By Teofilo Garcia, Jr. | Philippine News Agency
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Lamitan City’s national treasure and one of three traditional weavers from Mindanao, Apuh Ambalang Ausalin, passed away early Friday, Feb. 18, due to a lingering illness. She was 78.
Lamitan City Mayor Rose Furigay said Ausalin died at about 4:00 a.m. at her residence in Barangay Parangbasak.
Ausalin, born on March 4, 1943, was respected for her commitment to safeguarding and promoting the weaving of traditional Yakan textiles, especially the colorful “tennun” or tapestry weave.
“Apuh Ambalang’s work was ‘epic’ for its sheer beauty ang uniqueness, truly a work of art that only a master weaver in the highest order can possibly create,” Furigay said in a statement.
“Apuh Ambalang’s legacy shall live on in the next generation of Yakan weavers who were fortunate enough to have been mentored by her,” she added.
Ausalin is renowned for her mastery of the crafts of sinaluan and sputangan, two of the most intricately designed textiles of the indigenous Yakan community.
Coming from a family of weavers, Apuh Ambalang, as she was called by other weavers, had learned the craft at a young age and executed the most intricate of designs.
She learned weaving through her mother, who was previously reputed to be the best weaver in Basilan and first practiced the craft by using coconut strip.
Ausalin was given the National Living Treasure Award by the Philippines through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2016.
She was among the three traditional weavers from Mindanao who were declared as “national living treasures” and conferred with the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) for 2016 through Proclamation No. 126 issued on Jan. 6, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte.
The two other awardees were B’laan mat weaver Estelita Tumandan Bantilan of Malapatan, Sarangani province, and Fu Yabing Masalon Dulo of Polomolok, South Cotabato.
Dulo died on Jan. 26, 2021, leaving Bantilan as the last remaining GAMABA awardee from Mindanao. (PNA) – bny
