Haja Amina Appi

GAMBA ARTIST AWARDS

September 24, 2014 the Senate adopted a resolution commending the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng
Bayan Awardees for their contribution in promoting the country's cultural heritage. Senate
Resolution No. (SRN) 765, introduced by Sen. Loren Legarda, recognizes the outstanding Filipinos
artists whose craft reflects Filipino culture and identity. The Gawad ng Manlilikha ng Bayan or
GAMABA award was institutionalized through Republic Act No. 7355 in April 1992. "Since its first
conferment in 1993, the GAMABA award has so far recognized the efforts of 13 traditional artists,"
the resolution said.

The GAMABA awardees 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.

Cognizant of their artistic genius and their perseverance to instil national pride through the arts, it
is but fitting that our Manlilikha ng Bayan, the nation's "living treasures," be recognized and
honored for their painstaking dedication to promote, protect and safeguard the nation's rich
intangible heritage.

Senate of the Philippines 18th Congress

Press Release
Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi created intricate mats
that boast beautiful geometric designs, vibrant colors, and fine symmetry. She
was awarded National Living Treasure in 2004.
 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.

The art of mat weaving is handed down the matrilateral line, as men in the Sama culture do not
take up the craft. The whole process, from harvesting and stripping down the pandan leaves to the
actual execution of the design, is exclusive to women. It is a long and tedious process, and requires
much patience and stamina. It also requires an eye for detail, an unerring color instinct, and a genius for
applied mathematics.
 The process starts with the harvesting of wild pandan leaves from the forest. The Sama weavers prefer
the thorny leaf variety because it produces stronger and sturdier matting strips. Although the thorns are
huge and unrelenting, Haja Amina does not hesitate from gathering the leaves. First, she removes the thorns
using a small knife. Then, she strips the leaves with a jangat deyum or stripper to make long and even strips.
These strips are sun-dried, then pressed (pinaggos) beneath a large log. She then dyes the strips by boiling
them for a few minutes in hot water mixed with anjibi or commercial dye. As an artist, she has refused to limit
herself to the traditional plain white mats of her forebears but experimented with the use of anjibi in creating
her designs. And 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 eight colors at a time. Her complicated designs
gain power from the interplay of various shades.

Upon obtaining several sets of differently-colored matting strips, she then sun dries them for three or
four days, and presses them again until they are pliant. Finally, she weaves them into a colorful geometric
design. Instead of beginning at the outermost edges of the mat, she instead weaves a central strip to form
the mat’s backbone, then works to expand the mat from within. Although the techniques used to make the
mats are traditional, she has come up with some of her own modern designs. According to Haja Amina, what
is more difficult than the mixing of the colors is the visualization and execution of the design itself. It is high
precision work, requiring a mastery of the medium and an instinctive sense of symmetry and proportion.
Despite the number of calculations involved to ensure that the geometric patterns will mirror, or at least
complement, each other, she is not armed with any list or any mathematical formula other than working on a
base of ten and twenty strips. Instead, she only has her amazing memory, an instinct and a lifetime of
experience.
 Haja Amina is respected throughout her community for her unique designs,
the straightness of her edging (tabig) and the fineness of her sasa and kima-
kima. Her hands are thick and callused from years of harvesting, stained by
dye. But her hands are still steady, and her eye for color still unerring. She
feels pride in the fact that people often borrow her mats to learn from her and
copy her designs.

Happily, mat weaving does not seem to be a lost art as all of Haja Amina’s
female children and grandchildren from her female descendants have taken it
up. Although they characterize her as a patient and gentle teacher, Haja
Amina’s passion for perfection shows itself as she runs a finger alongside the
uneven stitching and obvious patchwork on her apprentices’ work. She is
eager to teach, and looks forward to sharing the art with other weavers.
Born: June 25, 1925
Known for: Textile
Awards: National Living Treasure Award;
2004
Died: 2 April 2013
Style: Sama traditional weaving
In memory of Hája Amína Áppi
the Rainbow Weaver