GAWAD SA

MANLILIKHANG
BAYAN
■ Pre- colonial indigenous arts, are also
contemporary. They are living traditions and are
produced up to the present, in modified ways.
■ How can we promote indigenous and traditional
art?
How does tradition become
contemporary, and the contemporary
traditional?
■ Teofilo Garcia , a 2012 awardee, is a farmer in
the town of San Quintin, a municipality in Abra
Province better known for tending a plot of land
filled with enlarged upo or gourd. After planting
the upo in November and harvesting the mature
fruit during the summer months of March to
May, Garcia would transform the harvest into
durable hats protecting people, especially
■ Each upo or tabungaw (in Ilokano) is hollowed out, polished,
and varnished, which gives the tabungaw hat a distinctive
yellow sheen. The varnish also strengthens the organic material
to make it weather resistant. Thin strips of rattan or uway are
woven to line the hat, while another type of intricate weave,
usually made of fern or nito, is placed on the mouth of the hat
as decoration. Simple hand tools are used to gouge the insides
of the tabungaw. Garcia was instrumental in fortifying the
tradition through six decades worth of persistent practice. His
artistic rendering of a functional object, dedication to craft, and
commitment to the community make him a bearer of culture.
In recent years, 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 to ensure
■ We learned in the previous lessons that the distinction
between modern and contemporary art is a historical,
cultural, and stylistic one. From the example of Teofilo
Garcia, we reiterate that 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. Although
traditional artists do not consider their work as a
contemporary art form, its similarities to contemporary
art practices can be discerned. The process of making
the tabungaw hats for example, involves the interface
of local scientific knowledge and art. Prior to crafting
the hat, the growth of enlarged tabungaw is made
What is the Gawad ng Manlilikhang
Bayan (GAMABA)?
■ Garcia has been named Manlilikhang Bayan
(“one who creates for the country”) or National
Living Treasure. Twelve individuals have
received this distinction from the time of the
establishment of the award in 1992 through
Republic Act No. 7355 until 2012. The National
Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)
bestows the highest awards for culture and the
arts, including the National Artist Award, which
Lang Dulay, Master Dreamweaver, GAMABA Awardee, 1998
■ Traditional art is based on indigenous peoples’ cultures that are
largely honed by oral tradition. A distinct feature of the
GAMABA is its emphasis on the intangible and communal
aspects of art production which are closely aligned with the
process-based and collaborative inclination of some
contemporary art practices. Traditional art finds deep affinities
with nature, place, society, ritual and spirituality, and everyday
life. In traditional integrative art, forms and expressions do not
normally end up as objects distanced from everyday living.
The site of dissemination and knowledge transfer is neither in
the formal spaces of a museum nor a theater. The process of
creation is usually shared among members of the community,
and appeals to broader aspects of life. Things produced such as
textiles, hats, baskets, or utensils are commonplace, usually
found and used in people’s homes. Songs and dances are
Who are the GAMABA awardees?