Issue No. 6
BALANGAY A publication of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
The Philippine Factsheet
Guardians of Cultural Heritage
National Living Treasures
Photos by Renato Rastrollo
Tales of adventure have always delighted children of all generations. The mythical creatures, brave men and women, and conquests for gold and other treasures have never failed to make kids wide-eyed with excitement. Aside from material treasures, there are also living treasures—the bearers of wisdom and guardians of tradition. Like all treasures, they are not easy to find. Since 1992, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, through the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Committee and a panel of experts, have crossed countless rivers and climbed many mountains to search for them. Since then, they have found thirteen of the finest traditional artists of the land who have passed their tests and are worthy to be called National Living Treasures or Manlilikha ng Bayan. They are Ginaw Bilog, Masino Intaray, Samaon Sulaiman, Lang Dulay, Salinta Monon, Alonzo Saclag, Federico Caballero, Uwang Ahadas, Darhata Sawabi, Eduardo Mutuc, Haja Amina Appi, Teofilo Garcia, and Magdalena Gamayo. The women awardees are all involved in mat and textile weaving. In contrast, the men’s crafts are varied. For example, Bilog and Caballero are into literature. Intaray, Sulaiman, and
Ahadas are into music. Saclag is into music and dance. Mutuc is into metalsmithing, and Garcia is into gourd casque making. To be conferred the National Living Treasure award, he or she must belong to a Philippine indigenous cultural community that has preserved indigenous customs, beliefs, rituals and tradtionals. He or she must have been engaged in a folk art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty years. He or she must have consistently performed or produced, over a significant period, works of superior and distinctive quality. He or she must possess a mastery of the tools and materials needed by the art or craft, and must have an established reputation as master or maker of works of extraordinary technical quality. He or she must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the community his or her skills. Each awardee receives a specially designed gold medallion, an initial grant and a monthly stipend for life. An additional monthly allowance has also been granted through a provision in the Manlilikha ng Bayan Act (Republic Act 7355). Like the National Artists, they are also entitled to medical and hospitalization benefits annually as well as funeral assistance/ Turn to page 2
Salinta Monon
Frederico Caballero
Alonzo Saclag Lang Dulay
Samaon Sulaiman
Darahata Sawabi
Masino Intaray
Eduardo Mutuc
Ginaw Bilog
Teofilo Garcia
Magdalena Gamayo
Haja Amina Appi
Uwang Ahadas
The tinalak of the Tiboli
What is Intangible Cultural Heritage? Intangible cultural heritage is the wealth of knowledge, traditions and living expressions that is passed on from one generation to another. It includes oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. The transmission of knowledge plays a significant role in a particular group; it contributes in giving them a sense of identity and continuity, a link from the past, present and the future. Source: UNESCO Cultural Sector, Intangible Heritage 2003 Convention
Guardians... From page 1 tribute. The award and its incentives come with great responsibility, though. As guardians of tradition, they have to teach the younger members of their communities their traditional folk arts. In effect, the National Living Treasures are the bridge between the past and the future. Also part of the duties of the Manlilikha ng Bayan is helping in the promotion of their traditional folk arts. This includes attendance in events sponsored by the NCCA such as celebrations of the National Arts Month, National Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples’ Month and other important national and regional cultural celebrations. They are also required to donate a sample or copy of their artwork to the National Museum. Presently, only seven of the thirteen National Living Treasures are still alive. They are Dulay, Saclag, Caballero, Ahadas, Mutuc, Garcia, and Gamayo. In spite of this, it is assured that the artforms that they have inherited from their forebears will live on in the younger members of their communities.
