THE CONTEMPORARY

IN TRADITIONAL ART:
GAWAD MANLILIKHA
NG BAYAN (GAMABA)
 LEARNING OBJECTIVE
To get to know the National Living
Treasures awardees of the Philippines and
how their exemplary works contributed to
the development and preservation of
indigenous art forms in the country
How does tradition become contemporary,
and the contemporary traditional?

• Philippine traditional art, though based on

long-standing, established practices, has
always been contemporary in a sense that
it is art that is being made now, and that it
persists as part of a continuing
performance of tradition.
What is the GAMABA?
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan. Award given
to people who produce art forms that are woven into
everyday life.

This is bestowed by The National Commission for

culture and the Arts (NCCA).

GAMABA recognize the outstanding work of artists in

the Philippines.
WHAT IS THE NATIONAL LIVING
TREASURES AWARD?
Known as the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in
the vernacular, this award recognizes Filipino artists
that have shown excellence in their mastery of
medium and technique, craftsmanship and
promotion of indigenous beliefs in their practice of
traditional and ethnic art forms in the Philippines
such as pottery, weaving, carving, etc.
The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan
or the National Living Treasures
Award gives recognition to Filipino
traditional craftsmen or artisans
whose skills have reached a high
level of technical and artistic
excellence and who are tasked to
pass on to the present generation
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 (NCCA), the highest
policy-making and coordinating body for
culture and the arts of the State.
The NCCA, through the Gawad sa Manlilikha
ng Bayan Committee and an Ad Hoc Panel of
Experts, 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.
As envisioned under R.A. 7355, “Manlilikha
ng Bayan” shall mean a citizen engaged in
any traditional art uniquely Filipino whose
distinctive skills have reached such a high
level of technical and artistic excellence and
have been passed on to and widely practiced
by the present generation in his/her
community with the same degree of technical
and artistic competence
 Who are the
GAMABA Awardees?
 GAMABA Awardees
1.Ginaw Bilog 9. Darhata Sawabi
2.Masino Intaray 10. Eduardo Mutuc
3. Samaon Sulaiman 11.Haja Amina Appi
4. Lang Dulay 12. Teofilo Garcia
5. Salinta Monon 13. Magdalena Gamayo
6. Alonzo Saclag 14. Ambalang Ausalin
7. Federico Caballero 15. Estelita Bantilan
8. Uwang Ahadas 16. Yabing Masalon
Dulo
WEAVING
 • Year of Conferment:
1998
• Ethnicity/Location:
T’boli/Lake Sebu,
South Cotabato,
Mindanao, Southern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Lang Dulay Tinalak weaving
• The T'bolis are known for
their use of abaca fibers in
textile weaving. Lang
Dulay continued this
tradition and preserved the
culture of their community
through patterns of
crocodiles, butterflies,
flowers, mountains, and
streams and of Lake Sebu
in her works.
• Died in 2015
 • Year of Conferment:
1998
• Ethnicity/Location:
Tagabawa/Bagobo,
Bansalan, Davao del Sur,
southeastern Mindanao
island, southern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Salinta Inabal weaving
• Salinta Monon started
learning weaving
traditional Bagobo
textiles from her
mother at the age of
12. Her family is
among the remaining
Bagobo weavers in
the community.
• Died in 2009
 • Year of Conferment:
2004
• Ethnicity/Location:
Tausug/Parang, Sulu,
southern Philippines
• Expertise:
Pis siyabit weaving

