ACADEMIC HANDOUTS

CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ARTS FROM THE REGIONS

Quarter 1, Week 3

PART 1: ARTIST AWARDEES OF “GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN” (GAMABA) AWARD

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES:

- Explains Filipino artists’ roles and identify their contribution to contemporary arts

As envisioned in Republic Act No. 7355

- Known as Manlilikha ng Bayan Act was established in 1992 and shall mean citizens engaged in any traditional art
uniquely Filipino, whose distinct skills have reached such a high level of technical and artistic excellence, and have
passed it on to in or their community with the same degree of technical and artistic competence.

National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA)

- The highest policy and coordinating body for culture and the arts of the state. It has to search for the finest traditional
artist of the land who adopts a program that will ensure the transfer of their skills to others, undertakes measures to
promote a genuine appreciation of and crafts, and give pride among our people about the genius of Manlilikha ng Bayan.

The Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) Awardees

- As Filipino who recognize the unique identities of our fellow Filipinos, it is their right to see their contribution to the
community. The country is rich with various elements of tangible and intangible cultural heritage which have been passed
on to the new generation. Culture as part of our Philippine identity includes a variety of arts that enhance by our National
Living Treasure artists who are recognized for their special contribution to the national heritage. These are Filipino citizen
who is engaged in traditional art forms and has contributed to the development of cultural diversity and the creativity of
humanity.

SIXTEEN (16) NATIONAL LIVING TREASURES, KNOWN AS THE “GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG

BAYAN” (GAMABA) AWARDEES FROM THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CULTURE AND THE ARTS
or NCCA.

A. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 1993

1. Ginaw Bilog - was a Filipino poet who was recognized as a National Living Treasure by the Philippine
government. Born on January 3, 1953, Bilog was a Hanunuo Mangyan who was a native of Mansalay,
Oriental Mindoro. He was known for his efforts in preserving the Mangyan poetry tradition of ambahan.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Surat Mangyan and Ambahan poetry
2. Masino Intaray - Born on April 10 1943, was a Filipino poet, bard artist, and musician who is a Palawan
native known for his performance of the local traditions of basal, kulilal and bagit. He is also a recipient of the
National Living Treasure recognition.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Epic Chanter and Storyteller
3. Samaon Sulaiman - was a Filipino musician who is a recipient of the National Living Treasure award. The
Maguindanaon is known for his mastery of the indigenous kutyapi instrument. Born on 3 March 1953,
Sulaiman first learned playing kutyapi at around 13 years old from his uncle.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Playing Kudyapi
a. Kulintang - Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a
row of small, horizontally laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended
gongs and drums.

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 b. Agung - The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the
Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument
in kulintang ensembles.
c. Kulintang - Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a
row of small, horizontally laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended
gongs and drums.
d. Agung - The agung is a set of two wide-rimmed, vertically suspended gongs used by the
Maguindanao, Maranao, Sama-Bajau and Tausug people of the Philippines as a supportive instrument
in kulintang ensembles.
e. Tambul - A percussion instrument consisting of a hollow shell or cylinder with a drumhead stretched
over one or both ends that are beaten with the hands or with a stick.

B. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 1998

1. Lang Dulay - Born August 3, 1928, 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 fiber.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
T’nalak Weaving
2. Salinta Monon - born December 12, 1920, was a Filipino textile weaver who was 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”.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Inabal Weaving

C. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2000

1. Uwang Ahadas - Born February 16, 1945, is a Filipino folk musician of the Yakan people who is a recipient of
the National Living Treasures Award.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Playing Yakan Instruments
a. Kwintangan kayu - an instrument consisting of five wooden logs hung horizontally, from the shortest to
the longest, with the shortest being nearest the ground. After the planting of the rice, an unroofed platform
is built high in the branches of a tree.

b. Tuntungan - (wooden log drum) is a percussion plank with jar resonators made popular by the Yakans of
Basilan. It is composed of a resonated suspended plank made of a flat board with a rounded portion
towards one end and suspended from a frame.

2. Federico Caballero - Born December 25, 1938, is a Filipino epic chanter who is a recipient of the National
Living Treasures Award.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Chanting the Sugidanon Epic of the Panay Bukidnon
- He continuously works on the documentation of oral literature, in particular the epics, of people. These ten
epics are rendered in a language that, though related to Kiniray-a, is no longer spoken.

