NCCA mourns passing of 'living treasure' Lang Dulay

(Updated 2:07 p.m.) The National Commission for Culture and the Arts mourned on Thursday the passing of textile weaver and erstwhile "living treasure" Lang Dulay.

 

In a post on its Facebook account, the NCCA posted a photo of Dulay with the caption, "Paalam Lang Dulay (1928-2015)."

 

Dulay, a Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee in 1998, was known for her textile weaving depicting her people, the T'boli, in Lake Sebu in South Cotabato.

She was one of the few weavers of the traditional T'Boli textile (called T'Nalak) left in Lake Sebu. 

 

An NCCA profile of Dulay cited her for recreating "the crocodiles, butterflies and flowers, along with mountains and streams, of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato," using "abaca fibers as fine as hair."

 

"Through her weaving, Lang Dulay does what she can to keep her people’s tradition alive," the NCCA said.

 

The NCCA also said Dulay knew a hundred designs, including the bulinglangit (clouds), the bankiring (hair bangs), and the kabangi (butterfly), spinning her stories with red and black dyes.

 

"Her textiles reflect the wisdom and the visions of her people," it said.

"[U]pon learning that she was being considered to be one of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees, tears of joy fell from her eyes. She thought of the school that she wanted to build, a school where the women of her community could go to perfect their art," the NCCA wrote. 

 

Dulay learned to weave at age 12, and dreamt someday she could pass on her talent and skills to the young in her community.

 

Four of her grandchildren have themselves picked up the shuttle and are learning to weave, the NCCA said.

According to the Facebook account of "K'Na, the Dreamweaver"—a film inspired by Dulay—she had been in a coma for the past two months. — Joel Locsin and Trisha Macas/ELR/KG, GMA News