Lake Sebu in South Cotabato is home to four Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardees, the Philippines’ National Living Treasures, and the T’boli master weavers known as Dreamweavers. Their traditions—from sacred T’nalak weaving to brass casting and epic chanting—remain deeply rooted in the community.
Lake Sebu GAMABA Awardees: The Dreamweavers and Living Treasures of South Cotabato
Peacefully tucked in the lush highlands of South Cotabato, about a thousand feet above sea level, Lake Sebu, with its calm waters and towering waterfalls, provides guests with more than jaw-dropping natural attraction. Every day, mist-laden mornings and blooming lotus flowers signal a new day for the T’boli people, an indigenous settlers of Lake Sebu, to preserve their sacred T’nalak cloth—which is known for being designed with patterns revealed in visions, thus earning them the nickname "the Dream Weavers.”
Why Are the T’boli Called Dreamweavers?
The T’boli are often referred to as the Dreamweavers, a name closely associated with their traditional T’nalak weaving. For T’boli weavers, the intricate patterns of the cloth are not simply designs copied from a template. Many are believed to be revealed through dreams.
According to T’boli tradition, Fu Dalu, the spirit associated with abaca, appears to weavers in their dreams and guides them toward the patterns that eventually find their way onto the T’nalak cloth. The weaver then has to remember these visions and painstakingly translate them into patterns using the traditional ikat technique.
This makes T’nalak more than just a beautiful piece of indigenous textile. Every pattern carries a connection to the weaver, her dreams and the cultural traditions handed down through generations. It also explains why the T’boli are widely known as the Dreamweavers of Lake Sebu.
In a place where a lasting heritage persists through each woven creation, Lake Sebu also becomes a land where National Living Treasures, or GAMABA recipients, now numbering four esteemed individuals, have preserved and celebrated age-old artistry.
What is the GAMABA?
Much of Lake Sebu’s cultural heritage can be traced through its woven traditions, music, oral histories, and traditional crafts. One of the country’s highest recognitions for preserving these traditions is GAMABA.
The Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), also known as the National Living Treasures Award, recognizes Filipino individuals or groups who have demonstrated exceptional skill in traditional arts and helped preserve the country’s intangible cultural heritage.
Under Executive Order No. 236 and Republic Act No. 7355, the Manlilikha ng Bayan Act, GAMABA is conferred on Filipino artists or groups whose exceptional skills in traditional arts have been preserved, passed down, and practiced within their communities.
GAMABA was first conferred in 1993 on Ginaw Bilog, Masino Intaray, and Samaon Sulaiman. Since then, the number of recognized National Living Treasures has grown, with four GAMABA awardees now associated with Lake Sebu: Lang Dulay, Rosie Sula, Barbara Ofong, and Bundos Fara.
Who Are the GAMABA Awardees From Lake Sebu?
| GAMABA Awardee | Year | Traditional Art |
|---|---|---|
| Lang Dulay | 1998 | T'nalak weaving |
| Rosie Sula | 2023 | T'boli chanting |
| Barbara Ofong | 2023 | T'nalak weaving |
| Bundos Fara | 2023 | Brass casting |
The Four GAMABA Awardees of Lake Sebu
In 1998, the late Lang Dulay (1928-2015) earned the National Living Treasures distinction along with Salinta Monon, an Inabal weaver from the Tagabawa-Bagobo community in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Dulay then became the first person from Lake Sebu to receive a GAMABA award.
A cultural bearer of the T’boli tradition of T’nalak weaving, Lang Dulay began weaving at the age of 12. T’nalak is a traditional textile made from abaca fibers and produced using the ikat technique.
Dulay created more than a hundred T’nalak designs, many inspired by dreams and visions. She continued to work within the traditional T’boli weaving system rather than replacing its patterns with contemporary designs. Lang Dulay also established a Manlilikha ng Bayan Center in Lake Sebu, now known as the Lang Dulay Weaving Center, where the T’nalak weaving tradition continues to be passed on to younger generations, including her grandkids.
After Lang Dulay died in 2015, her daughter-in-law, Sebulan Dulay, continued the family’s weaving tradition. A T’nalak weaver for more than six decades, Sebulan became one of the craft’s senior practitioners in Lake Sebu. Beyond weaving, Sebulan is also a musician who performs traditional T’boli music on instruments such as the hegelung and kulintang for visitors at the Lang Dulay Weaving Center, alongside her son Charlie who performs on the small drums (Tnonggong), as her grandchildren accompany the music with a T'boli dance performance.
The last of the late Lang Dulay’s finished T'nalak cloth remains in the possession of her family while many of her surviving works are either on display at the National Museum or in the hands of collectors.
Nine cultural bearers were declared GAMABA awardees in 2023, although the formal conferment ceremony was held at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila on May 2025. It was the largest group selected in a single year. Three of them—Barbara Ofong, Rosie Sula, and Bundos Fara—are from Lake Sebu.
In addition to Lang Dulay, Lake Sebu's three newest GAMABA awardees are Barbara Ofong, Rosie Sula and Bundos Fara. I met all three within the span of a month, first during the World Ikat Textiles Symposium in Baguio and later during a return visit to Lake Sebu.
Known as WITS, the World Ikat Textiles Symposium has brought together weavers, textile practitioners, researchers, and cultural advocates since its inaugural event in London in 2016. It serves as a platform to promote the heritage craft of ikat, an age-old dyeing technique widely applied in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world to design textiles and other woven cloth.
