7 minute read
ARTS
ARTS Indigenous Philippines people weave by dreams
by Carlito Pablo
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In the mountains of the southern Philippines lives an Indigenous community with a unique weaving tradition.
A spirit called Fu Dalu is believed to inspire the design of the tnalak (also spelled t’nalak and tinalak), a hand-woven cloth both native to and sacred to the Tboli (T’boli, Tiboli).
Fu Dalu is the goddess of the abaca plant, whose fibres are used for the tricolour fabric. She supposedly enters the dreams of Tboli women. These women are called “dreamweavers”.
One of these dreamweavers is Barbara Ofong, whose story is told in a new book by Vancouver author Sandie Oreta Gillis.
“Barbara was fifteen when she first encountered Fu Dalu in a dream,” Gillis writes in Weaving Our Dreams: The Tboli People of the Philippines (FriesenPress).
Fu Dalu not only communicates with Ofong through the Tboli woman’s dreams—she guides her with the design of her tnalak. “In her dream, Fu Dalu sometimes takes on the form of a lizard, frog or snake. Barbara will incorporate the skin pattern of the animal into the design of the tnalak. Sometimes Fu Dalu takes on the form of a person in the dream.”
Gillis related that making a tnalak is a lengthy process, sometimes taking up to three or four months to finish a six-metrelong piece of fabric.
“When the weaving process runs smoothly in every step, Barbara knows her spirit guide has helped her,” the Vancouver author writes.
The Tbolis consider the uplands of South Cotabato, a province in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao, as their traditional territory. They are known for their colourful costumes, as well as for original music and metalwork.
Gillis became interested about the Tbolis from her conversations with Francis Herradura, a Surrey artist who has visited the community. Herradura would later design and illustrate the book.
In a phone interview, Gillis said that she wants to share the story of the Tbolis through their art. “Art brings us all together,” Gillis told the Straight.
The author explained that art provides a bridge among different peoples. “When we understand the art of another, we also get to know each other more,” she said.
Gillis was born and raised in the Philippines. She moved to Canada in 1983 and has remained connected with her heritage. Herradura also hails from the Philippines. The two met when Herradura joined Dimasalang III International Artist Group, a Filipino artists’ group in Vancouver that includes Gillis.
In 2021, Gillis and Herradura founded the Narragila Culture and Arts Foundation in Vancouver. The nonprofit’s name combines narra, the national tree of the Philippines, and agila, the Philippine eagle. “Diverse cultures offer distinct creative expressions seen in their art and daily way of life,” Narragila states on its website. “Learning and appreciating different cultures and traditions through their art forms broaden our understanding of societies and of people. By celebrating each other’s uniqueness, we foster a sense of belonging and a sense of pride.”
In the interview, Gillis said that while writing the book, she often thought of her nieces who were born in Canada.
“I hope to make them proud of their Filipino heritage too,” Gillis said.
Weaving Our Dreams: The Tboli People of the Philippines also features Maria Todi, a Tboli musician who has established a cultural centre called Lake Sebu School of Living Traditions in the Philippines to pre serve the community’s traditions. g -
Sandie Oreta Gillis has written a book about “dreamweavers” in the southern Philippines.
MUSIC Chaka Khan was raised in a musical household
by Steve Newton
Early in her career, star vocalist Chaka Khan had to fight many battles in the male-dominated music industry, but her latest single, “Woman Like Me”, is all about female empowerment.
On the phone from her home in Santa Monica, Chaka Khan ponders the question of when she first discovered her love of music. It doesn’t take her long to decide that she can’t remember, exactly.
“I must have been born with that,” she says. “I think I’ve always had it, uh-hmm.”
Anyone who’s heard Khan sing— whether with her ’70s funk band Rufus or as a multiplatinum solo artist in the ’80s— would likely agree that she must have entered this world with a God-given gift. It didn’t hurt that she was heavily influenced early on by the likes of Aretha Franklin.
“She was one of the many singers that influenced me,” Khan points out. “My mother and father were very well versed in their music stuff, and they both loved a lot of different genres of music, and I heard everything from opera to, you name it, to jazz. And [Peruvian soprano] Yma Sumac—you probably don’t even know who she is. Bird lady,” she adds with a laugh. “I heard a lot of amazing artists from my mother and father ‘cause I was born into that.
“And we’d always sing together,” she says. “What I recall about that is we would all be cleaning up the house on Saturday afternoons—everyone had a chore—and they’d put on something. My father loved jazz— Ella, Billie, Sarah, whatever, Nat, whoever— and my mother put on some opera singers, and she put on some jazz, too. And then somebody would put on some funk, and rock. I listened to everything. And we all used to sing together and clean up.”
Over the course of her musical career, Khan has received 10 Grammy awards and sold an estimated 70 million albums worldwide. So what would she say is the most important quality about herself
– Chaka Khan
that has led to that success?
“Oh, I’m sure it took more than one quality,” she replies. “Ya gotta really have intuitiveness in your decisions, and you have to follow your heart, and you gotta trust that. You know, my coming of age in my career, for the most part, was really motivated by men—I mean, more men than women— and so I had to fight through a lot of psychological, musical, and physical battles with men, you know, in order to sustain.”
That theme of female empowerment comes through loud and clear on Khan’s latest single, “Woman Like Me”, which was released just last month. “She’s more than a body, more than an ass in some jeans let’s be clear,” Khan sings in the opening verse. “More than her makeup, more than the lace front that she chose to wear/She is your sister, she is your mother, your daughter, your girl/Better remember, it was the woman who brought you in this world.”
Khan says she hopes to have “Woman Like Me” included in her set by the time she plays her upcoming Labour Day show in Vancouver. The fact that her concert is a double bill with fellow American soul crooner Patti LaBelle might make you think the two will perform a song or two together, but that ain’t gonna happen.
“I don’t do anything with Patti LaBelle,” Khan confirms. “She has her show; I have my show. I mean, what would we sing together? It’s like, ‘What would that sound like?’ I don’t think we’ve ever sung together, that I can recall.”
A quick YouTube search for “Patti LaBelle and Chaka Khan” easily unearths a 2016 clip of the two performing Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” together, which, clearly, wasn’t a memorable highlight of Khan’s career. But the nixing of any possibility of a Khan/ LaBelle duet happening isn’t all that hard to take knowing that Khan’s set will include such funky Rufus gems as “Ain’t Nobody”, “Tell Me Something Good”, and “Do You Love What You Feel”. She says it’s “the old standbys” that go over best at her shows.
“We do ‘Do You Love What You Feel’ as our opening,” she says, “and people are still there for that. I got, like, five generations of music, easily, in my set, and I see five generations of people in the audience, which is amazing. I’m so blessed, and that is such a blessing to see that. I mean, if I didn’t have to sing, I’d be happy to just come and show up and look at ’em.” g
Chaka Khan performs on a bill with Patti Labelle at the PNE Amphitheatre on September 5 as part of the PNE Summer Night Concerts series.
WORLD PREMIERE WORLD PREMIERE “TAKE THIS WALTZ” “TAKE THIS WALTZ” NE.SANS OPERA & DANCE CANADA/ISRAELNE.SANS OPERA & DANCE CANADA/ISRAEL
SEPTEMBER 10 & 11 SEPTEMBER 10 & 11
CELEBRATING THE LEGENDARY LEONARD COHEN CELEBRATING THE LEGENDARY LEONARD COHEN
Performers: Daniel Okulitch, Ted Littlemore. Stage Director: Idan Cohen. Photographer: Victoria Bell.Performers: Daniel Okulitch, Ted Littlemore. Stage Director: Idan Cohen. Photographer: Victoria Bell.
