MGA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN

Prepared by:
Lovely Y. Gonzales
Contemporary Arts Teacher
- Poet, Hanuno Mangyan
Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro
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.
Ambahan has remained in existence today chiefly
because it is etched on bamboo tubes using ancient
Southeast Asian, pre-colonial script called Surat
Mangyan.
-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.
-most treasured of his collection are those inherited
from his father and grandfather, sources of
inspiration and guidance for his creative endeavors.
- Ginaw shares old and new ambahans with his
fellow Mangyans and promotes this poetic form in
every occasion.
- Musician and Storyteller
Brookes Point, Palawan
Batak And Tagbanwa – major indigenous cultural
communities of Palawan.
The Palawan has no notion of property. To them, the
earth, sea, sky, and nature’s elements belong to no
one. Their basic social ethic is one sharing.
Their most important rituals such as the tambilaw
and the tinapay are forms of vast and lavish
sharing, particularly of food and drinks, skills and
ideas.
Tambilaw is a collective cooking and sharing of
rice which is a ritual offering to the Lord of Rice,
Ampo’t Paray.
Tinapay is the rice wine drinking ceremony.
It is during such occasions that the basal, or gong
music ensemble, plays a vital role in the life of the
community. For it is the music of the basal that
collectively and spiritually connects the Palawan
with the Great Lord, Ampo and the Master of Rice,
Ampo’t Paray.
Kolon banwa (big house) place where they gather,
100 hundred guests.
Gimbal (tubular drum)
-begins the music with a basic rhythm, then enter the
sanang (a pair of small gongs with the boss and
narrow rims)and one to three agungs (gongs with
high bossed and wide turned-in rims).
Basal ensemble playing is an accurate and wonderful
metaphor for the basic custom of sharing among the
Palawan. For in this music no one instrument
predominates.
The two sanang play in alternative dynamics. When
one plays loudly, the other plays softly.
It is the music of “punctuation, rhythm, and color
rather than melody.”
Its very essence is creative cooperation and
togetherness.
A non-musical instrumental music of the basal is the young
women’s rapid stamping rhythm of their foot as they move
back and forth on the bamboo slatted floor of the kolon
banwa, carrying taro leaves on both hands at their sides.
This percussion dance is called tarak.
Kulilal – a highly lyrical poem expressing passionate
love sang with the accompaniment of the kusyapi
(two-stringed lute), played by a man, and pagang
(bamboo zither), played by a woman.
The bagit, also played on the kusyapi, is strictly
instrumental music depicting the rhythms,
movements, and sounds of nature, birds,
monkeys, snakes, chirping of insects, the rustling
of leaves, the elements and the like.
- Masino is an outstanding master of the basal,
kulilal and bagit,a gifted poet, bard artist, and
musician.
-Masino is not only well-versed in the instruments and
traditions of the basal, kulilal, and bagit but also plays the
aroding (mouth harp) and babarak (ring flute) and above all
is a prolific and pro-eminent epic chanter and story teller.
-he has the creative memory, endurance, clarity of intellect
and spiritual purpose that enable him to chant all through
night, for successive nights, countless tultul (epics),
sudsungit (narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin and
teachings of ancestors).
Basal Aroding Babarak
- Musician
Maguindanao Mamasa Pano, Maguindanao.
Maguindanaon, largest of Filipino Islamic groups.
Highly sophisticated in weaving, okir designs, jewelry,
metalwork, and brassware, their art is Southeast Asian yet
distinct in character.
Their masters on the kulintang (gong-chime) and kutyapi
(two-stringed plucked lute) are comparable to any
instrumentl virtuoso in the east or west.
The kutyapi is a favorite solo instrument among
both Muslim and non-Muslim Filipinos, and is also
played in combination with other instruments.
It exists in a great variety of designs, shapes, and
sizes and known by such names as kotapi,
fegereng, faglong, hegelong, and kuglong or
kudlong.
