Woven from the Waves: Tausug Weaving Demonstration at the National Museum of the Filipino People

- November 29, 2014, Saturday.

- It is no secret that I am a big fan of traditional textiles, no matter by which group, or from which country. Because of this, I was extremely delighted to know that the National Museum of the Filipino People (beside the Agipina/Agrifina Circle in Rizal Parks' Phase 4, NOT the one with the Spoliuarium) has been in partnership with the office of Senator Loren Legarda, an advocate of Filipino indigenous groups and cultures, in bringing indigenous weavers to Manila on some weekends to demonstrate how different kinds of traditional textile are woven. I have heard about this arrangement years back, but I have not seem to catch these demonstrations until today. My friend/colleague Karen posted her photos from last week's demonstration on the T'Boli's tnalak-weaving demonstration, and I was crushed when I found out that I had missed it; I am a big fan of T'boli textile and accessories. However, during the past week, Karen told me that all hope was not lost, since the Tausug weavers were to do their demonstration this weekend. As always, the weaving demonstration was held at the Hibla ng Lahi Gallery, where various Philippine textiles are exhibited and undoubtedly my favorite gallery, located at the fourth floor of the National Museum.

Event poster.

- The demonstration started at 1:30, though I arrived a few minutes late. When I went up the gallery, I saw the long loom with the weaver named Saddala weaving the pis syabit fabric with colorful cotton threads. Aside from the joy of seeing traditional fabric being woven in front of me, I was happier to see many Filipino students and young Filipino visitors who were eager to know more about the weaving culture and other traditions of the Tausug people. One girl even asked Saddala to teach her to weave. The university students who were more adept in asking questions, even raised questions about the market and customers of these woven fabrics. (The Tausug send their products to Manila and nearby provinces.) I think events like this one are greatly needed not only to show the Manilenos the beauty of the Philippine indigenous products, but at the same time, let the indigenous people feel that their traditions matter even outside their community; many younger generations from these indigenous groups do not wish to learn how to make their local crafts, and aim for more mainstream occupations and professions instead.

- I was also pleasantly surprised to know that the Hibla ng Lahi security lady was even well-versed with some traditional fabrics and accessories, probably through constant exposure; she recognized that my beaded necklace was T'boli, and that my shirt, although a  traditional Sarawak-batik shirt, resembled the T'boli's t'nalak fabric. (To be honest, I actually bought the shirt when I saw it in the Manila Fame bazaar (click here) because I knew it resembled the T'bolis' t'nalak!!)

Ms. Saddala teaching a visitor how to weave.

This is actually an Iloko weave, from the north. It's part of the permanent exhibit of the Hibla ng Lahi Gallery.

Loom for the pis syabit.

These geometric designs, according to Saddala, are mostly just geometric patterns from the weaver's imagination.

It could take 3 to 7 months just to finish this long loom.

This young weaver has a long way to go.

With Ms. Saddala and her young apprentice.

Serious mode.

- The Tausug people can be found in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. In the Philippines, they live in the Sulu archipelago, at the far south of the country near Malaysia. The name "Tausug" means "people or the current," and the group was named as such because of their proximity to the sea, and their sea-related occupations. The Tausug people are known for their colorful textiles, and is most apparent in the sails of the vintas (traditional sailboats) that they make. Colorful vintas and textiles are also made by the Tausugs' neighboring indigenous groups like the Samal, Bajau, and the Maranaos.

With the loom.

The loom, again.

Ms. Saddala on the loom.

- Aside from the weaving exhibit, the Tausug weavers also brought some of their pre-made woven works for sale. I bought a scarf that suited my budget, and I liked it because apart from the rainbow colors present in my fabric, gold and silver threads also added some shine to the scarf; I also get to support the local weavers!! Other items for sale included bandanas and malongs (unisex tube skirts, sibling of the South-Asian "lungyi" and the Southeast-Asian "sarong.") The malong, especially the one with the gold-and-silver threads, was worth 7000php, since the whole thing was hand-woven, and took around 3 months to finish. The Tausug weavers know that the malong, no matter how much I wanted it, was way out of my budget, so they allowed me to wear it and have a photo taken with it. In return, I danced the pangalay for them; the pangalay is a traditional Tausug dance that was developed during pre-colonial Philippines, and was influenced by classical-Indian court dances via other Southeast-Asian Indian-influenced dances (i.e. Bali's legong, or Thailand's, Laos', and Cambodia's apsara dance.) I knew how to do some basic pangalay by attending a free pangalay workshop as part of a baybayin workshop organized by Sanghabi (click here to know about my experience with Sanghabi's baybayin workshop.) I think the Tausug weavers enjoyed my performance; either I did it well (which I doubt,) or they were just giving me an "A for effort" in learning, understanding, or at the very least, having an interest their culture. The weavers told me that I looked dashing with the priceless (pricey, rather) malong, so I joked that they could just give the malong to me since they felt that I looked good with it, and I had the courage to wear it in front of them, model it for them and some other visitors and museum staff, and even dance with it in front of them. Of course, even though I did want it, I had to return the malong to them, but it was an experience wearing an authentic brightly-colored pis-syabit malong.

The scarf/sash, I now own, but the malong, too precious to own!! (Or, at least that's what my wallet tells me.)

Complete with bandana..

Another shot of the loom, this time with more lighting.

Just before leaving.

- I said goodbye to the Tausug weavers, and they told me that they might come back for another weaving demonstration in 2015, but they were not sure when that would be. As for me, I am looking forward to attending more weaving demonstrations by different groups in the Philippines. While I have missed the few demonstrations that have happened this year, and the museum staff were not yet sure if there would be weaver-guests in December, I am still glad that I have caught the last for this month, and at least I am now more aware about these weaving demonstrations, so I can watch out for up-coming ones. Updates on weaving demonstrations can be found in the website of the National Museum of the Filipino People (click here,) or through the museum's Facebook page (click here.)