GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NANG BAYAN
(GAMABA AWARDEE).
The Gawad sa Manlilikha nang bayan (GAMABA), or national living treasure award,
recognizes Filipino Artist who excel in traditional arts and crafts.
GINAW BILOG(1993)
Ginaw Blog is a Hanunoo Mangyan poet from Mansalay Oriental Mindoro. He is
considered as a master of the Ambahan poetry. This wisdom is his key to the
understanding of the Mangyan soul in 1993, he was given the Gawad sa Manilikha ng
Bayan award. He grew up in such a cultural environment. Already steeped in the
wisdom that the ambahan is a key to the understanding of the Mangyan sou Ginaw
took it upon him to continually keep scores of ambahan poetry recorded not only on
bamboo tubes but on old, dog-eared notebooks passed on to him by friends.Through
the dedication of individuals like Ginaw Bilog, the ambahan poetry and other art forms
from our indigenous peoples will continue to live.
UWANG AHADA(2000)
Manlilikha ng Bayan Uwang Ahadas from Basilan- mastered it at the age of 20. He was
conferred with the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) in 2000 in recognition of his
excellent contribution to the preservation of Yakan traditional music.He teaches students
hands-on to play instruments like the kwintangan, gabbang, and agung. Ahadas broke
tradition by playing instruments like the kwintangan that were typically reserved for women.
He received the GAMABA award in 2000 for his skill in Yakan musical instruments.
LANG DULAY(1928)
Lang Dulay- 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. She first learnt weaving at the age of 12 from
her mother, Luan Senig. She is known for maintaining the use of traditional motifs in T’nalak
weaving amidst commercialization of the craft which saw the introduction of more modern
designs by non-T’bolis. She notably had a mental repertoire of around 100 patterns and
designs,some of these were based on her dreams, hence her description as a
“dreamweaver”.
DARHATA SAWABI(2004)
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.
SALINTA MONON(1998)
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”. She weaves a design for three to four months.
In a month she can weave fabric which can be used for a single abaca tube skirt which
measures 3.5 x 0.42 meters. Her favorite design is the binuwaya or crocodile which is said
to be among the most difficult to weave.
