MASINO INTARAY (+ 2013)

Musician and Storyteller

Living in the highlands of southern Palawan are the Palawan people, who, together with
the Batak and Tagbanwa, are the major indigenous cultural communities of Palawan.

The Palawan possess a rich, intense yet highly refined culture encompassing both the
visible and invisible worlds. They may not exhibit the ornate splendor of the Maranaw
nor the striking elegance of the Yakan, but their elaborate conemology, extensive poetic
and literary traditions, multi-level architecture, musical concepts, social ethic and rituals
reveal a deeply spiritual sensibility and subtle inner life of a people attuned to the myriad
energies and forms of luxurious mountain universe that is their abode, a forest
environment of great trees, countless species of plants and animals, and a magnificent
firmament.

The Palawan have no notion of property. To them, the earth, sea, sky and nature’s
elements belong to no one. Their basic social ethic is one sharing. Their most important
rituals such as the tambilaw and the tinapay are forms of vast and lavish sharing,
particularly of food and drinks, skills and ideas.

The tambilaw is a collective cooking and sharing of rice which is a ritual offering to the
Lord of Rice, Ampo’t Paray, while the tinapay is the rice wine drinking ceremony. It is
during such occasions that the basal, or gong music ensemble, plays a vital role in the
life of the community. For it is the music of the basal that collectively and spiritually
connects the Palawan with the Great Lord, Ampo and the Master Rice, Ampo’t Paray.
The basal enlivens the night long fast of the drinking of the rice wine, bringing together
about one hundred guests under the roof of the kolon banwa (big house).

The gimbal (tubular drum) begins the music with a basic rhythm, then enter the sanang
( pair of small gongs with boss and narrow rims) and one to three agungs (gongs with
high bossed and wide turned – in rims).

Basal ensemble playing is an accurate and wonderful metaphor for the basic custom of
sharing among the Palawan . For in this music no one instrument predominates. The
techniques of interlocking, counterpoint, alternation and colotomy ensure a collective
oneness. The two sanang play in alternative dynamics. When one plays loudly, the
other plays softly. Contrapuntal patterns govern the interaction of the agung with the
sanang and gimbal. It is the music of “punctuation, rhythm and color rather than
melody”. Its very essence is creative cooperation and togetherness.

A non-musical instrumental element of the basal are the young women’s rapid stamping
rhythm of their foot as they move back and forth on the bamboo slatted floor of the
kolon banwa, carrying taro leaves on both hands at their sides. This percussion dance
is called tarak.

Further highlighting the intensely poetic and subtle harmony of human beings with each
other and with nature among the palawan are the kulilal and bagit traditions. The kulilal
is a highly lyrical poem expressing passionate love sang with the accompaniment of the
kusyapi (two-stringed lute), played by a man, and pagang (bamboo zither), played by a
woman. The bagit, also played on the kusyapi, is strictly instrumental music depicting
the rhythms, movements and sounds of nature, birds, monkeys, snakes, chirping of
insects, rustling of leaves, the elements and the like.

An outstanding master of the basal, kulilal and bagit is Masino, a gifted poet, bard artist,
and musician who was born near the head of the river in Makagwa valley on the foothill
of Mantalingayan mountain. Masino is not only well-versed in the instruments and
traditions of the basal, kulilal and bagit but also plays the aroding (mouth harp) and
babarak (ring flute) and above all is a prolific and pre-eminent epic chanter and story
teller.

He has the creative memory, endurance, clarity of intellect and spiritual purpose that
enable him to chant all through the night, for successive nights, countless tultul (epics),
sudsungit (narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin and teachings of ancestors).

Masino and the basal and kulilal ensemble of Makagwa valley are creative, traditional
artists of the highest order of merit
 DARHATA SAWABI (+ 2005)
Textile Weaver
Tausug
Parang, Sulu
2004

In Barangay Parang, in the island of Jolo , Sulu province, women weavers are hard at
work weaving the pis syabit, the traditional cloth tapestry worn as a head covering by
the Tausug of Jolo. “This is what we’ve grown up with,” say the weavers. “It is
something we’ve learned from our mothers.” Darhata Sawabi is one of those who took
the art of pis syabit making to heart.

The families in her native Parang still depend on subsistence farming as their main
source of income. But farming does not bring in enough money to support a family, and
is not even an option for someone like Darhata Sawabi who was raised from birth to do
only household chores. She has never married. Thus, weaving is her only possible
source of income. The money she earns from making the colorful squares of cloth has
enabled her to become self-sufficient and less dependent on her nephews and nieces.
A hand-woven square measuring 39 by 40 inches, which takes her some three months
to weave, brings her about P2,000. These squares are purchased by Tausug for
headpieces, as well as to adorn native attire, bags and other accessories. Her
remarkable proficiency with the art and the intricacy of her designs allows her to price
her creations a little higher than others. Her own community of weavers recognizes her
expertise in the craft, her bold contrasting colors, evenness of her weave and her
faithfulness to traditional designs.

Pis syabit weaving is a difficult art. Preparing the warp alone already takes three days. It
is a very mechanical task, consisting of stringing black and red threads across a banana
and bamboo frame to form the base of the tapestry. At 48, and burdened by years of
hard work, Sawabi no longer has the strength or the stamina for this. Instead, she hires
one of the neighboring children or apprentice weavers to do it at the cost of P300. It is a
substantial amount, considering the fact that she still has to spend for thread. Sawabi’s
typical creations feature several colors, including the basic black and red that form the
warp, and a particular color can require up to eight cones, depending on the role it plays
in the design. All in all, it comes up to considerable capital which she can only recover
after much time and effort.

Sawabi faces other challenges to her art as well. In the 1970s, when Jolo was torn apart
by armed struggle, Sawabi and her family were often forced to abandon their home in
search of safer habitats. The first time she was forced to abandon her weaving was very
painful experience as it was impossible for her to bring the loom along with her to the
forest where they sought refuge. They returned to their home to see the pis she had
been working on for nearly a month destroyed by the fighting. There was nothing for her
to do except pick up the pieces of her loom and start again. Because of the conflict, she
and her family had been forced to relocate twice finally establishing their residence in
Parang. During this time, Sawabi supported her family by weaving and selling her
pieces to the participants in the conflict who passed through her village. Because of her
dedication to her art, generations of traditional Tausug designs have been preserved
and are available for contemporary appreciation and future study. She continues to
weave at home, while teaching the other women of her community. In recent years, she
has had several apprentices, and more and more people have bought her work.

Sawabi remains faithful to the art of pis syabit weaving. Her strokes are firm and sure,
her color sensitivity acute, and her dedication to the quality of her products unwavering.
She recognizes the need for her to remain in the community and continue with her
mission to teach the art of pis syabit weaving. She had, after all, already been teaching
the young women of Parang how to make a living from their woven fabrics. Some of her
students are already teachers themselves. She looks forward to sharing the tradition of
pis syabit weaving to the younger generations.