Ambalang Ausalin, Yakan textile master weaver, dies at 78
- Angelo Garcia
- Feb 20, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: May 12, 2022
February 20, 2022 | 2:14 PM
by Angelo Garcia, Author
The Yakan people lost a treasure, Apuh Ambalang Ausalin was a master weaver known for her unparalleled skills in the craft of weaving.
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) announced on Friday, February 18, that Ambalang Ausalin has passed away. She was 78.
The NCCA conferred Apuh Ambalang Ausalin as a Manlilikha ng Bayan in 2016. An important figure in Yakan textile weaving, the master weaver was a pride of her community in Parangbasak in Lamitan City, Basilan.
The Yakan people are known for their textiles made by some of the Southern Philippines' best weavers.
According to an article by NCCA titled “National Living Treasures: Ambalang Ausalin,” published in its website in 2016, the late master weaver was revered in Lamitan.
“Her skill is deemed incomparable: she is able to bring forth all designs and actualize all textile categories typical to the Yakan. She can execute the suwah bekkat (cross-stitch-like embellishment) and suwah pendan (embroidery-like embellishment) techniques of the bunga sama category. She possesses the complex knowledge of the entire weaving process, aware at the same time of the cultural significance of each textile design or category,” according to the said article.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) likewise paid tribute to the late master weaver.
“We are grateful for Apuh Ambalang's dedication to keeping the art of Yakan weaving alive, embodying our Philippine identity, culture, and our country's boundless creativity. Because of Apuh Ambalang and other traditional masters like her, the Philippines continues to be known around the world for its rich, colorful culture, its talented people, and wonderful destinations,”
DOT said in its post.
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