Lang Dulay (August 3, 1928 – April 30, 2015) was a Filipino traditional weaver who was a recipient of the National Living Treasures Award. She is credited with preserving her people's tradition of weaving ''

T'nalak ''Tnalak'' (also spelled ''tenalak''), is a weaving tradition using resist-dyed threads of the Tboli people of South Cotabato, Philippines. T'nalak cloth is woven exclusively by women who have received the designs for the weave in their dreams ...

'', a dyed fabric made from refined abaca fibre.

Biography

Born on August 3, 1928, Lang Dulay was a T'boli princess from the

Lake Sebu Lake Sebu ( Tboli: ''Lanaw Sbù'', ; Hiligaynon: ''Linaw sg Sëbu'', ; Filipino: ''Lawa ng Sëbu'') is a natural lake located in the municipality of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato within the Alah Valley region. The Philippine government has reco ...

region in

South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...

. She first learnt weaving at the age of 12 from her mother, Luan Senig. She is known for maintaining the use of traditional motifs in T'nalak weaving amidst commercialization of the craft which saw the introduction of more modern designs by non-T'bolis. She notably had a mental repertoire of around 100 patterns and designs: some of these were based on her dreams, hence her description as a "dreamweaver". Lang Dulay set up the Manlilikha ng Bayan Center workshop in her hometown to promote the traditional art of T'nalak weaving and by 2014, five of her grandchildren had become weavers. Lang Dulay fell into a coma in early 2015 and died on April 30 of the same year.

Recognition

She was conferred the National Living Treasures Award in 1998. That same year, her works were featured in an exhibit at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in the United States as part of the Philippine Independence Centennial celebrations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dulay, Lang Filipino weavers National Living Treasures of the Philippines People from South Cotabato 1928 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Filipino artists 21st-century Filipino artists