For T’boli weavers, the ikat process is not simply a technical method. Weaving is also a spiritual practice, with patterns often connected to dreams, the natural environment, and family stories. It was a touching gesture that the organizers invited their master weavers and GAMABA recipients to join their fellow weavers from the Philippines and the rest of the world.
Rosie Sula, affectionately known in her community as Aunty Rosie, received the GAMABA award for her mastery of T’boli oral and performing traditions. She is a chanter, musician, poet, dancer, and composer, best known for her mastery of the Tudbulul epic chant.
Unlike Lang Dulay and Barbara Ofong, Sula is not a master weaver. Her contribution lies in preserving T’boli oral traditions, music, dance, and knowledge. She remains steadfast in advocating for the preservation and promotion of T'boli culture by founding the Libun Hulug Matul, or the Tribal and Women Empowerment, which comprise of women weavers and cultural practitioners from her community in Lake Sebu. She is also an active educator, having helped establish the School of Indigenous Knowledge and Traditions, also in Lake Sebu.
Barbara Ofong has practiced T’nalak weaving for more than 50 years and is credited with creating more than 90 designs, each carrying its own story and significance. As she told us on our second meeting in her home in Lake Sebu a couple of weeks after the ikat symposium in Baguio, she channels inspiration from Fu Dalu, the T’boli’s goddess of abaca, which guides her in her dreams to conjure designs for her woven creations.
“I started weaving during the time of the Santa Cruz Mission,” Ofong told us in T’boli. Cultural worker Michael Yambok, who also serves as Lake Sebu’s tourism officer, translated her words for us.
Yambok clarified to us that the Santa Cruz Mission, a Catholic mission, arrived in Lake Sebu during the 1960s—or almost 60 years ago. There were only around five remaining weavers of the T'nalak cloth in Lake Sebu when the Santa Cruz Mission arrived. Not long after, the mission collaborated with local women of Lake Sebu to resurrect the then dying art of T'nalak weaving.
“I didn’t expect to be honored with a GAMABA award by being a weaver”, she told us. Yambok also told us that Ofong is also a volunteer at the School of Living Tradition in Lake Sebu that was founded by T'boli cultural ambassador and indigenous artist Maria "Oyog" Todi in the 1990s.
In the middle part of December, I joined a few members of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) of the Philippines when they conducted an assessment of the status of their Community-Based Tourism program workshop that was held in Lake Sebu last year, on a return trip to Lake Sebu.
During that return visit, I met another Lake Sebu GAMABA awardee, Bundos Fara, a master brass caster and one of the few remaining practitioners of the T’boli metalcraft known as Temwel.
The T'boli people widely believe that Ginton, the T'boli God of metalwork, bestowed the privilege of mastering the art of brass casting to a select few, among them Fara. Over decades of practice, Fara has combined traditional T’boli designs with contemporary forms, producing brass pieces that have attracted collectors and visitors alike.
We found Fara at his small workshop in Lake Sebu, taking a break from the furnace where he melts and shapes brass, bronze, and other metals. He showed us several pieces, including swords, rings, medallions, and other traditional brass ornaments. With a smile on his face, he gamely interacted and posed for photographs with our small group.
Another South Cotabato native who was honored by GAMABA was the late Yabing Masalon Dulo (1914–2021). She was affectionately known as Fu Yabing since Fu is a T'boli word of endearment similar to lola in Tagalog. Although she wasn't originally from Lake Sebu, her hometown of Polomolok was just 1.5 hours away. Fu Yabing was also a great weaver, known for preserving the Blaan indigenous community's traditional mabal tabih ikat weaving.
When I began traveling around the Philippines almost a decade ago, my knowledge of traditional Filipino arts was limited to a few familiar crafts, including woodcarving and Cordillera weaving. Meeting GAMABA awardees changed that. In Lamitan, Basilan, a few years ago, I got the chance to meet another GAMABA recipient, the late Yakan master Apuh Ambalang (1943-2022), and in 2023, before she celebrated her 100th birthday last year, I met with Magdalena Gamayo, the master inabel weaver from Pinili, Ilocos Norte.
Lake Sebu offers a different kind of cultural encounter: one where T’nalak is still woven, traditional music is still performed, and the knowledge carried by GAMABA awardees remains part of community life. Visiting the weaving centers, meeting the artisans, and supporting their work gives travelers a more meaningful way to experience T’boli culture—and helps keep these traditions alive.
Where to Experience T’boli Culture in Lake Sebu
For travelers who want to go beyond the usual lake cruise and waterfalls, Lake Sebu offers several opportunities to experience T’boli culture. Some of my most meaningful encounters here have been in weaving centers and community spaces where cultural practitioners continue to practice and teach their crafts.
The Lang Dulay Weaving Center is a good place to start, offering a glimpse into the T’nalak tradition that the late Lang Dulay, one of Lake Sebu’s GAMABA awardees, devoted her life to preserving. Nearby, the T’nalak Gallery showcases different designs and the intricate artistry behind the traditional textile.
Beyond weaving, visitors can also encounter T’boli music, chanting, brass casting, and indigenous knowledge. Meeting Rosie Sula, Barbara Ofong, and Bundos Fara reminded me that T’boli culture extends far beyond T’nalak. If you visit Lake Sebu, take time to talk with cultural practitioners and, whenever possible, support them by buying their crafts directly.
- Discover more living heritage profiles across Mindanao.
- Explore traditional arts and crafts in our Heritage Travel section.