The Maguindanao kutyapi is one of the most technically
demanding and difficult to master among the Filipino
traditional instruments, which is one reason why the
younger generation is not to keen to learn it.
Music is rich in melodic and rhythmic invention explores a
wide range of timbres and sound phenomena- both human
and natural, possesses a subtle and variable tuning system,
and is deeply poetic in inspiration.
Though it is the kulintang that is most popular
among the maguindanaon, it is the kutyapi that
captivates with its intimate, meditative, almost
mystical charm.
It retains a delicate, quiet temper even at its most
celebrative and ebullient mood.
- Samaon Sulaiman has achieved the highest level
of excellence in the art of kutyapi playing.
-His extensive repertoire of dinalayday, 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
his hometown, deeply influencing the other acknowledged
experts in kutyapi in the area.
-Aside from kutyapi, Samaon is also proficient in
kulintang agong, gandingan, palendag and tambul.
-Samaon is a popular barber in his community and
serves as an Imam in the Libutan mosque.
Lang Dulay (+2015)
Textile Weaver
T’boli
Lake Sebu,South
Cotabato
- T’bolis 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.
- T’boli women are required to help out in the
fields to augment the family income.
It is only after the farm work is done that the
weaver can sit down to her designs.
Also, due to the peculiarity of the fiber, of its
getting brittle under the noon day sun, working on
it is preferred during the cool evenings or early
morn.
- 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.
-Before the 1960’s, the T’boli bartered t’nalak for
horses, which played an important role in their
work.
- 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 pattern, the chromatic integrity of
the dye, and the consistency of the finish.”
- Salinta Monon had watched her mother’s nimble
hands glide over the loom, weaving traditional
Bagobo textiles since she was born.
- At the age of 12 she presented herself to her
mother, to be taught how to weave herself.
- 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. At the age of 65, she can identify the
design as well as the author of a woven piece just
by a glance.
- She and her sister are the only remaining Bagobo
weavers in her community.
- Salinta has built a solid reputation for the quality
of her work and the intricacies of her design.
- It takes her 3 to 4 months to finish a fabric 3.5 m x 42 cm
in length, or one abaca tube skirt per month.
- Of the many designs she weaves, her favorite is the
binuwaya (crocodile), which is one of the hardest to make.
- 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.
- Musician and Dancer
- A Kalinga master of dance and the performing arts, he has
made it his mission to create and nurture a greater
consciousness and appreciation of Kalinga culture, among the
Kalinga themselves and beyond their borders.
- As a young boy, he found endless fascination in the sights
and sounds of day-to-day village life and ritual.
- He received no formal instruction in the performing arts.
- 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.
- This passion he clearly intends to pass on to the other
members of his community, particularly to the younger
generation which, he denotes, needs to understand and value
the nuances of their traditional law and beliefs.
- 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.
- He revived the dying craft of Kalinga gong or the gangsa.
- He lobbied for 2 years with the provincial government to
grant funds to convert the abandoned Capitol Building into a
museum. The Lubuagan branch of the National Museum
was established.
- His campaigns have brought him to schools where
he discusses various issues with administrators. One
striking result of this these efforts is the children’s
practice of donning the Kalinga costume for important
school events such as graduation and first
communion.
- To celebrate indigenous values, he puts up skits and
other creative presentations in various schools.
- Epic Chanter, Sulud Bukidnon
- His own love for his people’s folklore began when
he was a small child.
- His fascination naturally grew into a desire to
learn to chant the epics himself.
- He continued the tradition, collaborating with
researchers to document what is customarily
referred to as Humadapnon and Labaw Dunggon
epics.
- He works with the Bureau of non-formal
education, traveling from barangay to barangay,
trying to convince the older folk of the necessity and
benefits of learning to read and write.
- Musician, Basilan
- A Yakan, to whom instrumental music is of much
significance, connected as it is with both the
agricultural cycle and the social realm.