Darhata
Sawabi (d. 2005)
• Darhata Sawabi is one of
the master weavers in the
island of Jolo. Like most
women in their tribe, she
has learned the art of
weaving the pis syabit, the
traditional cloth tapestry
worn as head cover by the
Tausug of Jolo, from her
mother.
• Died in 2005
 • Year of Conferment:
2004
• Ethnicity/Location:
Sama/Tandubas, Tawi-
Tawi, southern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Mat weaving
Haja Amina
Appi (d. 2013)
• Haja Amina Appi is
recognized as the master
mat weaver among the
Sama indigenous
community of Ungos
Matata. Her mats are
known for their complex
geometric patters,
proportion, and unique
combination of colors.
• Died in 2013
 • Year of Conferment:
2012
• Ethnicity/Location:
Ilocano/Pinili, Ilocos
Norte, northern Luzon
island, northern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Inabel weaving
Magdalena
• In her profile, it was reported that
Magdalena has taught herself the
traditional patterns of binakol,
inuritan (geometric design), kusikos
(spiral forms similar to oranges),
and sinan-sabong (flowers). She
has learned the art of weaving from
her aunt and started harnessing
her innate skills at the age of 16.
She may be in her late 80s but she
still manages to arrange threads on
the loom, which is the hardest task
in textile weaving.
 • Year of Conferment:
2016
• Ethnicity/Location:
Yakan/Lamitan, Basilan
island, southern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Tapestry weaving
(Yakan Tennun)
Ambalang Ausalin
 The Yakan of Basilan are known to be among
the finest weavers in the Southern
Philippines.

 They create eye-catching and colorful textiles

with tiny motifs, and possess techniques
wielded only by seasoned weavers
accomplishing designs restricted for
utilization within a certain weaving category
only.
 She possesses the complex knowledge of the
entire weaving process, aware at the same time
of the cultural significance of each textile design
or category.

 Ambalang, like other Yakan weavers, uses the

back strap tension loom, which can be small or
large depending on the type of cloth or design to
be woven. This loom can be rolled, carried about,
and set up easily.
 Apuh Ambalang, as she is called by her community of
weavers, is highly esteemed in all of Lamitan.

 Her skill is deemed incomparable: she is able to bring

forth all designs and actualize all textile categories
typical to the Yakan.

 She can execute the suwah bekkat (cross-stitch-like

embellishment) and suwah pendan (embroidery-like
embellishment) techniques of the bunga
sama category.
 The word ‘tennun’ in Yakan generally means
woven cloth, and used in making the Yakan dress.
Yakan textiles are often mistakenly described as
‘embroidered’ by people not familiar with the
production process.

 There are different categories of a Yakan cloth.

Ambalang has mastered all these, although her
artistry and craftsmanship are best expressed in
the bunga sama, sinalu’an, and seputangan.
 The bunga sama is a design or category of weaving
with floral and bold designs. The cloth is usually
fashioned into upper wear and pants, though only for
the dress of a high status Yakan, specially the suwah
bekkat and the suwah pendan.

 Today, however, the bunga sama is commonly

produced and pressed to service as table runners,
placemats, wall decor, or doilies.

 Ambalang can easily identify the variety of motifs in this

category.
Her best work for this form of weaving is
always reflected in the bunga sama teed :
 peneh pitumpuh (cloth with seventy
designs)
 peneh kenna–kenna (fish-like design)
 peneh sawe–sawe (snake-like design)
 peneh dawen–dawen (folial design)
 peneh kule–kule (turtle-like design).
 She is also renowned for weaving the sinalu’an.
This is a design or category of weave with stripes
of the diamond twill technique.

 The finished cloth is traditionally sewn as

trousers as well as upper wear.

 Under this category, Ambalang is best identified

with the sinalu’an teed, the most complicated of
all Yakan woven textiles.
Seputangan
 This cloth is a meter square in size with
geometric designs, and is the most expensive
part of the Yakan female ensemble because of
its detailed design.

 This piece of cloth is folded and tied over

the olos inalaman or olos pinalantupan to tighten
the hold of the skirt around the waist. It may also
be worn as a head covering.
Seputangan
To this day, it is placed on the shoulders of brides
and grooms during weddings.
 pussuk labung(sawtooth)
 sipit–sipit or subid–subid (twill-like)
 dawen–dawen (leaf-like)
 harren–harren (staircases)
 kabban–buddi (diamonds/triangles)
 dinglu or mata(diamond/eye)
 buwani–buwani (honeycomb-like
 • Year of Conferment:
2016
• Ethnicity/Location:
B’laan/Malapatan,
Sarangani Province
Philippines
• Expertise:
Mat weaving
(B’laan Igem)
Estelita Bantilan
 Estelita Bantilan, 85 years old, is one of the
Philippine’s treasured national artists.

