ALAY PARA KAY LANG DULAY
The Legacy of Lang Dulay
Get to know the life and works of the master T'nalak weaver herself, Lang Dulay
THE LIFE OF LANG DULAY
Lang Dulay was a Filipino textile weaver and a Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee. She was a T'boli princess, born on August 3, 1928 at Lake Sebu region in South Cotabato.
She first learned weaving at an early age of 12 from her mother. They use the traditional T'nalak, a T'boli dyed cloth made out of abaca fibers that are as fine as hair.
Her commitment for weaving attributed her a mental repertoire of more than 100 patterns and designs with stories embedded on it. Some of her works came from her dreams, hence naming her as the dreamweaver.
THE WORKS OF LANG DULAY
Her textiles reflect their rich and beautiful tradition and culture as their tribe, most especially women, are known to be producing T’nalak since the early times that shows their vision and grace as they pay attention to even the smallest detail of their craft.
Using red and black dyes, she tells her stories through the patterns and designs she creates.
Some of the works that are attributed to her are the bulinglangit (clouds), bankiring (hair bangs), and kabangi (butterfly).
THE LEGACY OF LANG DULAY
There are only a few T'nalak weavers in the country due to its tedious process. To preserve the art of T'nalak weaving, Lang Dulay spearheaded the Manlilikha ng Bayan Center Workshop in her hometown.
And in 2014, five of her grandchildren became weavers, and have picked up the technique to learn, create, and continue the legacy that their grandmother pursued.
WHAT IS T'NALAK WEAVING?
T’nalak is a sacred cloth woven by the T'boli people in Lake Sebu, Mindanao Island. It is traditionally made by women of royal blood. Thousands of patterns that mirrors the folklore and stories of their tribe are known to the T’boli women by memory.
Has a three (3) distinct tri-color scheme: White for the pattern, red for relief elements and black (or deep brown) for the background.
Dreamweavers uses abaca pounded and stripped into fine fibers in producing T’nalak.
T’nalak is used for ritual practices as well as sacred celebrations hence making it a sacred clothing of the tribe.
It used to be a product for barter during the early times in exchange of food supplies thus, making T’nalak a very important part of their culture and history.
THE PROCESS OF T'NALAK WEAVING
For everyone to understand how tedious T'nalak weaving is, here is the overview of the step-by-step procedure of the said weaving style.
Kedungon is the process where fibers used in weaving are harvested from the abaca tree.
Two metal blades are used to quickly remove the pulp and reveal the filaments, which are worked by hand into fine threads.
An artisan will connect individual threads end to end through the process of tembong.
In the ikat-style, beeswax and natural pigments are used through the process of temogo or dyeing.
Fibers are first boiled in a black dye for several weeks.
Mewel, which is referred to weaving, is done on a legogong or backstrap loom.
Weaving one piece of cloth can take up to a month of uninterrupted work.
Semaki, involves burnishing the fabric with a cowrie shell that is heated by friction- the last stage of T’nalak weaving.
To see the full guide on how T'nalak weaving is done, check out the video below to indulge your curiosity. Perhaps, you can also make one in the future!
