LANG DULAY:
"T'NALAK MASTER WEAVER"
AUGUST 03, 1928 - APRIL 30, 2015
LANG KAMBAY DULAY
GAWAD SA MANLILIKHA NG BAYAN: DREAM WEAVER
Lang Dulay is a Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Awardee (GAMABA). The Award is being bestowed by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and conferred by the President to Indigenous artisans who exhibited the finest craftsmanship for their particular artistic skills.
Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay speaks more eloquently than words can. Images from the distant past of her people, the Tbolis, are recreated by her nimble hands – the crocodiles, butterflies, and flowers, along with mountains and streams, of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, where she and her ancestors were born – fill the fabric with their longing to be remembered. Through her weaving, Lang Dulay does what she can to keep her people’s traditions alive.
CULTURE AND HERITAGE
Before the 1960s, the Tboli bartered tnalak for horses, which played an important role in their work. Upon the establishment of Sta. Cruz Mission, which encouraged the community to weave and provided them with a means to market their produce, the Tnalak designs gained widespread popularity and enable weavers like Lang to earn a steady income from their art. However, the demand also resulted in the commercialization of the tnalak industry, with outsiders coming in to impose their own designs on the Tboli weavers.
Dreamweavers in Lake Sebu is dwindling in numbers. The need to train weavers is what the government wishes to work on thereby creating schools for living traditions. One example would be Lang Dulay’s workshop. Now in her twilight years, Lang Dulay needs to pass on the tradition and with the SLT project, Barbara Ofong is identified as the youngest dreamweaver in Lake Sebu next to Lang Dulay herself. Relatively young in weaving with a few designs under her name, the community holds on the next in line weavers like Barbara and Lang Dulay’s students and family members to continue the legacy of weaving.