Alice Reyes

National Artist for Dance (2014)

The name Alice Reyes has become a significant part of Philippine dance parlance. As a dancer, choreographer, teacher and director,
she has made a lasting impact on the development and promotion of contemporary dance in the Philippines. Her dance legacy is
evident in the dance companies, teachers, choreographers and the exciting Filipino modern dance repertoire of our country today.

Reyes’ dance training started at an early age with classical ballet under the tutelage of Rosalia Merino Santos. She subsequently
trained in folk dance under the Bayanihan Philippine National Dance Company and pursued modern dance and jazz education and
training in the United States. Since then, during a professional dance career that spanned over two decades, her innovative artistic
vision, firm leadership and passion for dance have made a lasting mark on Philippine dance.

Perhaps the biggest contribution of Alice Reyes to Philippine dance is the development of a distinctly Filipino modern dance idiom.
Utilizing inherently Filipino materials and subject matters expressed through a combination of movements and styles from
Philippine indigenous dance, modern dance and classical ballet she has successfully created a contemporary dance language that is
uniquely Filipino. From her early masterpiece Amada to the modern dance classic Itim-Asu, to her last major work Bayanihan
Remembered which she staged for Ballet Philippines, she utilized this idiom to promote unique facets of Philippine arts, culture and
heritage.

By introducing the first modern dance concert at the CCP Main Theater in February 1970 featuring an all contemporary dance
repertoire and by promoting it successfully to a wide audience, she initiated the popularization of modern dance in the country. She
followed this up by programs that developed modern dancers, teachers, choreographers and audiences. By organizing outreach
tours to many provinces, lecture-demonstrations in schools, television promotions, a subscription season and children’s matinee
series, she slowly helped build an audience base for Ballet Philippines and modern dance in the country.

Among her major works: Amada (1969), At a Maranaw Gathering (1970) Itim-Asu (1971), Tales of the Manuvu(1977), Rama
Hari (1980), Bayanihan Remembered (1987).

Bienvenido L. Lumbera

Bienvenido L. Lumbera was born on April 11, 1932. He spent most of his youth in Batangas until he entered the University of Santo
Tomas in 1950 to pursue a degree in journalism. He completed his M.A. and then his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Indiana
University in 1967. Lumbera writes in English and Filipino, and has produced works in both languages.

He has a poetry collection entitled Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (1993), and Balaybay: Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, a collection of
new poems in Filipino and those from Likhang Dila. He has several critical works, including Abot-Tanaw: Sulyap at Suri sa
Nagbabagong Kultura at Lipunan (1987) and Writing the Nation/Pag-akda ng Bansa (2000). He has also done several librettos,
among them Tales of the Manuvu (1977) and Rama Hari (1980). Sa Sariling Bayan: Apat na Dulang May Musika (DLSU, 2003) collects
the four historical musicals Nasa Puso ang Amerika, Bayani, Noli Me Tangere: The Musical, and Hibik at Himagsik Nina Victoria
Laktaw.

Dr. Lumbera has been a recipient of numerous awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and
Creative Communication Arts in 1993, the Gawad CCP, Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas, Manila Critics' Circle and the Palanca.
He has also gained Professor Emeritus status in the University of the Philippines. He also serves in the Board of Advisers of the UP
Institute of Creative Writing. This 2006, for his creative and critical work directed towards a literature rooted in the search for
nationhood, Dr. Lumbera received the much-coveted title of National Artist for Literature.