BALANGAY
Women and their Weaves Of the thirteen Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees, five of them are women. All of them are mat and textile weavers. Except for Magdalena Gamayo who lives in Ilocos Norte, all of them hail from Mindanao. Lang Dulay is a South Cotabato native while Salinta Monon lived in Davao del Sur. Darhata Sawabi came from Sulu while Haja Amina Appi came from the southernmost province, Tawi-Tawi. Using the pedal loom, Gamayo weaves the most intricate and the most colorful blankets, the finest example of Ilocos woven cloth or the inabel. Lang Dulay, the foremost so-called “dream weaver,” no longer weaves but is still the guiding spirit of the Manlilikha ng Bayan Center in Lake Sebu and the source of more than 100 designs of the tinalak, the abaca ikat cloth of the Tiboli, woven using the backstrap loom. Salinta passed away in 2009 but her mastery of the inabal, the Tagabawa Bagobo’s abaca ikat, using the backstrap loom, is unparalleled. With her keen eye for traditional designs, she used to identify the design as well as the weaver just by a glance. Sawabi was distinguished for her expertise, artistry and faithfulness in weaving the pis syabit, the traditional head covering of the Tausug. Appi who passed away last year was known as the master tepo (mat) weaver among the indigenous Sama community of Ungos Matata. Her passion for perfection was evident in the precision and uniqueness of her designs as well as her color sensitivity.
The Philippine Factsheet
Issue No. 6 2014
The balangay is an ancient Philippine edged-pegged plank boat. More than a mere boat, it was more like a vessel bearing a social unit, thus the term came to mean the smallest political unit in the Philippines. In the late 1970s, balangays were excavated in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, then considered the first wooden watercraft ever excavated in Southeast Asia. They are a testament to early Filipino craftsmanship and seamanship skills. Balangay: The Philippine Factsheet is a publication of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It comes with Agung, the NCCA newsletter, and is also given to educational institutions, libraries and the general public. Balangay: The Philippine Factsheet aims to be a vessel and conveyor of knowledge on Philippine culture. It also aims to broaden cultural literacy among our people and enhance their understanding of Philippine arts and culture.
PROF. FELIPE M. DE LEON, JR. Chairman ADELINA M. SUEMITH OIC-Executive Director MARLENE RUTH S. SANCHEZ, MNSA Deputy Executive Director
Rene Sanchez Napeñas Head, NCCA-PAIO/Editor Leonor Petra Elepaño Research Assistant Roel Hoang Manipon Managing Editor Grace Bengco Writer Mervin Concepcion Vergara Art Director Ryan C. Arengo Graphic Artist/Illustrator
When the Hat Maker Wears Another Hat Photos by Ed Enriquez
making alive, Teofilo the Tabungaw Maker was bestowed the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan on November 8, 2012. After two months, he entered into an agreement with the Department of Education, Division of Abra, to “develop and implement a training program that will revitalize and safeguard the tabungaw-making tradition in the community.” Thus, Teofilo the Tabungaw Maker has evolved into Teofilo the Teacher. For eight sessions, Teofilo the Teacher, led the Techno-Transfer Training Program at the San Quintin National High School. For four weeks, he taught
Students wear the tabungaw kattukong they made themselves during the 45th commencement exercises at the San Quintin National High School
Teofilo Garcia is first and foremost a farmer. He plants rice and tobacco, and takes care of cows. With these, he was able to send his five children to school. Whenever his land is not planted with his usual crops, he alternates it with upo (bottle gourd of the family Cucurbitaceae). It takes two months for the upo (tabungaw in Ilocano) to finally bear fruit that can be eaten and sold in the market. And it takes another three months for it to mature. Teofilo the Farmer transforms into Teofilo the Tabungaw Maker once the tabungaw matures. For at least seven days, he works on a hat using personally made indigenous tools. He cuts the gourd, removes the flesh, cleans the outer shell, refines the uway (rattan lining), weaves the puser (bamboo accent), and polishes and varnishes the finished product. For his efforts in keeping the traditional tabungaw
Students proudly wear the traditional Ilocano head gear
Grades 7 and 8, and third and fourth year students how to care for their crop (weed, cultivate the soil, water, harvest, and store), prepare the gourd hat, and weave. Teachers of the school help him out in this effort. On March 28, at seven in the evening, Teofilo the Teacher’s first students—the graduating class of San Quintin National High School—proudly wore the fruits of their labor.
