FILIPINO ARTISTS AND THEIR

CONTRIBUTION TO CONTEMPORARY ARTS

TheContemporary in
Traditional Art:
Gawad sa Manlilikha
ng Bayan (GAMABA)
In 1992, the National Commission on
Culture and the Arts (NCCA) began
selecting and honoring recipients of
the National Living Treasures Award,
also referred to as Gawad sa
Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA),
through Republic Act No. 7355.
It continues to be awarded today and
is handed out in the form of a medal.
 How does tradition become contemporary,
and the contemporary traditional?
 Traditional art is based on indigenous people’s cultures that
are largely honed by oral tradition.
 It 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 process of creation is usually shared among members of
the community, and appeals to broader aspects of life.
 Thus, it emphasis on the intangible and communal aspects of
art production that are closely aligned with the process based
and collaborative inclination of some contemporary art
practices.
 Theworker of a farmer named Teofilo Garcia of San
Quintin in the Province of Abra, 2012 GAMABA awardee
who have discovered and popularized the durable
tabungaw hat out of enlarged upo or gourd.
 He hollowed out the upo / tabungaw, varnished and
polished it to make it more durable and unique yellow
sheen.
 He used different mediums such as varnish to
strengthens organic material, strips of rattan (uway) to
line the hat, fern (nito) is placed on the mouth of the hat
as decoration.
 Heintended to transform the harvest into durable hats to
protect the people who are exposed for long hours under
the heat of the sun, especially the farmers.
TABUNGAW
HAT
On the other hand, contemporary-traditional
art refers to an art produced at the present
period that reflects the current culture by
utilizing classical techniques in drawing,
painting, and sculpting.
Practicing artists are mainly concerned with
the preservation of time honored skills in
creating works of figurative and
representational forms of fine art as a means
to express human emotions and experiences.
 What is GAMABA?
 The word GAMABA stands for GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA
NG BAYAN ( National Living Treasures).
 It is an award given to recognize the outstanding work of
the artists in the Philippines.
 The given award was established in 1992 through
Republic Act No. 7355 until 2012.
 There were thirteen finest folk artists of the land who
have received this distinction for their dedication in
creating the craft, using skills, and indigenous methods
and materials.
 Artists who received the recognition for preserving the
traditional art of the Philippines which kept the art alive
even in the contemporary period.
 Who are the GAMABA awardees? What are their
qualifications?
 The GAMABA awardees are the people who have
adopts a program that will ensure the transfer of
their skills to others.
 They undertake measures to promote a genuine
appreciation of traditional craft and art and instill
pride among our people about the skill of the
Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA).
 Filipinos
conferred as the forefront of the practice,
preservation, and promotion of the nation’s
traditional folk arts.
To become a GAMABA awardees is same as joining a contest there are
mechanics and guidelines to follow.

 Must be an inhabitant of an indigenous/traditional cultural community

anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved indigenous customs,
beliefs, rituals and traditions and/or has syncretized whatever external
elements that have influenced it.
 Must have engaged in a folk-art tradition that has been in existence and
documented for at least fifty (50) years.
 Must have consistently performed or produced over a significant period,
works of superior and distinctive quality.
 He/she/group must possess a mastery of tools and materials needed by
the art and must have an established reputation in the art as master
and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.
 Must have passed on and/or will pass on to other members of the
community their skills in the folk art for which the community is
traditionally known.
 GAMABA Awardees
 A Yakan of Lamitan, Basilan was awarded for his
dexterity in playing Yakan musical instruments
such as the kwintangan, gabbang, agung,
kwintangan kayu, tuntungan among others.
 He has a deep knowledge of the aesthetic
possibilities and social contexts of those
instruments. In spite of the dimming of his
eyesight, he has devoted his life to the teaching
Yakan musical traditions.
 At age 20, he broke tradition by reaching
excellence in playing the kwintangan, an
instrument typically played by a woman. The
instrument, made up of logs arranged beneath a
tree near a rice field, is used to call for abundant
grains and rice growth.
 He is also dedicated to sharing his knowledge to
younger folk; his teaching style is hands-on and
Uwang Ahadas,musician supportive, giving his students his full attention.
 He was awarded in 2000.
 Magdalena Gamayo, textile weaver
 Based in Pinili, Ilocos Norte, Magdalena Gamayo
took up weaving when she was 16, guided by her
aunt’s patterns.
 She received her first loom from her father three
years later, which she would end up using for 30
years.
 She taught herself traditional patterns, such as
kusikus (whirlwind), marurup (Milky Way), and
sinan paddak ti pusa (cat’s pawprint), building on
the more common inuritan (geometric design) and
sinan-sabong (flowers)
 Her binakol, or woven cloth, continues to draw
praise and awe for its above-average thread count
and uniform weave.
 To keep Ilocos’ abel weaving tradition alive, she
teaches her practice to her cousin’s daughter-in-
law and sister-in-law.

