GAMABA

• Samaon Sulaiman was a Filipino musician who is a

recipient of the National Living Treasure award.
The Maguindanaon is known for his mastery of the
indigenous kutyapi instrument.
• Born on March 3, 1953, Sulaiman first leaned playing
kutyapi at around 13 years old from his uncle. By the
time he was 35 years old, he was already recognized
in Maganoy for his skills in playing the instrument as
well as being a teacher to aspiring kutyapi
practitioners. He is credited for influencing other local
experts in his area such as Esmael Ahmad, Bitul
Sulaiman, Nguda Latip, Ali Ahmad and Tukal Nanalon.
Sulaiman also plays the kulintang, agong (suspended
bossed gong with wide rim), gandingan, palendag,
and the tambul.
• He was also a barber, as well as an imam at the
Libutan mosque. He died on May 21, 2011.
• Masino Intaray was a Filipino poet, bard artist, and
musician who is a Palawan native known for his
performance of the local traditions
of basal, kulilal and bagit. He is also a recipient of
the National Living Treasure recognition.
• Intaray was born on April 10, 1943 in Makagwa Valley
and lived Brooke's Point, Palawan. He is known for
playing multiple indigenous instruments namely
the basal (gong), aroding (mouth harp), and
the babarak (ring flute). Intaray is also known for his
performance of kulilal or songs and bagit, a form of
vocal music.
• The Palawan native was married and had four
children. Intaray died on November 30, 2013 due to
complications from diabetes which included multiple
bouts of stroke. He was aged 70
• Ginaw Bilog was a Filipino poet who was recognized
as a National Living Treasure by the Philippine
government.
• Born on January 3, 1953, Bilog was a
Hanunuo Mangyan who was a native
of Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro. He was known for his
efforts in preserving the mangyan poetry tradition
of ambahan.
• Then-President Fidel V. Ramos, conferred
the National Living Treasure Award to Ginaw Bilog on
December 17, 1993 in recognition of his people's
preservation efforts of the ambahan poetry which is
recorded on bamboo.
• He died in June 3, 2003 at age 50 due to a lingering
illness.
• Darhata Sawabi is a weaver of pis syabit - the
traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head covering by
the Tausug of Jolo, from Barangay Parang, in the
island of Jolo, Sulu province.
• Daharta Sawabi's art of textile weaving and
especially of the pis syabit has been passed down
generation by generation. Pis syabit weaving is a
difficult art. Preparing the warp alone already takes
three days. It is a very tiring and mechanical task.
Daharta Sawabi has based her art by generations
before her, keeping the old at afresh. The community
of weavers recognizes her expertise in the craft. She
has a passion to show the younger generation the
ways of textile weaving.
• Uwang Ahadas was born on February 15, 1945. He went near
blind when he was five years old. Ahadas along with his siblings
musicians were taught how to play Yakan traditional instruments
as children. He first learned how to play the gabbang, a wooden
bamboo instrument similar to the xylophone then learned how
to play the agung an instrument traditionally played by Yakan
men.
• By age 20, Ahadas had already mastered the kwintangan which is
considered as the most important Yakan musical instrument
despite the instrument traditionally reserved for women. He can
also play the tuntungan.
• He taught his children how to play Yakan traditional instruments,
including Darna who would later become a teacher of these
traditions herself. Ahadas went on to promote these traditions
outside his native town of Lamitan, Basilan.
• Ahadas was recognized as a National Living Treasure by
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the year
2000.
• Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas,
Tawi-Tawi, is 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 unique multi-colored mats are
protected by a plain white outer mat that serves
as the mat’s backing. Her functional and artistic
creations take up to three months to make,” writes
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
• Eduardo Mutuc is an artist who has dedicated his life
to creating religious and secular art in silver, bronze
and wood. His intricately detailed retablos, mirrors,
altars, and carosas are in churches and private
collections. A number of these works are quite large,
some exceeding forty feet, while some are very small
and feature very fine and delicate craftsmanship.
• 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. During the recent rains, the river
beside his lot overflowed and water flooded his studio
in Apalit, Pampanga, drenching his woodblocks.
Mutuc takes it all in stride.
• At 88 years old, Magdalena Gamayo has more reasons to
look forward and beyond than back. “Lola Magdalena”
knows she has lost the strength of her youth all in this
sleepy town of Pinili, Ilocos Norte.
• But she is self-assured and fulfilled that in the stage of her
life when most of one’s memories fail, her hands stay
nimble and her craft stays alive.
• LOOM WEAVERS — Women in this file photo operate the
loom weaving contraption displayed at the ancestral house
of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos in Sarrat, Ilocos
Norte
• Lola Magdalena is an “inabel” (Ilokano handwoven cloth)
maker. She started to develop her skill in hand-weaving
cloth at the age of 16 in the heat of World War II. Her aunt
introduced her to this traditional art of weaving using a
simple contraption. But to produce fabric of quality and
beautiful design takes years of honing one’s skill through
practice and patience.
• Lang Dulay (August 3, 1928 - April 30, 2015) was
a Filipino traditional weaver who was a recipient
of the National Living Treasures Award.
• She is credited with preserving her people's
tradition of weaving T'nalak, a dyed fabric made
from refined abaca fibre.
• Salinta Monon 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".
• Alonzo Saclag was born on August 4, 1942. A member of the Kalinga
people and a native of Lubuagan, Kalinga province, Saclag taught himself
of his people's traditions in the performing arts. He learned how to play
traditional Kalinga musical instruments and Kalinga ritual dance
movements without formal or informal instruction.
• As an effort to revive the dying tradition of playing the gangsa, a type of
Kalinga gong. Saclag lobbied for two years to the provincial government to
grant funds to convert the abandoned Capitol Building into a museum.
With support from the provincial government and other financiers, a
branch of the National Museum was established in Labuagan.
• Saclag also campaigned for the promotion of Kalinga culture in schools in
his community by engaging in talks with the institutions' administrators.
He is instrumental in establishing the practice of children of wearing
traditional Kalinga clothing for important school events as well as the
teaching of Kalinga folk songs in schools. He also lobbied for the broadcast
of traditional Kalinga music along with contemporary music in their local
radio station. He also formed the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe with the
intent of promoting Kalinga dance to a wider audience.
• Saclag was conferred the National Living Treasures Award in 2000. By
2016, he has established a village within his town, named Awichon which
aims to promote Kalinga culture to tourists.