Carlos “Botong” Francisco

National Artist for Painting (1973)

(November 4, 1912 – March 31, 1969)
Carlos “Botong” Francisco, the poet of Angono, single-handedly revived the forgotten art of mural and remained its most
distinguished practitioner for nearly three decades. In panels such as those that grace the City Hall of Manila, Francisco turned
fragments of the historic past into vivid records of the legendary courage of the ancestors of his race. He was invariably linked with
the “modernist” artists, forming with Victorio C. Edades and Galo Ocampo what was then known in the local art circles as “The
Triumvirate”. Botong’s unerring eye for composition, the lush tropical sense of color and an abiding faith in the folk values typified
by the townspeople of Angono became the hallmark of his art.
Fernando C. Amorsolo

The country had its first National Artist in Fernando C. Amorsolo. The official title “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art” was bestowed
on Amorsolo when the Manila Hilton inaugurated its art center on January 23, 1969 with an exhibit of a selection of his works.
Returning from his studies abroad in the 1920s, Amorsolo developed the backlighting technique that became his trademark where
figures, a cluster of leaves, spill of hair, the swell of breast, are seen aglow on canvas. This light, Nick Joaquin opines, is the rapture
of a sensualist utterly in love with the earth, with the Philippine sun, and is an accurate expression of Amorsolo’s own exuberance.
His citation underscores all his years of creative activity which have “defined and perpetuated a distinct element of the nation’s
artistic and cultural heritage”.

Among others, his major works include the following: Maiden in a Stream(1921)-GSIS collection; El Ciego (1928)-Central Bank of the
Philippines collection; Dalagang Bukid (1936) – Club Filipino collection; The Mestiza (1943) – National Museum of the Philippines
collection; Planting Rice (1946)-UCPB collection; Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958)-Ayala Museum Collection.

Francisco Feliciano
National Artist for Music (2014)

Francisco Feliciano’s corpus of creative work attests to the exceptional talent of the Filipino as an artist. His lifetime
conscientiousness in bringing out the “Asianness” in his music, whether as a composer, conductor, or educator, contributed to
bringing the awareness of people all over the world to view the Asian culture as a rich source of inspiration and a celebration of our
ethnicity, particularly the Philippines. He brought out the unique sounds of our indigenous music in compositions that have high
technical demands equal to the compositions of masters in the western world. By his numerous creative outputs, he has elevated
the Filipino artistry into one that is highly esteemed by the people all over the world.

Many of his choral compositions have been performed by the best choirs in the country, such as the world-renowned Philippines
Madrigal Singers, UST Singers, and the Novo Concertante Manila, and have won for them numerous awards in international choral
competitions. The technical requirement of his choral pieces is almost at the tip of the scale that many who listen to their rendition
are awed, especially because he incorporates the many subtleties of rhythmic vitality and intricate interweaving of lines inspired
from the songs of our indigenous tribes. He not only borrows these musical lines, albeit he quotes them and transforms them into
completely energetic fusions of sound and culture that does nothing less than celebrate our various ethnicities.

His operas and orchestral works also showcase the masterful treatment of a musical language that is unique and carries with it a
contemporary style that allows for the use of modal scales, Feliciano’s preferred tonality. The influence of bringing out the
indigenous culture, particularly in sound, is strongly evident in La Loba Negra, Ashen Wings, and Yerma. In his modest hymns,
Feliciano was able to bring out the Filipino mysticism in the simple harmonies that is able to captivate and charm his audiences. It is
his matchless genius in choosing to state his ideas in their simplest state but producing a haunting and long-lasting impact on the
listening soul that makes his music extraordinarily sublime.

Major Works: Ashen Wings (1995), Sikhay sa Kabila ng Paalam (1993), La Loba Negra (1983), Yerma (1982), Pamugun (1995), Pokpok
Alimako (1981)

National Artist for Literature (1973)

(August 5, 1908 – February 7, 1997)

“Art is a miraculous flirtation with Nothing!