 She is a B’laan master banig (mat) weaver

from Upper Lasang, Sapo Masla, Malapatan,
Sarangani Province.

 recognized for her commitment

to the safeguarding and the promotion of of
the Blaan Igem (mat weaving) tradition
Nanay Estelita uses indigenous
materials found around the
area where she lives in making
banig. Buli, the main material
used for weaving, is harvested
from the many buli plants
scattered around her house.
The dyes used for coloring are
from plant and rock pigments,
which are harvested by her
husband from the nearby
forest.
 She has been making banig since she was 10 years
old.

 She learned how to weave banigs from her mother,

who also learned the skill from her own mother.

 In her old age, Estelita began to be called by a new

nickname, Princess. The term of endearment is spoken
with the lightness of heart; also with genuine respect,
especially from the other mat weavers of Upper
Lasang.
 • Year of Conferment:
2016
• Ethnicity/Location:
B’laan/Mount Matutum,
Polomolok, South
Cotabato, Philippines
Expertise:
Ikat weaving
(B’laan mabal tabih)
Yabing Masalon
Fu Yabing Dulo is one of the two master
designers left of the Blaan mabal tabih –
the art of ikat weaving.

Fu is a term of endearment for an old

woman – lola to the Tagalogs, babu to
the Magindanaoan.
 Unlike other traditional spinners, Blaans weavers
do not even have a spinning wheel. The strands
of the abaca fiber are joined together by hand –
patiently, with the same patience it takes to weave
a tabih.

 Tabihs are work of arts. A single piece of the cloth

will take months to finish – from cutting the abaca
plant, stripping and drying its fiber, dyeing,
looming and weaving then pressing and softening
the finished fabric.
 Mabal is the Blaan term for the
abaca weaving process.

 Tabih is the term for the finished hand woven

cloth and it also refers to the traditional Blaan
tubular skirt. Natural dyes from endemic plant
species in the community are the source of
colors for different designs of this indigenous
textile.
- Blaan Tabih: reserve dyeing (warp
– ikat); Weaving (plain);
Accessorizing (applique,
embroidery, added objects and
braiding/twining). - The Blaan
Tabih is a reserve-dyed plain
woven abaca."
Marian Pastor Roces, Sinaunang HABI Philippine Ancestral
Weave
Literature and
Performing
Arts
 • Year of Conferment:
1993
• Ethnicity/Location:
Hanunoo Mangyan/
Mansalay, Oriental
Mindoro, central
Philippines
• Expertise:
Ginaw Surat mangyan and
Bilog ambahan poetry
• Ginaw Bilog helped preserved the Mangyan
literary tradition by documenting the pieces of
ambahan recorded not only on bamboo tubes but
also on notebooks passed on to him.
• Ambahan is 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.
 • Year of Conferment:
1993
• Ethnicity/Location:
Brookes Point Palawan island ,
central Philippines
• Expertise:
Lyrical poems(kulilal, basal, and
bagit) and playing their
accompanying instruments; epic
chanting and storytelling
Masino
• Masino Intaray has mastered the traditions of his
people—the Palawan, Batak, and Tagbanwa in
the highlands of southern Palawan.
• He has the creative memory, endurance, clarity
of intellect and spiritual purpose that enable him
to chant all through the night, for successive
nights, countless tultul (epics), sudsungit
(narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin and
teachings of ancestors).
• Died in 2013
• Basal - gong music ensemble

• Kulilal - lyrical poem expressing passionate

love song with the accompaniment of the
kudyapi

• Bagit - instrumental music depicting nature

 • Year of Conferment:
1993
• Ethnicity/Location:
Maguindanao/Mama sa
Pano, western Mindanao
island, southern
Philippines
Samaon • Expertise:
Sulaiman Playing the kudyapi
• Samaon Sulaiman achieved the highest level of
excellence in the art of kutyapi playing. His extensive
repertoire of dinaladay, linapu, minuna, binalig, and
other forms and styles interpreted with refinement
and sensitivity fully demonstrate and creative and
expressive possibilities of his instrument.