Eduardo Mutuc, metalsmith, and artist
A Kapampangan from Central
Luzon is recognized for
reviving the Spanish colonial-
era craft of Plateria.
 Heuses wood, silver, and
bronze to create exquisitely
detailed and lifelike pieces of
varying sizes: altars, mirrors,
retablos, and even carosas.
 Mutuc
is based in Apalit,
Pampanga.
 He was awarded in 2004.
Lang Dulay, T’nalak weaver
 A T'boli of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, was awarded for
weaving the abaca ikat cloth called t'nalak.
 She has produced creations which remain faithful to the T’boli
tradition as manifested in the complexity of her design,
fineness of workmanship and quality of finish.
 In Lang Dulay’s family, the weaving of the t’nalak (a fine
abaca cloth) took place before or after farm work, when the
weather was cool and the conditions were better for the
product. Dulay, who grew up in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato,
was taught to weave by her mother when she was 12.
 As demand grew for new designs, she persisted and kept
working with traditional patterns, even though they were
harder to complete — she knew around a hundred, including
bulinglangit (clouds), kabangi (butterfly), crocodiles, and
flowers.
 She valued purity, so much so that she never washed her
t’nalak with soap.
 She was awarded in 1998 and died in 2015.
 Samaon Sulaiman, musician

 A Maguindanaon of Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

 He was awarded for his outstanding artistry and
dedication to his chosen instrument, the Magindanao
kutyapi. Kutyapi is a two-stringed plucked lute,
regarded as one of the most technically demanding
and difficult to master among Filipino traditional.
 The Maganoy, Maguindanao native learned from his
uncle, Pinagunay, at age 13, developing and learning
different forms and styles of playing the instrument.
 He was also proficient in playing instruments such as
the kulintang, agong (a suspended gong with a wide
rim), gandingan (a gong with a narrow rim), and
tambul.
 Sulaiman’s fascination for his craft led him to become
an influential teacher.
 He was awarded in 1993 and died in 2011.
 Haja Amina Appi, Pandan mat weaver
 Lives in Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi,
 She is recognized as the master mat weaver among
the Sama indigenous community of Ungos Matata.
 Weaving pandan mats is a long and difficult process
that is handed down from woman to woman across
generations: Pandan leaves are harvested and made
into narrow, long strips, sun-dried, pressed, and dyed
before finally becoming suitable for weaving.
 The resulting mats are used for sleeping and saying
prayers or given as gifts to newly-weds. 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.
 She experimented with her work and developed her
own tints to create the hues she had in mind.
 Appi died in 2013, but her art lives on through her
children and other young women in her community.
 Federico Caballero,chanter and educator
 A Panay-Bukidnon of Calinog, lloilo was awarded for
his mastery of chanting the sugidanon, the epic
tradition of Central Panay.
 He was best known for his expertise in the Sugidanon,
a Central Panay epic traditionally chanted while lying
on a hammock, and his work in the preservation of
oral literature, documenting 10 Panay-Bukidnon epics
in an extinct language with close ties to Kinaray-a.
 His love of folklore began when he was young,
hearing tales of grand adventures as bedtime stories,
and his mother taught him to recite epics in lieu of
doing household chores. In his spare time,
 he also works with the Department of Education’s
Bureau of Non-Formal Education, teaching elders to
read and write.
 He was awarded in 2000.
 Ginaw Bilog, poet
 A Hanunuo Mangyan of Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.
Awarded for faithfully preserving the Hanunuo
Mangyan script and Ambahan poetry.
 He has promoted the local script and poetry so that
heart will not be lost but preserved.
 The Mangyan script is one of the four remaining
syllabic scripts in the country, and Ginaw Bilog’s
work has been crucial to its preservation.
 Based in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, the poet was
known for writing Ambahan (a metaphoric poem
