Weaving the cultural heritage of Asean

(Excerpts of a speech by Senator Loren Legarda on the 49th Asean Economic Ministers’ Spouses Program, 8 September 2017 | Hall 1 of Citem, Pasay City)

ASEAN is one of the most diverse regions in the world. It is a region of 32,000 islands spanning over 4 million square kilometers and hosting more than 600 million people who speak more than 900 different languages and dialects.

Aside from its abundance of natural resources, the Asean region is also gifted with rich cultural heritage. Among the facets of heritage, I have developed a particular interest on textiles and weaving traditions—the ties that bind.

Traditional textiles tell a lot of stories and histories. In every handwoven textile is a weaver’s passion for her craft and respect for her heritage. Although textile is tangible, weaving is an intangible heritage that would cease to exist if not preserved and promoted.

For the T’bolis of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, weaving, embroidery, beadwork and belt-making are important skills in keeping the T’boli tradition alive because every item they make is an important part of their life.[1]

The t’nalak is a cloth made of abaca that is usually used by the T’bolis during significant occasions like birth, marriage and death; the hilets, or belts with brass small bells, are believed to drive away bad spirits; while the embroidery they use to accentuate their traditional blouses narrate the story of their relationship with nature and the spirits.

In Paracelis, Mountain Province, the Ga’dang community practices weaving that involves an intricate beadwork, which makes their garments unique from the others. [2]

The process of both the actual weaving and incorporating beadwork is too tedious and takes a lot of time. A belt alone is made in more than a week’s time.

Ga’dang elders strive to pass on this traditional Ga’dang cloth weaving to their children to unleash the creativity of the youth while incorporating in them the values of hard work, patience and love of culture.

Meanwhile, the Panay Bukidnon community in Calinog, Iloilo employs intricate handiwork and a unique dyeing system in the creation of their traditional wear. Embroiderers intricately work on their craft to emphasize the elaborate symbol pictography of the Panay Bukidnon, which is usually inspired by their natural surroundings.[3]

The Hanunuo Mangyan community in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro continues to practice burungan to produce thread from cotton, which they use to weave ramit that they wear as skirt. [4]

The process of making cotton thread starts with the harvest of cotton and removing of seeds, which is already a tedious process. Using birikan, a bowl acting as a plinth, and the binuyo, a spool formed from the betel nut tree, cotton thread is spun as it is pulled from the wool of wild cotton. The dye extracted from the tagum leaf is used to infuse color into the thread. The Hanunuo Mangyans weave ramit, which have various designs, using backstrap loom.

These traditional practices are but a few of the many weaving traditions around the country which we were able to share with a wide audience at the Manila FAME 2012 through the Hibla Pavilion of Textiles and Weaves which we did with the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

We continue to propagate knowledge on weaving traditions through the Lecture Series on Philippine Traditional Textiles and Indigenous Knowledge at the National Museum of the Phil- ippines. Aside from showcasing the weaving traditions of various ethno-linguistic groups in the country, we have also invited lecturers from our Asean neighbors.

Textiles present a natural interconnection, a nexus, if you will, where science, technology and innovation meet art, culture and tradition. It is also a primary key to inclusivity as it provides a bridge between agriculture and industry.

As one of the three basics to life, in addition to food and shelter, textiles, more specifically in the form of clothes or vestments, must be sustained and promoted.

Weaving and traditional textiles are part of a rich cultural heritage that each of our nations possesses. This heritage weaves a nation’s people into one unbreakable fabric.

As we have commenced the ASEAN Economic Integration, we must not get lost while we welcome each other into one community. Our respective identities as sovereign nations must remain intact. It is in a stronger and strengthened individual country’s identity that regional integration is enriched.

Thank you.