Aiming for nothing, and landing on the Sun.”
― Doveglion: Collected Poems

Jose Garcia Villa is considered as one of the finest contemporary poets regardless of race or language. Villa, who lived in Singalong,
Manila, introduced the reversed consonance rime scheme, including the comma poems that made full use of the punctuation mark
in an innovative, poetic way. The first of his poems “Have Come, Am Here” received critical recognition when it appeared in New
York in 1942 that, soon enough, honors and fellowships were heaped on him: Guggenheim, Bollingen, the American Academy of
Arts and Letters Awards. He used Doveglion (Dove, Eagle, Lion) as pen name, the very characters he attributed to himself, and the
same ones explored by e.e. cummings in the poem he wrote for Villa (Doveglion, Adventures in Value). Villa is also known for the
tartness of his tongue.
Villa’s works have been collected into the following books: Footnote to Youth,Many Voices, Poems by Doveglion, Poems 55, Poems
in Praise of Love: The Best Love Poems of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen By Himself, Selected Stories,The Portable Villa, The Essential
Villa, Mir-i-nisa, Storymasters 3: Selected Stories from Footnote to Youth, 55 Poems: Selected and Translated into Tagalog by Hilario
S. Francia.

National Artist for Literature / Music (1997)

(April 30, 1910 – April 2, 2002)

Levi Celerio is a prolific lyricist and composer for decades. He effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to traditional melodies:
“O Maliwanag Na Buwan” (Iloko), “Ako ay May Singsing” (Pampango), “Alibangbang” (Visaya) among others.

Born in Tondo, Celerio received his scholarship at the Academy of Music in Manila that made it possible for him to join the Manila
Symphony Orchestra, becoming its youngest member. He made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to
make music using just a leaf.

A great number of his songs have been written for the local movies, which earned for him the Lifetime Achievement Award from
the Film Academy of the Philippines. Levi Celerio, more importantly, has enriched the Philippine music for no less than two
generations with a treasury of more than 4,000 songs in an idiom that has proven to appeal to all social classes.

National Artist for Music (1991)

(February 11, 1913 – March 31, 2002)

Lucio San Pedro is a master composer, conductor, and teacher whose music evokes the folk elements of the Filipino heritage.
Cousin to “Botong” Francisco, San Pedro produced a wide-ranging body of works that includes band music, concertos for violin and
orchestra, choral works, cantatas, chamber music, music for violin and piano, and songs for solo voice. He was the conductor of the
much acclaimed Peng Kong Grand Mason Concert Band, the San Pedro Band of Angono, his father’s former band, and the Banda
Angono Numero Uno. His civic commitment and work with town bands have significantly contributed to the development of a civic
culture among Filipino communities and opened a creative outlet for young Filipinos.

His orchestral music include The Devil’s Bridge, Malakas at Maganda Overture,Prelude and Fugue in D minor, Hope and Ambition;
choral music Easter Cantata, Sa Mahal Kong Bayan, Rizal’s Valedictory Poem; vocal music Lulay,Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, In the Silence of
the Night; and band music Dance of the Fairies, Triumphal March, Lahing Kayumanggi, Angononian March among others.

Ryan Cayabyab
National Artist for Music (2018)
Birthday: 4 May 1954

Mr. C the most accomplished composer, arranger, and musical director in the Philippine music industry since this bloomed
beginning 1970s. His learned, skillful, and versatile musical style spans a wide range of genres: from conservatory or art
compositions such as concert religious music, symphonic work, art song, opera, and concerto to mainstream popular idioms in the
music industry and in live contemporary multimedia shows (musical theater, dance, and film). Being very visible in the national
media (once a TV host of a long-running arts and culture series and recently a judge in reality TV singing competitions), Cayabyab is
a household name. His compositions reflect a perspective of music that extols the exuberance of life and human happiness, thu s
capturing the very essence of our Filipino soul.

Notable Works:

 Rama-Hari (Two-act musical ballet, 1980)

 Katy! The Musical (Two-act musical, 1988)
 Smokey Mountain (Pop CD album, 1990)
 One Christmas (Christmas Album, 1993)
 Noli Me Tangere (Tele-sine musical, 1995)
 Spoliarium (Three-act opera, 2003)
 Ignacio Of Loyola (Film Score, 2016)
 Larawan: The Musical (Full-length musical film, 2017)
 Da Coconut Nut
  Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika
 Nais Ko
 Paraiso
 Kahit Ika’y Panaginip Lang
 Kailan
 Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka

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. (Maricris
Jan Tobias)

FEDERICO CABALLERO
Epic Chanter
Sulod-Bukidnon
Calinog, Iloilo
2000

Stories are the lifeblood of a people. In the stories people tell lies a window to what they think, believe, and desire. In truth, a people’s stories
soundly encapsulate the essence of their humanity. And this circumstance is not peculiar to any one group. It is as a thread that weaves through
the civilizations of the ancient East and the cultures of the industrial West.

