Weaving the Threads of

Tradition
Exhibition Curatorial Design
weavers of the various cultural groups in Mindanao and Sulu find themselves in sharply
differing situations. The number of active weavers among the Bagobo can be counted on the
fingers of one hand; most are elderly, and no younger women are learning to carry on these
traditions. More Blaan women are weaving, but their numbers are also quite limited. Among
both groups ceremonial clothing made of abaca is in demand for festivals, and there is no longer
enough to go around, meaning the most participants are forced to wear neotraditional garments
made of commercial cloth. -Roy W. Hamilton
From the Rainbows Varied Hues
Textiles of the Southern Philippines

The concern for the preservation of the culture of the
Blaan is not new. Initiatives to help protect the Blaan
way of life from vanishing has been going on for quite
some time but the enormity of the task found many of
these noble interventions lacking at their very best.
Many aspects of the Blaan culture are systematically
vanishing before an initiative even is thought of. One of
these precious heritages endangered of vanishing is the
Blaan weaving tradition called Mabal.

Background

The Keepers of the Tradition
Fu Yabing Dulo Fu Gusiye Buan

An Enduring Tradition with a Difficult
Prospect for the Future
The Mabal is difficult to
make. If the entire tradition
of Mabal making will be
carried on only by the last
two masters, Fu Yabing and
Fu Gusiye only a few more
Mabals will be completed;
the documentation of this
fabulous cultural resource
will be left unfinished; the
noble narrative of the
existence of a Blaan nation
will go silent with the
passing of the masters.

Design
Mabal Blaan Weaving the Threads of Tradition
is an extensive, elaborate, and
detailed exhibit. Artifacts
exhibited are finished Blaan
Tabih, tools and materials
used in the making of the
fabric, and derivative
products using the Tabih.
This is a combination of the
Tangible (physical) and
intangible (ephemeral)
construction of the Mabal.

Sectional Themes
TheBlaanTabih as Socio
Cultural Resource Material
The Tabih is material derivative of the
Blaan mabal. Literally meaning the
act of weaving the resulting textile
has many practical use, chiefly
among the many is its use as a
Tabih for tube skirts. The use of the
textile as decorative ornamentation
in everyday objects. This section
shall include objects and artifacts
that appropriates the Blaan mabal
as main material or as a decorative
motif


Survey of BlaanTabih as a
Crafting Tradition What is the
role of the Mabal in everyday
Blaan way of life? the Tabih as a
tangible cultural resource in
everyday Blaan life)

Artifacts: BlaanTabih. Blaan Shorts.
Tools and other implements
decorated with Tabih.


Sectional Themes

The Mabal as an Indigenous
Knowledge System/
indigenous technology What
are the indigenous dyes used?
What are the names of the parts
of the loom?
A full loom set-up is included
in this section
Sectional Themes

Sectional Themes
The BlaanTabih as a Cultural
Identity a comparative section
where the Blaan Mabal technology
is compared with Tboli Tnalak and
the Tagabawa Manobo Inabal
Technologies)
Artifacts works of Lang Dulay and
SalintaMonon.(Carlo Ebeo and and
Bing collection, and if we
can borrow from the heirs of
SalintaMonon

Sectional Themes
The BlaanTabih as an
Economic Resource ( from
traditional to
contemporary/fashion world
like the works of Emi Englis
and cultural enterprise like
integration of Tabih and even
Tnalak as wedding
accessories as popularized
now by the International
Touch in General Santos City)

Objectives of the Project
the exhibit shall empower Blaan women folk as the exhibition shows the role of
women in crafting the identity of the Blaan through the crafts. The Mabal designs
are important to the Blaans as it is in the patterns and colors that gives identity even
if the Tbolis( in their Tnalak) and the Tagabawa Bagobo ( in their inabal), uses the
same materials, sets each of these peoples apart. The Mabal is a subtle but distinct
cultural resource that defines the Blaan culture.


To popularize the Blaan Tabih as a heritage material and promote and
popularize the role traditional artists as keepers of national heritage .
Objectives:
1. Gather Fu Yabingsand Fu Gusiyes most important works as focus of the
exhibit.
2. Gather and borrow the works of the deceased weavers from Landan like Fu
Layol, Fu Caturan (the older the Tabih, the better) for variety of Tabih
design presentation.
3. This exhibit will also finish the cultural mapping of the Tabih as:
an Indigenous Knowledge System (i.e, identification, propagation, and
harvest of culturally significant Flora e.g abaca fiber and dye derivatives)
an indigenous cultural expression and aesthetics
indigenous technology

Objectives