A day before her birthday, South Cotabato thru the Arts, Culture, Tourism and Museum (ACTM) Unit will unveil the commemorative marker at the residence of Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardee Yabing Masalon Dulo on August 7 located at Sitio Amgu-o, Barangay Landan in the municipality of Polomolok.
The commemorative marker, according to ACTM Culture & Arts Coordinator Information Officer I Anna Liz Cabrido, serves as a fitting tribute and recognition of the legacy left behind by the National Artist for Mabal Tabih Weaving in promoting and immortalizing ikat weaving of the tabih cloth of the Blaan community in the province.
“The unveiling should have been done during the National Heritage Month (NHM) celebration in the month of May, but it was moved to August 7 due to the surge of the CoViD-19 pandemic which caused the postponement”, Cabrido said. This year’s NHM theme is “Victory and Humanity: Upholding Filipino Heritage and Identity.”
Fu Yabing, as she is fondly called in the community, was 106 years old at the time of her death and was laid to rest near her residence last February 10. Her final internment is complete with all the pomp and pageantry befitting a national artist, such as the military 21-gun salute and a personal message from President Rodrigo Roa Dutrete, and attended by political big-wigs and national cultural and IP personalities.
Family members remember her starting the tabih weaving in her early teens until she became an expert in the craft that led her to being named as national artist in 2016(photocredit:google.com)