So significant is the role they play that to poison a people’s stories, says African writer Ben Okri, is to poison their lives. This truth resonates in the
experience of many. In the folklore of the Tagalog people, tales abound of a mythical hero who, once freed from imprisonment in a sacred
mountain, would come to liberate the nation. The crafty Spaniards seized upon this myth and used it as a tool for further subjugation. They harped
on it, enshrining it in the consciousness of every Tagalog, dangling this legendary champion in front of their eyes as one would the proverbial
carrot. So insidious was this myth that suffering in silence and waiting for deliverance became a virtue. And for a time, it lulled the people into a
false sense of hope, smothering all desire to rise up in arms.

Yet stories can also stir up a people long asleep, awaken senses that have lain dormant or been dulled by the neglect of many centuries.
Throughout history, not a few have expressed the belief that the pen is more powerful than any sword, double-edged though it may be.
Nonetheless, that the purpose of stories is to change lives may not be immediately self-evident. But history, or more significantly individual insight,
stands witness to this truth. And perhaps it is partly this realization that compels Federico Caballero, a Panay-Bukidnon from the mountains of
Central Panay to ceaselessly work for the documentation of the oral literature, particularly the epics, of his people. These ten epics, rendered in a
language that, although related to Kiniray-a, is no longer spoken, constitute an encyclopedic folklore one only the most persevering and the most
gifted of disciples can learn. Together with scholars, artists, and advocates of culture, he painstakingly pieces together the elements of this oral
tradition nearly lost.

GINAW BILOG (+ 2003)

Poet
Hanunuo Mangyan
Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro
1993

A common cultural aspect among cultural communities nationwide is the oral tradition characterized by poetic verses which are either sung or
chanted. However, what distinguishes the rich Mangyan literary tradition from others is the ambahan, a poetic literary form composed of
seven-syllable lines used to convey messages through metaphors and images. The ambahan is sung and its messages range from courtship, giving
advice to the young, asking for a place to stay, saying goodbye to a dear friend and so on. Such an oral tradition is commonplace among indigenous
cultural groups but the ambahan has remained in existence today chiefly because it is etched on bamboo tubes using ancient Southeast Asian,
pre-colonial script called surat Mangyan.

Ginaw Bilog, Hanunoo Mangyan from Mansalay, Mindoro, grew up in such a cultural environment. Already steeped in the wisdom that the
ambahan is a key to the understanding of the Mangyan soul, Ginaw took it upon himself to continually keep scores of ambahan poetry recorded,
not only on bamboo tubes but on old, dog-eared notebooks passed on to him by friends.

Most treasured of his collection are those inherited from his father and grandfather, sources of inspiration and guidance for his creative endeavors.
To this day, Ginaw shares old and new ambahans with his fellow Mangyans and promotes this poetic form in every occasion.

Through the dedication of individuals like Ginaw, the ambahan poetry and other traditional art forms from our indigenous peoples will continue to
live.

The Filipinos are grateful to the Hanunoo Mangyan for having preserved a distinctive heritage form our ancient civilization that colonial rule had
nearly succeeded in destroying. The nation is justifiably proud of Ginaw Bilog for vigorously promoting the elegantly poetic art of the surat
Mangyan and the ambahan. (Prof. Felipe M. de Leon, Jr.)

HAJA AMINA APPI (+ 2013)

Mat Weaver
Sama
Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi
2004

Haja Amina Appi of Ungos Matata, Tandubas, Tawi-Tawi, is recognized as the master mat weaver among the Sama indigenous community of
Ungos Matata. Her colorful mats with their complex geometric patterns exhibit her precise sense of design, proportion and symmetry and
sensitivity to color. Her unique multi-colored mats are protected by a plain white outer mat that serves as the mat’s backing. Her functional and
artistic creations take up to three months to make.

