GAWAD SA

MANLILIKHA NG
BAYAN
(GAMABA)AWARDEES
In April 1992, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the National Living Treasures
Award was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7355.  Tasked with the
administration and implementation of the Award is the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts, the highest policy-making and coordinating body for culture
and the arts of the State.  The NCCA, through the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan
Executive Council, conducts the search for the finest traditional artists of the 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 pride among
our people about the genius of the Manlilikha ng Bayan.
 .

The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan logo is a stylized representation of the human form used in
traditional cloth.  Below the motif is ‘Manlilikha ng Bayan’ written in ancient Filipino script
extensively used throughout the Philippines at the time of Western contact in the sixteenth century.
 WEAVING

 cloth and fabric 

styles are created. Weaving
can create durable fabrics like
satin and cotton that Weaving
is a way in which several
commonwe use every day.
DARHATA SAWABI (+ 2005)
Textile Weaver
Tausug
Parang, Sulu
2004

Darhata Sawabi is a Filipino weaver from Parang, Sulu known for pis syabit, a traditional Tausūg cloth tapestry

worn as a head covering by the people of Jolo. She is a recipient of the National Living Treasures Award, having
given the distinction in 2004. Pis refers to the geometric pattern that is said to be derived from the Indic mandala,
and siyabit stands for the hook and technique.
Unmarried, Sawabi does weaving as a means of livelihood since farming, a common source of income for
Parang families, is not sustainable for herself. Pis syabit weaving is a tedious work. It takes three days for the
warp alone to be made. By age 48, she employs the help of apprentice weavers and children in her work. In the
1970s, she has to moved residence at least twice due to the Moro conflict. Sawabi died on March 12, 2005,about
a year after she was given the National Living Treasures Award.
PIS SYABIT CLOTH
PIS SYABIT CLOTH
 HAJA AMINA APPI (+ 2013)
Mat Weaver
Sama
Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
2004

Haja Amina Appi (June 25, 1925-April 2, 2013) was a Filipino master mat weaver and teacher from the Sama
 indigenous people of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi. She was credited for creating colorful pandan mats with
complex geometric patterns. Her creations were acclaimed for their precise sense of design, proportion and symmetry,
and sensitivity to color.
She was given the National Living Treasures Award in 2004 by the Philippines through the 
National Commission for Culture and the Arts.[1]
Haja Appi was known for creating finely woven mats with highly intricate designs. An older tradition produced Sama
mats in plain white. However, Haja Appi experimented with dyes for her designs, mixing her own dyes to create striking
designs for her mats.
The entire process of creating mats is handed down exclusively among women among the Sama of Tawi-
Tawi.Traditionally it was passed down from mother to daughter. Haja Appi taught many young women in her community
the art of mat-making in order to preserve her art for future generations.
WEAVER MAT
LANG DULAY (+2015) 
Textile Weaver
T’boli
Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
1998

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.
She is known for maintaining the use of traditional motifs in T'nalak weaving amidst commercialization of the craft
which saw the introduction of more modern designs by non-T'bolis. She notably had a mental repertoire of
around 100 patterns and designs:some of these were based on her dreams, hence her description as a
"dreamweaver".
Lang Dulay set up the Manlilikha ng Bayan Center workshop in her hometown to promote the traditional art of
T'nalak weaving and by 2014, five of her grandchildren had become weavers. [
Lang Dulay fell into a coma in early 2015[3] and died on April 30 of the same year.
T BOLI TINALAK WEAVER
T BOLI TINALAK WEAVER
Salinta Monon (December 12, 1920
– June 4, 2009) was a Filipino textile
weaver who was the one of two
recipients of the 
National Living Treasures Award in
1998. She was known for her 
Bagobo-Tagabawa textiles and was
known as the "last Bagobo weaver".

 and grew up in Bituag, Bansalan in Davao del Sur and watched her mother weave ikat a

traditional abaca fabric when she was a child, She asked her mother how to use the loom at age
12 and learned how to weave within a few months.She weaves a design for three to four months.
In a month she can weave fabric which can be used for a single abaca tube skirt which measures
3.5 x 0.42 meters. Her favorite design is the binuwaya or crocodile which is said to be among the
most difficult to weave.
According to Cherry Quizon, an anthropologist based in New York, the origin of Monon's design
can be dated back as early as the 1910s.
Monon was awarded the National Living Treasures Award in 1998.[1] She died on June 4, 2009.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared a year-long celebration named "Centennial Year of Salinta
Monon" from December 12, 2021, in her honor.
TAGABANWA BAGOBO TRADITIONAL WEAVER CALLED INABAL
TAGABANWA BAGOBO TRADITIONAL WEAVER CALLED INABAL