he decided to supplement his income from farming for the
relatively more secure job of woodcarving. He spent his first year as an
apprentice to carvers of household furniture. It was difficult at the beginning,
but thanks to his mentors, he was able to develop valuable skills that would
serve him in good stead later on. The hardest challenge for him was learning
a profession that he had no prior knowledge about, but poverty was a
powerful motivation. Although his daily wage of P3.00 didn’t go far to support
his wife and the first three of nine children (one of whom has already died),
choices were limited for a man who only finished elementary school.
Things began to change after his fifth or sixth year as a furniture maker,
when a colleague taught him the art of silver plating. This technique is often
used to emulate gold and silver leaf in the decoration of saints and religious
screens found in colonial churches. He left the furniture shop and struck out
on his own with another friend. One of his first commissions came from
Monsignor Fidelis Limcauco, who asked him to create a tabernacle for the
parish of Fairview , Quezon City . Clients began to commission him to create
other pieces, many of which are based on Spanish colonial designs. Peak
seasons are before Holy Week and Christmas. He derives inspiration from
traditional religious designs and infuses his own ideas into the finished
product.
According to him, craftsmanship begins with respect for one’s tools and the
medium. The first thing he teaches his students is how to hold the chisel and
hammer properly to promote ease of use and prevent fatigue and mistakes
because of improper handling. He also cautions against working with an eye
towards easy money. The only way to improve one’s skills, he says, is to
immerse oneself, learn the technique, and to practice. Only in perfecting
one’s craft can there be real reward. (Maricris Jan Tobias)
Haja Amina Appi, 2004
Weaving (Mat)
Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, is recognized as the
master mat weaver among the Sama indigenous community of Ungos Matata.
The art of mat weaving is handed down the matrilateral line, as men in the
Sama culture do not take up the craft. The whole process, from harvesting
and stripping down the pandan leaves to the actual execution of the design,
is exclusive to women. It is a long and tedious process, and requires much
patience and stamina. It also requires an eye for detail, an unerring color
instinct, and a genius for applied mathematics.
The process starts with the harvesting of wild pandan leaves from the forest.
The Sama weavers prefer the thorny leaf variety because it produces stronger
and sturdier matting strips. Although the thorns are huge and unrelenting,
Haja Amina does not hesitate from gathering the leaves. First, she removes
the thorns using a small knife. Then, she strips the leaves with a jangat
deyum or stripper to make long and even strips. These strips are sun-dried,
then pressed (pinaggos) beneath a large log. She then dyes the strips by
boiling them for a few minutes in hot water mixed with anjibi or commercial
dye. As an artist, she has refused to limit herself to the traditional plain white
mats of her forebears, but experimented with the use of anjibi in creating her
designs. And because commercial dyes are often not bold or striking enough
for her taste, she has taken to experimenting with color and developing her
own tints to obtain the desired hues. Her favorite colors are red, purple and
yellow but her mats sometimes feature up to eight colors at a time. Her
complicated designs gain power from the interplay of various shades.
Upon obtaining several sets of differently-colored matting strips, she then sun
dries them for three or four days, and presses them again until they are
pliant. Finally, she weaves them into a colorful geometric design. Instead of
beginning at the outermost edges of the mat, she instead weaves a central
strip to form the mat’s backbone, then works to expand the mat from within.
Haja Amina is respected throughout her community for her unique designs,
the straightness of her edging (tabig) and the fineness of her sasa and kima-
kima. Her hands are thick and callused from years of harvesting, stained by
dye. But her hands are still steady, and her eye for color still unerring. She
feels pride in the fact that people often borrow her mats to learn from her
and copy her designs.
Teofilo Garcia, 2012
Casque Making (Tabungaw)
Teofilo Garcia leaves his farm in San Quintin, Abra, he makes it a point to
wear a tabungaw. People in the nearby towns of the province, in neighboring
Sta. Maria and Vigan in Ilocos Sur, and as far as Laoag in Ilocos Norte sit up
and take notice of his unique, functional and elegant headpiece that shields
him from the rain and the sun.
Because he takes pride in wearing his creations, Teofilo has gotten many
orders as a result. Through his own efforts, through word of mouth, and
through his own participation in an annual harvest festival in his local Abra, a
lot of people have discovered about the wonders of the tabungaw as a
practical alternative.
Although he has been a master artisan since he learned how to make gourd
casques and weave baskets from his grandfather at the age of 15, Teofilo is
still principally a farmer. Most of the year is spent working the land to coax a
good harvest to enable him to send his five children to school. But during the
months that his land is not planted to rice and tobacco, or caring for his herd
of cows, he devotes his land to planting upo (family Cucurbitaceae), which he
then transforms into the traditional tabungaw.
His output is also limited by his harvest of gourds. In a good year and blessed
with good weather, he can make up to 100 pieces. His craft demands a lot of
personal input from him because there is hardly any way for him to source
the materials he needs for his work unless he makes them himself. He has
had to turn down large orders because he has no one to help him, and in any
case, there is no one who matches his level of skill. Sometimes, he wants to
give up because it’s hard work, but he doesn’t do it, for fear that the art will
end with him.
