The Dream Weaver

Our world is engross with digital technology innovations while there are tribe people who remain firm to their ways of living. Some of them have remained loyal in preserving their culture like Lang Dulay.

Lang Dulay is born on August 3 in year 1928. She was a T'boli princess from the Lake Sebu region in South Cotabato. She fell into a coma in early 2015 and died on April 30 of the same year. She first learnt weaving at the age of 12 from her mother,

Luan Senig. Her contribution to Philippine culture and art is very remarkable. The preservation of her people’s identity are weaved into each of her Tnalak cloth. She was in her late 70s when she received the National Living Treasure (Manlilikha ng Bayan) award from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in 1998 for her contribution in the preservation of their culture, and for her fine craftsmanship of the delicate abaca fibers.

Traditional motifs in T'nalak weaving is her specialty. In the course of commercialization of the craft with modern designs by non-T-bolis, she still have mental repertoire of around 100 patterns and designs like bankiring (hair), kabangi (butterfly), bulinglangit (clouds).to compete the modern living and some of these were based on her dreams, hence her description as a "dreamweaver".

Weaving is a tedious and backbreaking process. Abaca stems are pounded and stripped to produce the fibers. Further processing is needed to make the fibers even thinner. Strands are dyed by hand and carefully arranged on a bamboo frame and Near Lang Dulay’s feet are two bamboo contraptions used for weaving designs which she is using to guide other weavers.

Lang Dulay barely weaves now nevertheless, she does the conceptualization and designing.The famous T’nalak design, reflects the stories and struggles of her people. She wears clothing made of T’nalak cloth since it is their custom to dress that way and to show her love, loyalty and support to her kind. Each roll of Tnalak could be 5 to 8 meters long which will take as much as 3 months to complete a roll and No Tnalak cloth can be cut in half as it is considered sacred in Tboli culture.

Manlilikha ng Bayan Center workshop was set up by Lang Dulay in her hometown to promote the traditional art of T'nalak weaving and by 2014, five of her grandchildren had become weavers and continues to promote our peculiar native creation.

Manlilikha ng Bayan Center workshop was set up by Lang Dulay in her hometown to promote the traditional art of T'nalak weaving and by 2014, five of her grandchildren had become weavers and continues to promote our peculiar native creation.

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