YABING

MASALON
DULO
Submitted by:
Felipe, Cindy S.
Ulanday, Ann Gel A.
12 - ABM
Objectives:
1. To acknowledge the works and talent of our GAMABA Artist.
2. To raise awareness about the iconic Blaan Tabih
3. To describe, analyze, and interpret the artwork of Yabing Masalon Dulo

YABING MASALON DULO

 Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (2016)

 Ikat Weaver
 August, 1914 – Brgy. Landan Polomolok, South Cotabato
 Expert on embroidery.
 Makes her own Blaan costumes.
 Served as the Cultural for the Blaan weaving school of Living Tradition Project 2005.
 She is also known as Fu Yabing. *Fu is a term of endearment for an old woman – lola to the
Tagalogs, babu to the Magindanaoan.
 She was only 14 years old when she began weaving.
 Photos of the Presidential Proclamation courtesy of Leonardo Rey S. Cariño "Bing" who nominated
Bai Yabing Dulo.

 Fu Yabing Dulo is one

of the two master designers left of the Blaan mabal tabih – the art
of ikat weaving.
 Tabih is a Blaan word for the finished hand woven cloth members of the tribe wear as traditional
tubular skirts for women and pants or short trousers for men.
 Blaan men also use the tabih for their vests and coats.
 Tabihs are works of art. A single piece of the cloth will take months to finish – from cutting the
abaca plant, stripping and drying its fiber, dyeing, looming and weaving then pressing and
softening the finished fabric.
 While the preparation of the loom is communal and collective, designing the tabih is an
individual work done only by the masters of the Mabal craft.

Tubular skirts for women

Vest
WORKS

 Tabih Fule is what its name literally translate: red (fule) is the dominant color; bands of black
and white carrying the crocodile motif patterns breaks the bands of red stripes carrying triangular
patterns representing beads of rice and mountains.

 Tabih Amlato is strictly black dyed and natural undyed abaca. its a panel of a varied composition
of Kumang (hook) motif arranged in triangles that morphs into a Crocodile or a family of
crocodiles straddling one on top of another, diminishing in size. “Amlato" means (a bundle count
of) "a hundred" articulating that weaving for the Blaans is math and method. The Amlato is the
most prized tabih as it requires the mastery of continuous design.

 Tabih Gnandong is a gorgeous combination of the fule and the Amlato. Flat as textile or in the
loom its assymetrical; but sewn into a dafeng (tube skirt) it sports a wide Amlato-like central
panel. Again with the requisite crocodile motif patterning.
  The tabih aftarang is a "minor“ amlato. Almost a amlato, only that it has an edging of narrow
strips of red ikat work on both sides.

YABING MASALON DULO participated in the following Events:

1. WOW Mindanao 2004 Tourism Expo held at Davao City wherein she was one of the featured cultural
weavers for 1 month.
2. The 2nd ASEAN Traditional Textile Symposium held in Manila last February 1-2, 2009 hosted by the
National Museum of the Philippines and the Museum Foundation of the Philippines.
3. Participation to at least 3 consecutive years of the MunaTo Festival of Sarangani featuring the Blaan
Mabal Weaving and Blaan Dance.
4. Honored by the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Colleges - Blaan Studies Center as 'Kanfulung Bai" in
2015 as an academic recognition of her artistic excellence for preserving the Blaan cultural materials from
her weaving, to embroidery, and basketry.

REFERENCES
“Blaans for Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan” Retrieved from: https://blaansforgamaba.weebly.com/mabal-
tabihikat-weaving.html
Roces, Marian Pastor. Sinaunang Habi Philippne Ancestral Weaves. Manila: Nikki Coseteng Filipiniana
Series, 1991.
Ordona, A. Dreaming the Weave, Weaving the Dream, 2019
 REFLECTION

A self-assessment is having the ability to recognize one’s own strengths and weaknesses. It seems
that my strengths and weaknesses are one and the same, the same issue that make me strong also is the
one I need the most work on. Time management and my individual learning style are issues that I
personally need to strengthen and even talking in public or reporting in class. While they have gotten me
thus far, there is always room for self-improvement. Time management is very important for many
people. I personally take on many responsibilities and so time management is essential. I sometimes wait
until the last possible minute to complete a task, but for mostly I get them complete on time. Just like our
reporting, we only have eighteen minutes to present. I was looking for my flashdrive and I was panicking
that time, I thought I lost it. It takes minutes when found it but still, we finished it on time. I learned that,
Managing time is illusive, sometimes the more we pay attention to it the more it slips away, the more we
ignore it sometimes the more we actually have “control” over. It is the worry rule; the more we worry
about managing time the more likely we are to not accomplish our goals in that area. The videos we
supposed to present we're not playing. I thought it is going to play even we do not have the copy of the
video but it's not. Well, I don't know that. Acceptance is something that is learned not automatic and is
often difficult to understand. can. I feel I am a resilient learner, because even if we didn’t have the best
presentation, I will to go back or revisit it with a positive outlook. Because I believe that the simple act of
accepting can be the most rewarding feeling after it happens but takes time to work out those feelings. In
this, I have learned that when you accept something you also have to trust and understand that what you
are accepting holds true to what you value and what you wish to see, which makes the process a lot longer
than anticipated. Throughout this activity, I have gradually developed strength and confidence in all the
transferable skills, such as talking in front of many people , time management, effective learning, and
teamwork.

- Cindy S. Felipe

Yabing Masalon Dulo is a Blaan weaver from South Cotabato. The way she preserves the Blaan
weaving tradition in their community, and the way she inspire other people to be engaged in Blaan weaving
makes her unique and deserving for the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Award. Actually, it is my first time
knwing them because I have no idea who are the GAMABA Artists and what are their artworks but through
this activity, I discovered and learned many new things from our artist as well as my classmates’ reports
about their artist. This activity (reporting) have encouraged me to embrace our own traditional and cultural
heritage. And especially, the artists inspired me to be more hardworking and persistent, and to be passionate
in what I do.
- Ann Gel A. Ulanday

GENERALIZATION

No wonder the artists are labelled as National Living Treasures. We admire their persistence and
hard work in making and doing their expertise that is usually takes up to three to five months to finish and
their efforts to teach their artwork to the younger generations. Every time we see the works of Yabing
Masalon Dulo and the other artists, our reaction was always like, “wow, ang galing!” they really have the
what we call “pure, unique talent.” It feels good that we were given opportunity to present and report about
the GAMABA Artist because we just discovered new talents, works and expertise. I also admire their
passion and dedication in their work. It fascinates me that there are people like them who continue to
remember the arts taught to them by their ancestors and how they inspire other people to continue loving
and preserving our indigenous arts.