• Samaon is also proficient in kulintang, agong

(suspended bossed gong with wide rim), gandingan
(bossed gong with narrow rim), palendag (lip-valley
flute), and tambul.
 • Year of Conferment:
2000
• Ethnicity/Location:
Kalinga/Lubuagan, Kalinga
northern Luzon island, northern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Playing Kalinga musical
instruments, dance patterns
and movements associated with
rituals
Alonzo
• Alonzo Saclag has worked for the preservation of
Kalinga culture. He lobbied that the abandoned
Capitol Building be turned into a museum, that schools
implement the practice of donning the Kalinga
costume for important events, and that traditional
Kalinga music should be broadcasted alongside
contemporary music in the local radio station.

• He also formed the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe to

guarantee that his knowledge in the performing arts is
passed on to others.
 • Year of Conferment:
2000
• Ethnicity/Location:
Sulod Bukidnon/ Calinog
Ilolo, Panay Island, central
Philippines
Expertise:
Chanting the sugidanon epic
of the Panay Bukidnon
Federico
• Federico Caballero, a Panay-Bukidnon from the
mountains of Central Panay, has worked hard to
document the oral literature of his people.

• Who is also called Nong Pedring learned about

epics from his mother and his grandmother,

• He has preserved the epics that use a language

that has long been dead by working together with
scholars, artists, and advocates of culture.
 • Year of Conferment:
2000
• Ethnicity/Location:
Yakan/Lamitan, Basilan
island, southern
Philippines
• Expertise:
Playing Yakan musical
Uwang instruments
• Uwang Ahadas has
made it his life's work
to preserve and
promote Yakan
culture through the
traditional music and
instruments of his
tribe. He has
mastered the
gabbang, the agung,
the kwintangan kayu,
and others.
Plastic Arts
 • Year of Conferment:
2004
• Ethnicity/Location:
Kapampangan/Apalit
Pampanga, central Luzon
island, northern Philippines
Expertise:
Silver plating of religious and
secular art
Eduardo
• Eduardo Mutuc dedicated his life in sculpting
retablos, mirrors, altars, and carosas from silver,
bronze, and wood.

• Some of his works can exceed 40 feet while the

others feature smaller size and delicate
craftmanship.

• According to him, craftsmanship begins with

respect for one’s tools and the medium.
• The first thing he teaches his students is how to
hold the chisel and hammer properly to promote
ease of use and prevent fatigue and mistakes
because of improper handling.

• He also cautions against working with an eye

towards easy money. The only way to improve
one’s skills, he says, is to immerse oneself, learn
the technique, and to practice.
 • Year of Conferment:
2012
• Ethnicity/Location:
Ilocano/ San Quintin, Abra,
northern Luzon island,
northern Philippines
• Expertise:
Gourd casque making
Teofilo Garcia
TEOFILO GARCIA
• National Living Treasure Awardee,
2012 (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan)
• Farmer in the town of San Quintin, a
municipality in Abra Province
• Better known for tending a plot of
land filed with enlarge upo or gourd
• The tabungaw hat maker of San
Quintin
• Teofilo learned how to make gourd casques
and weave baskets from his grandfather at the
age of 16. Since he learned the craft, he never
stopped experimenting with other designs.

