TARA SA SOUTH COTABATO:
DREAM-BOUND AT LAKE SEBU
If the perfect travel itinerary for you involves a worthwhile experience of culture and adventure, then the province of South Cotabato in Mindanao is a definite destination for you.
Hikong Bente Falls
Lake Sebu Lotus Garden
Enticed by the province’s promise of breathtaking views, thrilling outdoor activities, and abundant agri-produce, we flew all the way to the Land of the Dreamweavers, on a mission to seek what makes this place a vibrant tapestry of life.
From the General Santos City airport, we drove our Mitsubishi Xpander and traveled along the winding roads up to the municipality of Lake Sebu. The journey was seamless, and as we neared our destination, our intrigue about the T’boli community and its dreamweavers intensified. Along the way, at almost every roundabout crossing between municipalities, we were welcomed with monuments honoring the Tri-people—the Lumad (the indigenous people), the Moro, and the Christians.
UNRAVELING DREAMS: THE ART OF T’NALAK WEAVING
The province is home to several indigenous groups of different cultures, traditions, and beliefs, and yet weaving abaca is one tradition that all of them practice, albeit varying in designs and meaning. For the T’boli, the predominant group in the municipalities of T’boli and Lake Sebu, their traditional woven abaca textile is called “t’nalak.”
The t’nalak has long been recognized on an international scale as the true symbol of the T’boli, a treasured heritage rooted in their very identity as a tribe. But to many people living outside the indigenous communities, the t’nalak may seem as a mystical artifact, as this cloth’s designs are known to be drawn from its weavers’ dreams.
The t’nalak has long been recognized on an international scale as the true symbol of the T’boli, a treasured heritage rooted in their very identity as a tribe. But to many people living outside the indigenous communities, the t’nalak may seem as a mystical artifact, as this cloth’s designs are known to be drawn from its weavers’ dreams.
As mentioned by the dreamweavers that we met, the traditional designs of the t’nalak were given by the abaca spirit Fu Dalu, who is said to appear in the dreams of the T’boli weavers. The Dreamweaver must then toil to birth the design in her backstrap loom, in her solitary time during the early morn, or in the cool night. Never at noon, when the threads are made brittle by the heat.
As mentioned by the dreamweavers that we met, the traditional designs of the t’nalak were given by the abaca spirit Fu Dalu, who is said to appear in the dreams of the T’boli weavers. The Dreamweaver must then toil to birth the design in her backstrap loom, in her solitary time during the early morn, or in the cool night. Never at noon, when the threads are made brittle by the heat.
Producing a single stretch of t’nalak typically takes at least three months to complete. This process is participated by several members of the family; where the men are charged with extracting the fibers from the abaca pulp, while the women and children, with their nimble hands, connect the dried fibers together to make lengths of threads. The threads are then soaked and boiled with a select bark or leaf of specific plants to dye them into either black or red.
With the tediousness of this process, and with the rise of modern, factory-made abaca cloth, keeping the tradition alive has been a challenge, not only for the sake of the tribe’s survival, but also for the sustenance of families who make their living out of t’nalak.
A COMMUNITY OF DREAMERS
As an effort to sustain the practice, weaving centers can be found all over this municipality, in between hills, in settlements sharing the bounty of three lakes and seven waterfalls. These centers function as exhibit spaces, production centers, and even schools, and are spearheaded by master weavers who continue to produce t’nalak while sharing their knowledge to their kin.
School of Living Traditions (SLT)
Perhaps most popular is the Lang Dulay Weaving Center, built in honor of Lang Dulay as an accomplished weaver of the t’nalak. Lang Dulay, who passed on in 2015, was awarded by the National Commission of Culture and the Arts the “Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan” in 1998, a prestige unlike any other for cultural bearers and masters of traditional crafts.
In the same barangay as the Lang Dulay Weaving Center, we traversed steep hilly roads to meet with a humble T’boli weaver, Ate Nening Tuan.