Since he learned the craft, he has not stopped innovating. Each handcrafted
tabungaw is the product of years of study and careful attention to the
elements that make up the entire piece. Previously, he used nito (vine
trimmings) to decorate the outside of the headgear and sourced it from
Cagayan, but when his relative who supplied him with the raw materials
passed away, he decided to experiment with more locally accessible
materials. His training in weaving baskets served him in good stead, and he
was able to apply that skill when he turned to bamboo as an alternative to
nito.
Magdalena Gamayo, 2012
Weaving (Inabel)
from Pinili, Ilocos Norte
Even though the roads are much improved, sourcing quality cotton threads
for her abel is still a challenge. Even though the North is known for its cotton,
it does not have thread factories to spin bales of cotton into spools of thread.
Instead, Magdalena has to rely on local merchants with their limited
supplies. She used to spin her own cotton and brushed it with beeswax to
make it stronger, but after the Second World War, she now relies on market-
bought thread. She still remembers trading rice for thread, although those
bartering days are over. Thread is more expensive nowadays, and of poorer
quality. Often, she has had to reject samples but often she has little choice in
the matter.
There are less local suppliers of thread nowadays, a sign that there is less
demand for their wares, but nonetheless, the abel-weaving tradition in Ilocos
remains strong, and there are no better artists who exemplify the best of
Filipino abel weaving tradition than Magdalena Gamayo.
Magdalena has been relying on her instincts, practiced hands, and innate
skills for years, starting at the age 16, when she learned the art of weaving
from her aunt. She was never formally taught, but picked up the art on her
own by copying the patterns. At that time, every girl in her village knew how
to weave, and there would be an informal competition among her cousins
and friends as to who could weave the finest, who could be more consistent.
Her father bought her first loom at the age of 19; he obtained the sag’gat or
hard wood himself and gave the task to a local craftsman. Her first loom
lasted her at least 30 years, sustaining her through years of marriage and
motherhood. When it was beyond repair, she considers herself lucky to have
been able to buy a secondhand one. Today, there are few locals who have
the skills to put together a loom similar to the ones Magdalena uses: a sturdy
wooden frame with three foot pedals with wide horizontal beams to support
the warp and an even longer lengthwise frame to keep the threads in place.
It is different from the backstrap loom traditionally used in the Cordillera,
where the warp is anchored to a stationary object on one end and to the
weaver’s body on the other end.
Even though Magdalena is already 88 years old, her eyesight still holds true
and she still takes care of arranging the threads on the loom. Weavers agree
that in weaving, it is the hardest task of all. The slightest miscalculation can
result in a misaligned design that doesn’t reveal itself until it’s too late.
Magdalena has taught herself the traditional patterns of binakol,
inuritan(geometric design), kusikos (spiral forms similar to oranges),
and sinan-sabong(flowers), which is the most challenging pattern. She has
also taught herself to recreate designs, which is a useful skill particularly
when she is only able to see the design but does not have a sample of how it
is done.
Ambalang Ausalin, 2016
Weaving (Yakan tennun)
born March 4, 1943
Weaving is an extremely important craft in the Yakan community. All Yakan
women in the past were trained in weaving. Long ago, a common practice
among the Yakan was that, when a female was born, the pandey, traditional
midwife, would cut the umbilical cord using a wooden bar called bayre (other
Yakan pronounce this as beyde). That bar was used for ‘beating-in’ the weft
of the loom. By thus severing of the umbilical cord, it was believed that the
infant would grow up to become an accomplished weaver. This, and all other
aspects of the Yakan weaving tradition, is best personified by a seventy-
three-year-old virtuoso from the weaving domicile of the Yakan in
Parangbasak, Lamitan City: Ambalang Ausalin.
Apuh Ambalang, as she is called by her community of weavers, is highly
esteemed in all of Lamitan. Her skill is deemed incomparable: she is able to
bring forth all designs and actualize all textile categories typical to the Yakan.
She can execute the suwah bekkat (cross-stitch-like embellishment)
and suwah pendan (embroidery-like embellishment) techniques of the bunga
sama category. She possesses the complex knowledge of the entire weaving
process, aware at the same time of the cultural significance of each textile
design or category. As a young girl, her mother, who was the best weaver of
her time, mentored Ambalang.
The secret of an intricately-woven cloth resides in the comb: the more the
number of sticks that make up the comb, the closer its teeth, thus the tighter
and more embossed or lifted the designs will be. This type of comb is called
sud dendam.
The word ‘tennun’ in Yakan generally means woven cloth, and used in making
the Yakan dress. Yakan textiles are often mistakenly described as
‘embroidered’ by people not familiar with the production process.
There are different categories of a Yakan cloth. Ambalang has mastered all
these, although her artistry and craftsmanship are best expressed in
the bunga sama, sinalu’an, and seputangan.
The bunga sama is a design or category of weaving with floral and bold
designs. The cloth is usually fashioned into upper wear and pants, though
only for the dress of a high status Yakan, specially the suwah bekkat and
the suwah pendan. Today, however, the bunga sama is commonly produced
and pressed to service as table runners, placemats, wall decor, or doilies.