The art of mat weaving is handed down the matrilateral line, as men in the Sama culture do not take up the craft. The whole process, from
harvesting and stripping down the pandan leaves to the actual execution of the design, is exclusive to women. It is a long and tedious process, and
requires much patience and stamina. It also requires an eye for detail, an unerring color instinct, and a genius for applied mathematics.

The process starts with the harvesting of wild pandan leaves from the forest. The Sama weavers prefer the thorny leaf variety because it produces
stronger and sturdier matting strips. Although the thorns are huge and unrelenting, Haja Amina does not hesitate from gathering the leaves. First,
she removes the thorns using a small knife. Then, she strips the leaves with a jangat deyum or stripper to make long and even strips. These strips
are sun-dried, then pressed (pinaggos) beneath a large log. She then dyes the strips by boiling them for a few minutes in hot water mixed with
anjibi or commercial dye. As an artist, she has refused to limit herself to the traditional plain white mats of her forebears, but experimented with
the use of anjibi in creating her designs. And because commercial dyes are often not bold or striking enough for her taste, she has taken to
experimenting with color and developing her own tints to obtain the desired hues. Her favorite colors are red, purple and yellow but her mats
sometimes feature up to eight colors at a time. Her complicated designs gain power from the interplay of various shades.

Upon obtaining several sets of differently-colored matting strips, she then sun dries them for three or four days, and presses them again until they
are pliant. Finally, she weaves them into a colorful geometric design. Instead of beginning at the outermost edges of the mat, she instead weaves a
central strip to form the mat’s backbone, then works to expand the mat from within. Although the techniques used to make the mats are
traditional, she has come up with some of her own modern designs. According to Haja Amina, what is more difficult than the mixing of the colors is
the visualization and execution of the design itself. It is high precision work, requiring a mastery of the medium and an instinctive sense of
symmetry and proportion. Despite the number of calculations involved to ensure that the geometric patterns will mirror, or at least complement,
each other, she is not armed with any list or any mathematical formula other than working on a base of ten and twenty strips. Instead, she only
has her amazing memory, an instinct and a lifetime of experience.

Haja Amina is respected throughout her community for her unique designs, the straightness of her edging (tabig) and the fineness of her sasa and
kima-kima. Her hands are thick and callused from years of harvesting, stained by dye. But her hands are still steady, and her eye for color still
unerring. She feels pride in the fact that people often borrow her mats to learn from her and copy her designs.

Happily, mat weaving does not seem to be a lost art as all of Haja Amina’s female children and grandchildren from her female descendants have
taken it up. Although they characterize her as a patient and gentle teacher, Haja Amina’s passion for perfection shows itself as she runs a finger
alongside the uneven stitching and obvious patchwork on her apprentices’ work. She is eager to teach, and looks forward to sharing the art with
other weavers. (Maricris Jan Tobias)

SAMAON SULAIMAN (+ 2011)

Musician
Magindanao
Mama sa Pano, Maguindanao
1993

The Magindanaon, who are among the largest of Filipino Islamic groups, are concentrated in the towns of Dinaig, Datu Piang, Maganoy and Buluan
in Magindanao province. Highly sophisticated in weaving, okir designs, jewelry, metalwork and brassware, their art is Southeast Asian yet distinct
in character.

In the field of music, the Magindanaon have few peers among Filipino cultural communities. Their masters on the kulintang (gong-chime) and
kutyapi (two-stringed plucked lute) are comparable to any instrumental virtuoso in the East or West.

The kutyapi is a favorite solo instrument among both Muslim and non-Muslim Filipinos, and is also played in combination with other instruments.
It exists in a great variety of designs, shapes and sizes and known by such names as kotapi (Subanon), fegereng (Tiruray), faglong (B’laan), hegelong
(T’boli) and kuglong or kudlong (Manobo).

