GAMABA AWARDEE

• Ginaw Bilog (January 3, 1953 - June 3, 2003)
• What year did Ginaw Bilog received his award?

  1993
• • Bilog is a Hanunoo Mangyan poet from Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.
  • Regarded as a master of Ambahan poetry, Ginaw Bilog’s works reflect an understanding of the Mangyan Soul.
• • Ambahan is a 7-syllable line poem that uses metaphors and images to express messages ranging from

  1. asking for a place to stay, 
  2. courtship, 
  3. giving advice to the young, 
  4. saying goodbye to a dear friend, and many more.
• • Although this poetic literary form is common among indigenous cultural groups, it still exists today primarily because it is engraved on bamboo tubes using ancient Southeast Asian, pre-colonial script called surat Mangyan.
  • Ginaw Bilog believed that the Ambahan is key to understanding the Mangyans and during his time, he has continuously recorded Ambahan poetry, not only on bamboo tubes but on old, dogeared notebooks passed on to him by family members and friends.
• Masino Intaray (April 10, 1943 - November 30, 1993)
• What year did Masino Intaray received his award?

  1993
• • Masino Intaray was awarded as Manlilikha ng Bayan for Traditional Performing Arts and Oral Literature from Palawan.
  • He was regarded as an outstanding master of the basal (gong), kulial (lyrical poem) and bagit (vocal music).
• • He was also a skilled and proficient player of aroding (mouth harp), and babarak (ring flute) and most of all, an exceptional epic chanter and storyteller from Brookes Point in Palawan.
  • With his creative memory and passion, not to mention his endurance, intellect, and spiritual purpose, he can chant countless tultul (epics), sudsungit (narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin and teachings of ancestors) all night, for successive nights.
• Samaon Sulaiman (March 3, 1953 - May 21, 2011)
• What year did Samaon Sulaiman received his award?

  1993
• • A Mamasapano from Maguindanao, Samaon Sulaiman was a musician and is regarded as the Master of Kutyapi, a two-stringed plucked lute that is difficult to master among the Filipino traditional instruments.
  • Sulaiman is also skilled in kulintang, agong (suspended bossed gong with wide rim), gandingan (bossed gong with narrow rim), palendag (lip-valley flute), and tambul.
  • In addition, he was also a dedicated teacher of his instrument in Libutan and other barangays of Maganoy town in Mindanao.
• Lang Dulay (August 3, 1928 - April 30, 2015)
• What year did Land Dulay received his award?

  1998
• • Recognized as a T'boli artist from Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Lang Dulay first learned to weave when she was 12.
  • She was considered as a traditional weaver of textile called "t'nalak" or "tinalak" cloth. Her art is considered first-rate because of the way she used abaca fibers in her works. Her woven cloth was described as fine as hair considering the tedious process of this traditional art.
• Salinta Monon (December 12, 1920 - June 4, 2009)
• What year did Salinta Monon received her award?

  1998
• • Salinta Monon was a Tagabawa Bagobo textile weaver from Bansalan, Davao del Sur. 
  • She practically grew up watching her mother weave traditional Bagobo textiles. At 12, she volunteered to learn how to weave and with her enthusiasm, she was able to learn very quickly.
  • As experienced as she was, she could very well identify both the design and the artist of a woven piece just by a simple glimpse.
• Alonzo Saclag (August 14, 1942 - Present)
• What year did Alonzo Saclag received his award?

  2000
• • Cited as Kalinga Master of Dance and the Performing Arts, Alonzo Saclag made it his mission to create and nurture a greater consciousness and appreciation of the Kalinga culture. 
  • With no formal education in performing arts, Saclag still mastered the Kalinga musical instruments, including the dance patterns and movements related to his people’s rituals.
• The provincial government should turn the abandoned Capitol Building into a museum for the preservation of their artifacts and archaeological sites.
• The provincial government should establish skills and other creative presentations in various schools to celebrate indigenous values.
• The provincial government should broadcast the traditional Kalinga music together with contemporary music in the local radio station.
• The provincial government should found the Kalinga Budong Dance Troupe to teach young men and women about the music and dance of their ancestors.
• The provincial government should buy a piece of land in the hope of building a Kalinga village that will house the art and the artifacts of his people.
• Federico Caballero (December 25, 1938 - Present) 
• What year did Federico Caballero received his award?

  2000
• • A Sulod-Bukidnon epic chanter from Central Panay, Federico Caballero works constantly for the documentation of the oral literature of his people, particularly the epics.
  • Said 10 epics are rendered in a language that is no longer spoken, but Caballero worked hard to learn these encyclopedic folklores and other forms of oral literature to preserve their culture. 
• Uwang Ahadas (February 15, 1945 - Present)
• What year did Uwang Ahadas received his award?

  2000
• • A Yakan of Lamitan, Basilan, Uwang Ahadas belongs to the group of people who believe that instrumental music plays an important role in the agricultural cycle and the social realm.
  • Music became his constant companion when he discovered his near-blindness. While not all Yakan children had the privilege to play different Yakan instruments because they are very expensive to maintain and some antique dealers and collectors try to procure such artifacts, Uwang Ahadas has embraced the demands and discipline needed by his art.
• Darhata Sawabi (March 12, 2005 - Present)
• What year did Darhata Sawabi received his award?

  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.
  • Aside from Tausug headpieces, her designs on native attire, bags, and other accessories were also extraordinary. Her community of weavers recognizes her expertise in the craft, her dedication to elaborate weaving, and her devotion to authentic and traditional designs.
• Eduardo Mutuc (October 12, 1949 - Present)
• What year did Eduardo Mutuc received his award?

  2004
• Eduardo Mutuc is a local of Apalit, Pampanga, who devoted his life to creating religious and secular art using bronze, silver, and wood.
• Mutuc's artworks range from very small to large, and can be seen in the detailed retablos, mirrors, altars and carosas found in churches and private collections.
• Mutuc began his career in sculpture and metal work at the age of 29 as a novice to carvers of household furniture in Pampanga.