National Living Treasure Awardees...
From page 4
Teofilo Garcia (Ilocano gourd casque maker from Abra) is a self-sustained traditional artist who produces everything in all the phases of his craft, from planting the raw materials to the finishing of the manufactured form. The result is the tabungaw—a masterful traditional art form of the finest quality, excellent craftsmanship and creative innovation. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2012. Magdalena Gamayo (Ilocano weaver from Ilocos Norte) is a talented weaver with modern sensibility. She has a wide range of designs carried out masterfully using rare techniques. Her work is refined and timeless, a testament to her skill and color sensitivity. She was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2012.
The National Living Treasure Awardees (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan) Photos by Renato Rastrollo
Because of their passion for their crafts and expertise, 13 individuals have been deemed worthy to be National Living Treasures.
Ginaw Bilog (Hanunoo Mangyan poet from Oriental Mindoro, died 2003) vigorously promoted the elegant poetic art of the surat Mangyan and the ambahan. He kept scores of ambahan poetry recorded for posterity. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993. Masino Intaray (Pala’wan musician and storyteller from Palawan, died 2013) is considered a traditional artist of the highest order of merit for being a gifted poet, bard and musician. He was a master of lyrical poems (kulilal, basal, and bagit), as well as in playing the instruments that accompany them. He was also a prolific epic chanter and storyteller. He was conferred the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993. Samaon Sulaiman (Magindanao musician from Maguindanao, died 2011) is distinguished for his excellence in playing the kutyapi, the most technically demanding and difficult to master among Filipino traditional instruments. He had an extensive repertoire which he interpreted with refinement and sensitivity, fully demonstrating the instrument. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993. Lang Dulay (Tiboli textile weaver from South Cotabato) traditionally weaves the tinalak of the Tiboli. She produces creations of high quality, displaying rich colors and fine workmanship. She knows a hundred designs, spun in textiles reflecting the wisdom and dreams of her people. She was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1998. Salinta Monon (Tagabawa Bagobo textile weaver from Davao del Sur, died 2009) fully demonstrated the creative and expressive aspects of the Bagobo abaca ikat weaving called inabal at a time when such art was threatened with extinction. She was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1998. Alonzo Saclag (Kalinga musician and dancer from Kalinga) is a master of Kalinga musical instruments as well as of dance patterns and movements associated with rituals. As a crusader for his culture, his dance troupe and performances foster pride in his community and in the new generation of Kalinga. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2000.
Federico Caballero (Panay Bukidnon chanter, from Iloilo) is distinguished for his mastery of chanting the sugidanon epic of the Panay Bukidnon and for his unceasing work in safeguarding it. His legacy is involving the community in the documentation of their oral tradition and through his performances that foster pride among the young people of Central Panay. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2000. Uwang Ahadas (Yakan musician from Basilan) is cited for his talent and expertise in playing various Yakan musical instruments and for sharing his knowledge to the young people of his community. He continues to perform and teach despite his dimming eyesight, keeping his musical tradition alive and flourishing. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2000. Darhata Sawabi (Tausug textile weaver from Sulu, died 2005) was hailed as an expert in weaving colourful squares of cloth used for the pis syabit and for adornment of the native attire, bags and accessories as well as in teaching the art to the younger generation. Her art was distinguished for its bold, contrasting colors, the evenness of the weave and faithfulness to traditional designs. She was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2004. Eduardo Mutuc (Pampangan metalsmith from Pampanga) is a master craftsman of religious and secular art in plated silver. His delicate craftsmanship and attention to detail are apparent from the smallest piece of metalcraft to the forty-foot retablos he produces. He was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2004. Haja Amina Appi (Sama mat weaver from Tawi-Tawi, died 2013) is distinguished for her precise sense of design, symmetry, and color harmony. From gathering and stripping the pandan (screwpine) to the weaving of her complicated designs, she displayed mastery and innate creativity. Her art continues to flourish in her female children and grandchildren who had taken up weaving under her patient and gentle tutelage. She was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2004.
Turn to page 3