Kwintangan Kayu- an instrument consisting
of five wooden logs hung horizontally, from the
shortest to the longest, with the shortest being
nearest to the ground.
-played to serenade the palay, as a lover woos his
beloved. Its resonance is believed to gently caress the
plants, rousing them from their deep sleep,
encouraging them to grow and yield more fruit.
- 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 to play the
different yakan instruments, as these were part of the legacy
of his ancestors. Not all yakan children have such privilege.
- Maintaining the instruments is very expensive work and
sadly, there is always the temptation
presented by antique dealers and other collectors who rarely,
if at all, appreciate
the history embodied in these artifacts.
- From the gabbang, a bamboo xylophone, his skills
gradually allowed him to progress to the agung, the
kwintangan kayu, and later the other instruments.
-Yakan tradition sets the kwintangan, as a woman’s
instrumentand the agung, a man’s.
- By the age of 20, he had mastered the most
important of the Yakan musical instruments, the
kwintangan among them.
- With missionary fervor, he strives to pass on his
knowledge to others. His own experience serves as a
guide.
- He believes it is best for children to commence
training young when interest is at its peak and
flexibility of the hands and wrists are 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.
- Many of his onetime apprentices have come into
their own have gained individual renown in the
Yakan community. He declares, with great pride,
that they are frequently invited to perform during
the many rituals and festivals that mark the
community calendar.
- Textile weaver, Tausug, Parang, Sulu
- In Parang, women weavers are hard at work weaving the
pis syabit, the traditional cloth tapestry worn as head
covering by the Tausug of Jolo.
- Darhata Sawabi is one of those who took the art of
pis yabit making to heart.
- She has never married. 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 3 months to weave, brings her
about ₱2,000.
- 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.
- Her own community of weavers recognizes her
expertise in the craft, her bold contrasting colors,
evenness of her weave and her faithfulness to
traditional designs.
- 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 ₱300.
- 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.
- Metalsmith, Kapampangan, Apalit Pampanga.
- An artist who has dedicated his life to creating
religious and secular art in silver, bronze and wood.
- For an artist whose work graces cathedrals and
churches, Mutuc works in humble surroundings. His
studio occupies a corner of his yard and shares space
with a tailoring shop.
- He discovered his talents in sculpture and metalwork quite
late. He was 29 when he decided to supplement his income
from farming for the relatively more secure job of
woodcarving.
- He spent his first years as an apprentice to carvers of
household furnitures.
- 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 ₱3.00 didn’t go far to support
his wife and the first 3 of 9 children. (0ne
of whom has already died), choices were limited
for a man who only finished elementary school.
- Things began to change after his 5th or 6th 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 derives inspiration from traditional religious
designs and infuses his own ideas into the finished
product.
- Mat Weaver, Sama, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
- Recognized as the master mat weaver among the
Sama indigenous community of Ungos Matata.
- Her colorful mats with their complex geometric
patterns exhibit her precise sense of design, proportion
and symmetry and sensitivity to color.
- Her functional and artistic creations take up to 3
months to make.
- 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 8 colors at a time. Her
complicated designs gain power from the interplay of
various shades.
- According to Haja Amina, what is more difficult
than the mixing of the colors is the visualization and
execution of the design itself.
- Casque Maker, Ilocano, San Quintin, Abra
- Each time Teofilio Garcia leaves his farm in san
Quintin, Abra, he makes it to a point to wear a
tabungaw.
- With the proper care, a well-made tabungaw can
last up to three to four generations, and the ones
created by Teofilo are among the best thereare.
- 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, he is
still principally a farmer.
- It takes at least 7 days to finish one tabungaw,
assuming that all the materials are available.
- He uses only simple hand tools that he designed
himself and he is involved in each stage of the
production.
- Textile Weaver, Ilocano, Pinili, Ilocos Norte
- 2012 Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee, Magdalena
Gamayo still owes a lot to the land and the annual harvest.
- Despite her status as a master weaver, weaving alone is not
enough.
- 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.
FIN