Nening Tuan, Dreamweaver
Nening with a Basag Tree
Ate Nening is uncertain about her age, like most folk in these indigenous communities. Her guess is she is 48 years old. She told us that when she was around 15, an old woman appeared in her dreams one night, and showed her the trunk of a basag tree (wild palm). The old woman pointed to a strange formation on the tree trunk and told her, “This is yours.” She had just been gifted a t’nalak design by Fu Dalu.
Before having that dream, Nening had been tying abaca fibers in her spare time since she was around 10. Her nanay, Linda, was a Dreamweaver too. From childhood until the day her mother passed, weaving the t’nalak was part and parcel of Nening’s responsibilities as a daughter, and then as a mother and a wife. Weaving seems to be a part-time job, as the women are also expected to help in the fields, and to feed the family first.
Nening and her sister
This is what Nening inherits as tau mewel t’nalak or tau mo nes, “a person who makes cloth” in the T’boli language. Even without a weaving center of her own, she feels it is important for her to practice the craft, and to help other women, in honor of the generations of weavers who have come before her.
A NEW GENERATION OF DREAMERS, WEAVERS
Nowadays the craft is no longer dominated by only women, as recently more men are recognized to be designers and weavers of the community too. This may have arisen from economic necessity, but to Agustin Sudaw, who has established a small weaving center in a barangay near Nening’s house, his relationship with abaca is anchored in passion and creativity.
Agustin Sudaw, Weaver
Agustin is a 44 year-old teacher by profession and has been weaving abaca textile for more than 30 years already. His approach is unconventional as he produces abaca textiles dyed with contemporary colors. Leaving the traditional black and red hues, he dyes the threads with blue, purple, pink. He calls these “contemporary ikat.”
Agustin Sudaw, Weaver
Nowadays the craft is no longer dominated by only women, as recently more men are recognized to be designers and weavers of the community too. This may have arisen from economic necessity, but to Agustin Sudaw, who has established a small weaving center in a barangay near Nening’s house, his relationship with abaca is anchored in passion and creativity.
Agustin is a 44 year-old teacher by profession and has been weaving abaca textile for more than 30 years already. His approach is unconventional as he produces abaca textiles dyed with contemporary colors. Leaving the traditional black and red hues, he dyes the threads with blue, purple, pink. He calls these “contemporary ikat.”
His creations have brought him to national and international recognition and have attracted the attention of customers looking for abaca textile that fit the taste of modern consumers, especially in fashion. But for him, the preservation of the t’nalak weaving practice is an advocacy he strongly supports. For him, both the traditional and the contemporary can exist together in this current time. And these innovations might just inspire the rest of the community to keep the t’nalak tradition alive.
In Lake Sebu, we met talented weavers that honor their tradition and culture in their own ways. To these big dreamers, what enriches the tapestry of the T’boli culture and traditions is the heart that they put into every stretch of t’nalak and contemporary ikat that they create.
You too can be mesmerized by the heart and spirit of South Cotabato. So…taralets na sa Lake Sebu!
In Lake Sebu, we met talented weavers that honor their tradition and culture in their own ways. To these big dreamers, what enriches the tapestry of the T’boli culture and traditions is the heart that they put into every stretch of t’nalak and contemporary ikat that they create.
You too can be mesmerized by the heart and spirit of South Cotabato. So…taralets na sa Lake Sebu!
Say hello to our travel companion, the Mitsubishi Xpander! It powered us through the winding roads and rainy days of Lake Sebu, making sure we didn’t miss a single story from the dreamweavers. Its refined prowess turned our journey into a seamless exploration of dreams and traditions.
Say hello to our travel companion, the Mitsubishi Xpander! It powered us through the winding roads and rainy days of Lake Sebu, making sure we didn’t miss a single story from the dreamweavers. Its refined prowess turned our journey into a seamless exploration of dreams and traditions.