Sinalu’an is a design or category of weave with stripes of the diamond twill
technique. The finished cloth is traditionally sewn as trousers as well as upper
wear. Under this category, Ambalang is best identified with
the sinalu’an teed, the most complicated of all Yakan woven textiles.
The seputangan is her other exemplary specialty, as it was her mother’s
too. This cloth is a meter square in size with geometric designs, and is the
most expensive part of the Yakan female ensemble because of its detailed
design.
Estelita Tumandan Bantilan, 2016
Weaving (B'laan igem)
born 17 October 1940
She was at birth, seventy-two years ago, Labnai Tumndan. It was a
recognizable name in the language, Blaan, spoken in the montane hamlet
of Mlasang. Her extended family reckoned their place in relation to
the mlasang, a tree that, once a year, flowers profusely, sheds the
inflorescences immediately, and carpets abode and environment in
magnificence all at once.
The child Labnai, already precocious in mat weaving, took on the name
Estelita in the 1950s. Protestant pastors had installed themselves among her
people, had commenced fundamental social change. When Estelita married,
becoming Mrs. Bantilan, she raised a family in the foreign faith.
In her old age, Estelita began to be called by a new nickname, Princess. The
term of endearment is spoken with the lightness of heart; also with genuine
respect, especially from the other mat weavers of Upper Lasang.
Estelita’s demeanor — characterized by alertness, focus, and a calm that
appears to permeate her entire body — is key to understanding mat weaving
itself, among the Sarangani Blaan and the rest of the Filipinos who still know
the art. It is an exercise of imagination within the parameters of a technology
of making. The rigidity of the parameters is precisely what the weaver works
with to play with surprising variation and compelling repetitiveness. To
manage this maneuver between confinement and freedom, any good weaver
needs the focused energy Estelita abundantly demonstrates. Except that in
her case, a preternatural serenity appears to be the very source of genius.
In Upper Lasang, Estelita’s mathematical precision and aesthetic clarity found
hospitable ground in which to thrive. She lives among people who enjoy
strong cultural recollection; for instance, the use as dyestuff of the bark of
the tree whose extravagant shedding of inflorescence deserved its own
descriptive, mlasang. It is a place where strong women, mat weavers all, had
the gumption to form themselves into a legal association to manage their
affairs and dealings with market. Upper Lasang is also where a woman like
Estelita can partner with a man supportive of her art. Estelita is therefore
right to take the nickname “Princess” in stride, to not regard herself separate
from her milieu. She makes for a beautiful Princess, in truth. But her
remarkable artistic and personal attribute is her ability to vanish into her
community — even as she shines out.
Yabing Masalon Dulo, 2016
Weaving (Ikat)
born 8 August 1914
Since the venerable ikat-dyer has a memory sharper than blades, it seems
always best to follow her counsel. She does know for a fact that she was
born in a place already called Landan in that long ago time. The exact sitio
was and is still named Amgu-o, a settlement of a few related families within
Landan, today a barangay, a constituent unit of a town. During the early
twentieth century, Amgu-o was a cluster of houses thoroughly unconnected
to the national political organization. It was a hilly, forested place where
streams were punctuated by all sizes of rocks. The trees, then, were ancient.
Now ancient as well — accepting the honorific Fu, elder, with no hauteur —
Fu Yabing has lived long enough to have seen Amgu-o emerge as an
exposed, dry place sans those trees. Her thatch-wood-concrete domicile
speaks of a permanence unconnected to the archaic system of shifting
agriculture that gave its practitioners to move entire hamlets following the
obligation to regenerate soil after extended use; giving that land back to the
forest. Today, visitors reach Fu Yabing on foot, or by motorcycle, or a four-
wheel drive vehicle through pockmarked dirt passes; although it must be
added, they are not overly daunted. Landan is connected to the rest of the
country by feeder roads, however flimsy, and through the national political
order, however tenuous in these parts.
Fu Yabing was born in an Amgu-o where the plant and animal life were
differentiated to minute degrees by the locals in the vocabulary of their
tongue, Blaan. Among them, some held encyclopedic lore — which none
divided into seen and unseen reality, or science and enchantment. The
adepts knew their biology, climate, and geology invariably in relation to states
of being; knew their arts of transformation, not the least, wielding the
pigmenting, or toxic, or life-enhancing, or mysterious qualities of barks, roots,
leaves, and strange small petioles in various mixes in various preparations.
Which is to say, the minutiae of life in its many forms was saturated with
meaning.
Fu Yabing lived as a youth in a milieu with a density of stimuli that
encouraged skill and imagination. When Fu Yabing’sgeneration took from the
forest fibrous material that they worked into art, that art, in turn, supported
the integrity of natural/cultural interconnection.
Although no longer. In Mindanao, the forests are for the most part an extinct
form of community. Among all the peoples who used to ikat in Mindanao, ikat
is, for the most part, an extinct form of art-making, community-making,
equilibrium-making. And but for Fu Yabing Dulo and only one or two others
(one of whom is her daughter Lamena), Blaan ikat dyeing is an extinct form
of human endeavor in a world gone the way of the forests.
Whang-od, nominated October 21, 2017
Tattooing (Batek/Batok)