The Magindanao kutyapi is one of the most technically demanding and difficult to master among Filipino traditional instruments, which is one
reason why the younger generation is not too keen to learn it. Of its two strings, one provides the rhythmic drone, while the other has movable
frets that allow melodies to be played in two sets of pentatonic scales, one containing semitones, the other containing none.

Magindanao kutyapi music is rich in melodic and rhythmic invention, explores a wide range of timbres and sound phenomena – both human and
natural, possesses a subtle and variable tuning system, and is deeply poetic in inspiration.

Though it is the kulintang that is most popular among the Magindanaon, it is the kutyapi that captivates with its intimate, meditative, almost
mystical charm. It retains a delicate, quiet temper even at its most celebrative and ebullient mood.

Samaon Sulaiman achieved the highest level of excellence in the art of kutyapi playing. His extensive repertoire of dinaladay, linapu, minuna,
binalig, and other forms and styles interpreted with refinement and sensitivity fully demonstrate and creative and expressive possibilities of his
instrument.

Learning to play the kutyapi from his uncle when he was about 13 years old, he has since, at 35 become the most acclaimed kutyapi master and
teacher of his instrument in Libutan and other barangays of Maganoy town, deeply influencing the other acknowledged experts in kutyapi in the
area, such as Esmael Ahmad, Bitul Sulaiman, Nguda Latip, Ali Ahmad and Tukal Nanalon.

Aside from kutyapi, Samaon is also proficient in kulintang, agong (suspended bossed gong with wide rim), gandingan (bossed gong with narrow
rim), palendag (lip-valley flute), and tambul.

Samaon was a popular barber in his community and serve as an Imam in the Libutan mosque.
For his exemplary artistry and dedication to his chosen instrument, for his unwavering commitment to the music of the kutyapi at a time when this
instrument no longer exists in many parts of Mindanao, Samaon Sulaiman is worthy of emulation and the highest honors. (Prof. Felipe M. de Leon,
Jr.)

UWANG AHADAS
Musician
Yakan
Lamitan, Basilan
2000

Much mystery surrounds life. And when confronted with such, it is but natural to attempt some form of hypothesizing. In the days when hard
science was nonexistent, people sought to explain away many of these enigmas by attributing them to the work of the gods or the spirits. In this
way, rain and thunder became the lamentations of a deity abandoned by his capricious wife, and night and day, the compromise reached by a
brother and sister who both wanted to rule the world upon the death of their father.

Many of these heavenly beings hold sway over the earth and all that dwell within its bounds. In the folklore of a northern people, a story explains
why, in the three-kilometer stretch of the highest peak of Binaratan, a mountain in the region, there is a silence so complete it borders on the
eerie. Legend has it that the great Kaboniyan went hunting with some men to teach them how to train and use hounds. When they reached the
peak of Binaratan, however, they could no longer hear their hounds as the song of the birds drowned their barking. One of the hunters begged
Kaboniyan to stop the birds’ singing, lest the hunt fail and they return home empty-handed. So Kaboniyan commanded the creatures of Binaratan
to be silent in a voice so loud and frightful that they kept their peace in fear. Since then, a strange unbroken silence reigns at the top of the
mountain, in spite of the multitudes of birds that flit from tree to tree.

And because they belong to this sphere, it is believed that mortal men are as vulnerable to the powers and the whims of these gods and spirits as
the beasts that roam the land and the birds that sail the sky. Though they are hidden behind dark glasses, the eyes of Uwang Ahadas speak of such
a tale, one that came to pass more than half a century before. They tell story of a young boy who unknowingly incurred the ire of the nature spirits
through his childish play. The people of his community believe Uwang’s near-blindness is a form of retribution from the nature spirits that dwelled
in Bohe Libaken, a brook near the place where he was born and where, as a child, he often bathed. His father, Imam Ahadas, recalls that the
five-year-old Uwang quietly endured the pain in his eyes, waiting out a month before finally telling his parents.