comprising seven-syllable lines), first in a notebook,
then on traditionally used bamboo tubes. The
poems, often recited with music at social gatherings
and used to convey messages among the Hanunuo
Mangyan, had topics like advising the young, bidding
a friend goodbye, and asking for a place to stay.
 Bilog, who was awarded in 1993, died in 2003.
 Salinta Monon,textile weaver
 A GAMABA awardee of Tagabawa Bagobo of Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
 She was awarded for fully demonstrating the creative and expressive aspects of
the Bagobo abaca ikat weaving called Inabal at a time when such art is
threatened with extinction.
 Salinta Monon was 12 when she began learning to weave the Inabal, a traditional
Bagobo textile.
 In her home in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, Monon would isolate herself from family
to be able to concentrate on creating her cloths and skirts, which took three to
four months to finish, respectively.
 Her favorite pattern, despite or because of its difficulty, was the Binuwaya
(crocodile), and she continued weaving until her death in 2009.
 For her, not only was it a source of income, it was a source of pride as well. She
and her younger sister were the only Bagobo weavers left in their community, and
she dreamt of having a structure built for teaching new would-be weavers.
 She was awarded in 1998.
 Darhata Sawabi,textile weaver
 A GAMABA awardee of barangay Parang, Jolo Island,
Sulu province.
 Has preserved the art of Pis Syabit weaving. It is difficult
art of tapestry weaving that creates the traditional
squares used by the Tausug for ornamentation.
 Darhata Sawabi’s mission was to lead young women
towards making a living out of her craft.
 The Parang, Sulu-based textile weaver’s primary
creation was the headpiece Pis Siyabit — pis stands for
the pattern, which is said to be derived from India’s
mandala, depicting spirituality through geometric forms,
and Siyabit refers to the hook and technique.
 She gained recognition for the precision of her work and
her passion for preserving traditional designs, as well as
teaching the youth and was awarded in 2004.
 She died in 2005.
 Teofilo Garcia,gourd hatmaker
 A GAMABA awardee of San Quintin Abra who have
discovered and popularized the durable Tabungaw hat
out of enlarged upo or gourd.
 He hollowed out the upo / tabungaw, varnished and
polished it to make it more durable and unique yellow
sheen.
 In San Quintin, Abra, Teofilo Garcia would often walk
around town wearing his gourd casques. Through word
of mouth and his participation in the annual local
harvest festival, Garcia was able to introduce the
Tabungaw plant as a good and sturdy material for
functional, elegant, and protective hats.
 He produces everything he needs — planting and
harvesting the gourds, splitting, and refining rattan for
the lining, and weaving Nito and bamboo for accents
himself — and usually takes seven days to finish a hat.
 Awarded in 2012, he continues to experiment and work
on new designs.
Alonzo Saclag, traditional dancer and musician

A Kalinga of Lubuagan, Kalinga

was awarded for his mastery of
the Kalinga dance and the
performing arts.
 His efforts have included formal
education, reaching radio
stations, and the formation of
the Kalinga Budong Dance
Troupe.
 He was awarded in 2000.
Masino Intaray, chanter and musician
 A Pala'wan of Brookes Point, Palawan.
 He was awarded for his exemplary skills in basal or gong
music ensemble.
 He was also recognized for his versatility as musician,
poet, epic chanter, and storyteller of the Kulilal and Bagit
traditions of the Pala'wan.
 A member of the Pala’wan tribe, musician and epic
chanter Masino Intaray was a master of the basal, a gong
music ensemble played during rice cooking (tambilaw) and
sharing (tinapay) rituals, which gather the community as
they serve offerings to Pala’wan rice god Ampo’t Paray.
 Intaray also performed the Kulilal, a lyrical poem
expressing love, accompanied by two-stringed lute and
bamboo zither, and the bagit, an instrumental piece about
nature.
 His memory and determination guided him in chanting
through many successive nights, reciting epics, stories,
myths of origin, and the teachings of ancestors.
 Intaray, who was awarded in 1993, died in 2013.