It didn’t happen every day that I got to wake up in a new and unfamiliar place. Yet there I was stirring into consciousness from a deep slumber in the province of Basilan. A full day had passed since I stepped out of a ferry ship from Zamboanga, shattering my previous misconceptions about this province.
In the Presence of National Living Treasure Apuh Ambalang Ausalin | Basilan
For one, we never required any military escorts to follow us around. Gone were the days when one needed one. “Contrary to what you may have read in the headlines many years ago, you can safely explore every part of Basilan,” Lamitan City Mayor Rose Furigay told us later in the day.
Indeed, explore safely we did. That day, coupled with the excitement of finally treading on my seventy-fourth province of the Philippines, another layer of enthusiasm reigned over me as we were scheduled to be graced by the presence of a Yakan master weaver and Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) or the National Living Treasures awardee, Apuh Ambalang Ausalin.
Yakan Traditional Weaving
“Life is a loom, weaving illusion,” wrote poet Vachel Lindsay, and in Mindanao’s storied sundry of woven heritage, a diverse weaving art scattered across the region abounded with dream-like patterns and fascinating backstories. Anecdotes encompassing historical origins and local legends shaped the roots of the various cloth creations of the Dreamweavers’ T’nalak of South Cotabato, the Langkit of Maranao, the Dagmay of the Mandayas, the Tausugs's Habul Tiyahian, the Inabal of Davao del Sur’s Bagobo-Tagabawa tribe, the Inaul in Maguindanao among others—and in the island of Basilan, the traditional hand-loomed tennun of the Yakans.
The word "tennun", which in Yakan meant "woven cloth", was traditionally used in the creation of a Yakan dress. A testament to the skills of Yakan weavers passed from generation to generation, their creations were often mistakenly described as embroidered by those unaware of the Yakan's intricate weaving process.
Yakan hand-loomed fabrics were known for their use of geometric patterns with matching vibrant and contrasting colors. Similar to other traditional woven creations from Mindanao, each cloth’s design referenced a particular cultural and historical narrative.
Traditionally, the Yakans used fibers extracted from the leaves, barks, and roots of abaca, coconut, and pineapple plants. Afterward, they dyed the fibers with different colors to produce intricate designs.
Originally, the Yakans only weaved dresses adorned with various designs that included the seputangan, which was said to be the most complicated to weave and was usually worn by women around their waists. Other designs included the rainbow-inspired palipattang, the python-stirred buga-sama, and the sinalu'an.
Eventually, the Yakans expanded their indigenous art creations by starting to weave other items such as table runners, wall decor, bags, and purses. They also introduced new designs such as the dawen-dawen, which was patterned after a vine, the diamond-shaped kabang buddi, and a few others inspired by everyday objects.
The overall weaving process took between two weeks to one month to finish a two-meter long cloth. It was best to remember this so as not to haggle when buying a woven item next time—be it a Yakan, the Inaul, the Inabal, or any other hand-loomed cloth.
Meeting Apuh Ambalang
Awarded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts with the National Living Treasure Award in 2016, Apuh Ambalang, as fondly addressed by her weaving students, was a renowned master weaver from the city of Lamitan in Basilan. Known for her mastery of Yakan weaving's two most difficult designs—the sinalu'an and the seputangan—Apuh first learned the craft from her mother, who was the original master weaver of Basilan.
Our small group of travel writers, vloggers, and members of the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and DOT Region Nine met Apuh Ambalang Ausalin at the GAMABA Weaving Center in Lamitan City. This was where Apuh Ambalang then instilled her weaving mastery into a new generation of magtetenum (weavers) in order to keep the Yakan tradition of tennun creation alive.
Seated beside her loom attached to an unfinished cloth she was currently working on, Apuh Ambalang welcomed us with a sparkling set of eyes, her face stretching a little caused by a smile covered by the face mask she was wearing.
Because of pandemic safety protocols, conversational interaction was kept to a minimum. And as a chorus of hushed admiration filled the small room, wowed by the tennun creations displayed around, I picked up a random cloth and silently expressed my amazement at its design.
One of the women weavers who might have noticed my still sense of wonder told me in Tagalog, "That cost 20,000 pesos. That design is unique, and it was woven by Apuh Ambalang's mother."
I looked at the tennun I was holding and realized even at 20,000 pesos it remained undervalued considering the craftsmanship, artistry, and traditional methods of weaving performed in making this cloth.
The Yakan weaving artform had been unappreciated and unknown to most people for a long time. It was high time we all helped invigorate interest in their creations, and in doing so, we not only helped them sustain their living tradition, we also got to truly honor the legacy of Apuh Ambalang Ausalin.