Music was to become his constant companion. Uwang Ahadas is a Yakan, a people to whom instrumental music is of much significance, connected
as it is with both the agricultural cycle and the social realm. One old agricultural tradition involves the kwintangan kayu, an instrument consisting
of five wooden logs hung horizontally, from the shortest to the longest, with the shortest being nearest the ground. After the planting of the rice,
an unroofed platform is built high in the branches of a tree. Then the kwintangan kayu is played to serenade the palay, as a lover woos his beloved.
Its resonance is believed to gently caress the plants, rousing them from their deep sleep, encouraging them to grow and yield more fruit.

With this heritage, as rich as it is steeped in music, it is no wonder that even as a young child, Uwang joyously embraced the demands and the
discipline necessitated by his art. His training began with the ardent observation of the older, more knowledgeable players in his community. His
own family, gifted with a strong tradition in music, complemented the instruction he received. He and his siblings were all encouraged to learn
how to play the different Yakan instruments, as these were part of the legacy of his ancestors. Not all Yakan children have such privilege.
Maintaining the instruments is very expensive work and sadly, there is always the temptation presented by antique dealers and other collectors
who rarely, if at all, appreciate the history embodied in these artifacts.

From the gabbang, a bamboo xylophone, his skills gradually allowed him to progress to the agung, the kwintangan kayu, and later the other
instruments. Even musical tradition failed to be a deterrent to his will. Or perhaps it only served to fuel his determination to demonstrate his gift.
Yakan tradition sets the kwintangan as a woman’s instrument and the agung, a man’s. His genius and his resolve, however, broke through this
tradition. By the age of twenty, he had mastered the most important of the Yakan musical instruments, the kwintangan among them.

Uwang, however, is not content with merely his own expertise. He dreams that many more of his people will discover and study his art. With
missionary fervor, he strives to pass on his knowledge to others. His own experience serves as a guide. He believes it is best for children to
commence training young, when interest is at its peak and flexibility of the hands and the wrists is assured. His own children were the first to
benefit from his instruction. One of his daughters, Darna, has become quite proficient in the art that like her father, she too has begun to train
others.

His purpose carries him beyond the borders of Lamitan to the other towns of Basilan where Uwang always finds a warm welcome from students,
young and old, who eagerly await his coming. His many travels have blessed him with close and enduring ties with these people. Many of his
onetime apprentices have come into their own have gained individual renown in the Yakan community. He declares, with great pride, that they
are frequently invited to perform during the many rituals and festivals that mark the community calendar.

Similar to his mentors before him, Uwang’s teaching style is essentially hands-on. He teaches by showing; his students learn by doing. His hands
constantly keep a firm hold on those of his students, the gentle pressure encouraging them to tap out music from the silent bamboo blades and
the splendid brass gongs. His soft voice sings praises when merited and lightly censures when necessary. And each student receives his full
attention while the others persevere in learning and perfecting the art.

His younger brother, Rohas, worries about how best to preserve his techniques so that they can be passed on to others even after he is gone. For
his part, he has started documenting his brother’s instruction, creating a notation system that will simplify instruction. Already he has begun using
this method for training students and declares that it shows promise. However, this is only the beginning and much work is still called for if the
hills of Basilan are to continue to resound with ancestral music.

Foremost among these is to give Uwang back the kind of mobility that will permit him to continue his mission to educate. He admits his dimmed
eyesight makes him slightly wary of travel, as it would compel him to be constantly dependent on others. Of late, he has found it more difficult to
walk, particularly when it is extremely bright and even his dark glasses afford little protection. To a man of his stature, this admission is certainly
one that is very difficult to make.

Yet when asked how he felt about treatment to correct his condition, he smiles and nods his head. With possibly the same tranquil with which he
faced up to both his fate and his people’s tradition, he expresses a willingness to endure whatever is necessary. And strangely, even through his
dark glasses, one can almost imagine seeing a not so faint glimmer in his eyes. (Salve de la Paz)