LESSON 17

THE NATIONAL LIVING TREASURES:

GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN or GAMABA AWARDEES FOR CRAFTS
Introduction
In Filipino homes, handicraft products can be seen such as baskets, brooms, and bamboo sofa sets. Also,
colorful and intricate tapestries and textiles can be seen hung in homes, grand hallways, and lobbies. More than that,
young girls can be seen wearing beautifully-crafted earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other accessories made using
native products such as beads, shells, and seeds. Many tourist destinations showcase traditional crafts for local and
foreign tourists.

National Living Treasures for Crafts

LANG DULAY
Occupation: Textile Weaver
Cultural Community: T’boli
Place of Origin: Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
Year Awarded: 1998
Lang Dulay was a famous master weaver of the T’nalak cloth made from abaca fibers. She started honing
her skills at the age of 12. Images from the distant past of her people, the Tbolis, are recreated by her nimble hands
– the hair bangs (bankiring), butterflies (kabangi), and clouds (bulinglangit), 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.

SALINTA MONON
Occupation: Textile Weaver
Cultural Community: Tagabawa Bagobo
Place of Origin: Bansalan, Davao del Sur
Year Awarded: 1998
Salinta Monon was a very talented weaver of the abaca ikat weaving, creating very detailed ornate designs.
Her painstaking craftsmanship took the fabric to be completed in three to four months. The binuwaya (crocodile) is
considered to be Monon’s beloved design. She envisioned to put up a structure for weavers and to those who want
to learn the art.

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 DARHATA SAWABI
Occupation: Textile Weaver
Cultural Community: Tausug
Place of Origin: Parang, Sulu
Year Awarded: 2005
Darhata Sawabi was a famous Tausug weaver of the pis syabit, the customary cloth worn as a hood by the
Filipino Tausugs, which is a challenging textile to weave. Sawabi’s choice of colors, consistency of weave, and use
of traditional designs made her an excellent artist. She was also a teacher who shared her knowledge with the
women in her community.

HAJA AMINA APPI

Occupation: Mat Weaver
Cultural Community: Sama
Place of Origin: Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
Year Awarded: 2005
Haja Amina Appi was a master mat weaver. Her flamboyant mats with intricate geometric arrangements
displayed her particular sense of proportion and color sensitivity. She was highly esteemed throughout her
community for her distinctive designs and the refinement of her sasa and kima-kima.

EDUARDO MUTUC
Occupation: Metalsmith, Sculptor
Cultural Community: Kapampangan
Place of Origin: Apalit, Pampanga
Year Awarded: 2005
Eduardo Mutuc is an exceptional Filipino sculptor who works with silver, bronze, and wood, crafting
religious and layman’s artworks which include intricate church retablos, mirrors, grand altars, and breathtaking
carosas used in churches or procured by collectors. His works are more than simply ornamental, for they add charm
and luxury to every home and monument.

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 MAGDALENA GAMAYO
Occupation: Textile Weaver
Cultural Community: Ilocano
Place of Origin: Pinili, Ilocos Norte
Year Awarded: 2012
Magdalena Gamayo is a master weaver of the abel, the traditional Ilocano blanket. Her works are of the
finest quality, using very high thread count and incorporating intricate designs. Her accuracy in color spacing makes
her blankets sought after. She has mastered the traditional patterns of sinan-sabong (flowers), kusikos (spirals), and
the binakol inuritan (geometric).

TEOFILO GARCIA
Occupation: Casque Maker
Cultural Community: Ilocano
Place of Origin: San Quintin, Abra
Year Awarded: 2012
Teofilo Garcia is a master artisan, farmer, and innovator. He is recognized for his beautifully-crafted
casque known as tabungaw, a functional headpiece that he made out of hollowed-out native gourd polished and
varnished in a bright orange hue, its interior lined with woven rattan for comfort. Such innovation is proven perfect
for the changing weather. His craft has been integrated in Abra’s harvest festival.

YABING MASALON DULO

Occupation: Mat Weaver
Cultural Community: B’laan
Place of Origin: Polomolok, South Cotabato
Year Awarded: 2016
Yabing Masalon Dulo is the oldest living maser weaver of the tabih, the traditional B’laan fabric made
from abaca. She is “recognized for her commitment to the safeguarding and promotion of the mabal tabih (ikat
weaving) tradition”. She is the second GAMABA awardee from South Cotabato, after Lang Dulay, of the T’boli
tribe of Lake Sebu, who passed away in 2015. (news abs-cbn.com and southcotabatonews.com)

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 ESTELITA BANTILAN
Occupation: Mat Weaver
Cultural Community: B’laan
Place of Origin: Malapatan, Sarangani
Year Awarded: 2016
A true artist, Estelita Bantilan is acknowledged for the superior quality of her mats and her faithfulness to
the B’laan igem or mat weaving tradition. Having begun weaving at the age of six, she has brought her weaves to an
exceptionally exquisite fineness. Using natural dyes, she has mastered all the stages of this art and continues to teach
it to her five daughters and the members of her community. (ncca.gov.ph)

AMBALANG AUSALIN
Occupation: Textile Weaver
Cultural Community: Yakan
Place of Origin: Lamitan City, Basilan
Year Awarded: 2016
Ambalang Ausalin has earned the respect of her community by demonstrating mastery of the different
Yakan tennun or weaving techniques. Hailing from a family of weavers who created textiles for Yakan families of
consequence, she acquired at a young age the ability for fashioning the minutest details of the most intricate designs
of her community’s textile tradition. She learned by imitating and observing her mother, also a weaving doyen. In
turn, Ambalang Ausalin ensures that the tradition is kept alive by bequeathing her knowledge and passing on her
skills to younger Yakan weavers. (ncca.gov.ph)

oOo

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