The Gentle Tausug and Noble

Modernist
He is the first Muslim recipient of the
Philippine National Artist Award – a sculptor
and painter who fused traditional Islamic
design with Modernist patterns to result in
vivid works that yearn for local color and the
dream of a unified nation, died peacefully in
his sleep last December 16 at his house in
Marikina City. He was 78 years old.
Abdulmari Asia Imao was born to an impoverished
Tausug couple in Siasi, Sulu on January 14, 1936.
Originally surnamed as Allih, after his Arabian
forebears which originated from the Medina, Red
Sea coast sometime in the 19th Century, Mari was
renamed Asia Imao on his mother’s side after his
mother consulted an imam when a domestic tragedy
left two of his sisters dead.
 Through his works, the Muslim motifs such as the ukkil, the sarimanok, and the naga became popular
not only in the Philippines but in other parts of the world as a symbol of the country.
Asked why his design motif recently changed from sarimanok to sarifish, he said, “Isa lang naman yan
halos,” explaining that traditionally, the sarimanok is always carrying a fish in its mouth.
The sarifish also reminded the elder Imao of his younger days when he worked for five years as a
isherman in his hometown.
He felt there was no future for him there, an island separated from Sulu proper. “May ambisyon ako kaya
umalis ako,” he said. He went to live with his aunt who owned a sari-sari store in another town.
“Nagtitinda ako ng popsicle, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola,” he said. “Nagkargador din ako sa pier, bente-
singko isang biyahe.”
He used his earnings to watch movies, which became a lifelong hobby. (Toym said sometimes their dad
would be unreachable by phone for hours and they would only learn later on that he was at the cinema.)
Around the time that he was doing odd jobs in Sulu, an art exhibit was mounted by the local government.
t was Imao's first time to see large works of art.
The exhibit's curator noticed that he was going to the venue every day, observing the art carefully. He
ater learned that the young visitor had a talent for drawing and encouraged him to study in Manila.
mao said he had hoped to receive a scholarship from Malacañang, but he did not get one. (At Imao's
state necrological service, a family friend recalled how he collapsed while waiting in line at the Palace.)