• He previously used nito (vine trimmings) to

decorate the headgear and then used with
other materials such as bamboo after his
supplier from Cagayan passed away.
 TEOFILO GARCIA
• His artistic rendering of a functional object,
dedication to craft, and commitment to the
community make him bearer of culture.
• He initiated training for students at San Quintin
National High School to pass the knowledge of
tabungaw hat making, inspiring the youth to value
the tradition and ensure it upskeep.
The Art of Tabungaw Hat Making
• The hat called a Kattukong is weatherproof and made
from Upo (tagalog) or Tabungaw (Ilocano), also known as
Bottle Gourd or White Pumpkin.
• Each December the seeds are planted and three
to four months later in March the crop is
harvested and brought down to his workshop to
be cured and dried. The gourds are cut open using
a hand saw and the two halves placed on
the ground by his house.
The Art of Tabungaw Hat Making
• They are left there for about a month while
nature takes over. Ants are attracted to the
rotting pulp and help to clean the insides
leaving the case empty. 
• It is then finished by hand and left to dry
completely.
• Only the upper half is used to make the
Tabungaw. The bottom half can be used around
The Art of Tabungaw Hat Making
• After drying, the Tabungaw is then coloured
and varnished. Any blemishes in the gourd
are left in place and not hidden, adding to
its attractive look.
The most time consuming and skillful part
comes next. That is the weaving of the
bamboo inner casing and lining.The woven
interior is made of anahaw,  nipa,  bamboo,
The Art of Tabungaw Hat Making
• After drying, the Tabungaw is then coloured
and varnished. Any blemishes in the gourd
are left in place and not hidden, adding to
its attractive look.
The most time consuming and skillful part
comes next. That is the weaving of the
bamboo inner casing and lining.The woven
interior is made of anahaw,  nipa,  bamboo,
Tabungaw Hat
• The process of making the tabungaw hats
involves the interface of local scientific
knowledge and art.
• Prior to crafting the hat, the growth of
enlarged tabungaw is made possible
through techniques that manage the
interplay of seed, earth, and forces within a
particular duration.
The Production
Process
and
The Changing
Environment
• The traditional artist’s mode of production
continues to be affected with the dynamics of
Change.
• Environmental degradation ushered in by
calamities, modernization, and capitalistic
endeavors displace the indigenous peoples from
their ancestral land.
• As their home base, it is considered of paramount
importance-that is where resources are gathered
and shared, and where culture is performed.
THE FOLLOWING FACTORS AFFECT
THE TRADITIONAL ARTIST’S
PRODUCTION PROCESS
•Tourism
•Mining and Infrastructure projects
•Militarization
•Christianization
 TOURISM
• Land areas are converted into sites for tourist
consumption.
• Ecological domains become more susceptible to
damage with the combined forces of natural
disasters and tourist mobility.
• Dances and rituals are staged for an external
audience rather than for the community’s
observance of tradition.
 TOURISM
• Art forms native to the community tend to diminish in
quality.
• Removed from their original context, the works are
transformed into mass produced souvenirs in order to
meet the demands of the tourist trade.
• Neon colors and designs woven from synthetic fibers have
been made available in recent years to create
appropriations of traditional textile designs for commercial
purposes.
MINING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECTS
• The construction of dams and the establishment of oil
and mining companies evict people from their dwellings
and severely damage the environment.
• Deprived of the bounty of land, indigenous groups are
prompted to seek short-term employment from these
industries in order to make ends meet in a money
economy.
 MILITARIZATION
• The insecurity and tensions brought about by
militarized zones arrest the people’s ability to
create art.
• It prevents people from having communal
gatherings, where exchanges and passing
knowledge can take place.
 CHRISTIANIZATION
• The influence of Christianity and the conversion
of the natives to a foreign religion have caused
members of the community to forsake their
indigenous rituals and traditions.
• At worse, people are led to believe that the latter
are primitive and therefore their practice has no
place in contemporary culture.
 CHRISTIANIZATION
• In some cases however, the community finds a way to
syncretize their indigenous ways with traditions of
Christianity.
• The Manobo community of Mt. Apo for example, initiated a
“culture regeneration movement”
• As Christian converts, they sought revival of their traditions
by holding clan reunions, employing native wedding rites,
and recalling narratives of their culture through painting.
Difficulties in the Selection Process
• The archipelagic orientation of the Philippines makes
some locations challenging to reach by land, air, or sea.
• Places that pose security risks, particularly militarized
zones prevent the sustained entry of researchers and
possibly diminish reception outside of the locality.
• This is partly why the awarding does not follow a regular
pattern, as the column of Year of Conferment on the table
of GAMABA awardees shows(page 58-60)
ffect of the GAMABA in the communitie
• Since the artist are very much entrenched in their
localities, the award system might create a division within
the communities when one person is elevated to the status
of the national awardee.
• The attention and the entry of outsiders may create a
disruption that may also change, not just the social and
economic relationships, but also the people’s attitudes,
concepts, and definitions of the art forms and the
processes.
• The GAMABA recognizes exceptional artist
who are engaged in the traditional arts.
• With the latter, we refer to forms which are
produced or performed within the context of
the community.
• The traditional arts are strongly grounded in
culture, spirituality and religion, and also the
environment.
• Thus, forms produced by the GAMABA, while
having a high aesthetic value, are also
functional and accessible in everyday
settings.
• The role of the GAMABA is to pass on their
artistic knowledge to the community, to
inspire them, and to ensure that aspects of
their cultural identity continue to thrive.