TEN EPICS OF FEDERICO CABALLERO

1. Tikum Kadlum (BLACK DOG)
2. Amburukay
3. Derikaryong Pada
4. Balanakon
5. Kalampay
6. Pahagunong
7. Sinagnayan
8. Humadapnon

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 9. Nagbuhis
10. Alayaw

3. Alonzo Saclag - Born August 4, 1942, is a Filipino musician and dancer who is a recipient of the National
Living Treasures Award. A Kalinga master of dance and the performing arts, he has made it his mission to
create and nurture a greater consciousness and appreciation of Kalinga culture,
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Playing Kalinga Musical Instruments

D. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2004

1. Haja Amina Appi - Born June 25, 1925, was a Filipino master mat weaver and teacher from the Sama
indigenous people of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi. She was credited for creating colorful pandan
mats with complex geometric patterns.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Mat weaving
2. Eduardo Tubig Mutuc – Born October 12, 1949, is a Filipino metalsmith and sculptor. He is known to be a
practitioner of the craft of pinukpuk which involved the stamping of embellishments on metal sheets. Mutuc
creates works of both secular and religious nature using silver, wood, and bronze mediums.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Metal Plating
3. Darhata Sawabi - is a Filipino weaver from Parang, Sulu known for pis syabit, a traditional Tausūg cloth
tapestry worn as a head covering by the people of Jolo. She is a recipient of the National Living Treasures Award,
having given the distinction in 2004.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Pis syabit Weaving

E. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2012

1. Magdalena Gamayo - Born August 13, 1924, is a Filipino weaver who is a lead practitioner of the Ilocano
tradition of pinagabel.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Abel Weaving
2. Teofilo Garcia - Born May 28, 1945, is a Filipino hatter who is regarded as a National Living Treasure in the
Philippines for making tabungaw hats, a type of Ilocano headwear.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Kattukong or Tabúngaw Hat Making

F. GAMABA AWARDEES FOR THE YEAR 2016

1. Ambalang Ausalin - Born March 4, 1943, was a Filipino master weaver from the city of Lamitan, Basilan.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
Yakan Weaving
2. Bai Estelita Tumandan Bantilan - Born October 17, 1940, is a Filipino textile weaver from the municipality
of Malapatan, Sarangani. She is credited with creating "some of the biggest, most subtly beautiful mats to be seen
anywhere in Southeast Asia."
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
B’laan Mat Weaving
3. Fu Yabing Masalon Dulo - Born August 8, 1914, commonly referred to as Fu Yabing, was a Filipino textile
master weaver and dyer, credited with preserving the Blaan traditional mabal tabih art of ikat weaving and
dyeing.
CONTRIBUTION AND WORKS
B’laan Ikat or Tie-dye Fabric Weaving

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FILIPINO ARTIST’S ROLES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO CONTEMPORARY ARTS
According to Christian Morgenstern, we cannot enjoy the beauty and magnificence of every artwork if there’s no
artist behind it. Even though they’re just at the back of their works, they will still be alive through the years
because of their notable Obras/masterpiece and that is why in every artwork there is a great artist.

WHAT IS AN ARTIST?
- One who professes and practices an imaginative art.
- An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating art.

ARTIST TODAY VS. ARTIST IN THE PAST

- Today’s artists, the younger ones are a different breed from the old ones.
- In the past, the artist’s role was well-defined and that is to create something that uplifted the spirit, something
aesthetically pleasing and entertaining.

FOUR FILIPINO ARTISTS’ ROLES

1. THE PERSONAL
- The artist expresses what he/she feels.
- Before, whatever beautiful thing we see in the surroundings we make it a subject in art.

2. THE SOCIAL
- The artist expresses what he/she sees around him or her.
- In this role society is now involved or included in the process of making an artwork.

3. THE PHYSICAL
- The artist finds a need to create something not only pleasing to look at but something useful as well.
- Contemporary artists are practical. They make sure that they will benefit from the artwork they are producing, or
it could also be the audience who can benefit from it.

4. THE IMMATERIAL
- The artist gives form to the immaterial, the hidden truth of the universe, and the spiritual force that inhabits the
world.
- This is the ultimate role of our artists today. Social realism, the creative people in the society tell us a message
through their meaningful and mind-blowing masterpieces.

• The Filipino artist gives his opinion about the culture of his time.
The Filipino artist gives his opinion about the culture of his time. Through this, were able to influence the
readers, the viewer intentionally or unintentionally.

• The Filipino artist is a crusader, attempting to sway the viewer to his or her side.
In the previous years, there has been a rise in national perverts. It is observable in their artworks that there
is a sense of nationalism. Most of our contemporary artists promote its important core values as Filipinos through
their works of art.

• The Filipino artist has become a social critic.

This is the most interesting role of our artists today since we are highlighting social realism.

• The Filipino artist has also become an advocate for what he/she believes in.
In the past few years, many contemporary artists have become an agent of change.

• The Filipino is versatile.

Our artists create not only to realize their personal fulfillment but also they share their innate talents that
illuminate our capabilities as a nation rich in heritage and traditions.