Happy 95th birthday to Manlilikha ng Bayan Lang Dulay! (August 3, 1927)
Lang Dulay
Textile Weaver
T’boli
Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
The T’nalak is the traditional sacred cloth of the T’boli made from superior quality abaca especially grown for this purpose. Lang Dulay produced creations that remained faithful to the T’boli tradition as manifested in the complexity of her designs reflecting the workings of ethnic memory, quality of workmanship, and excellence of finish. The complex demands of the tie-dye technique in weaving designs required from her an instinctive mathematical mind.
Using abaca fibers as fine as hair, Lang Dulay spoke more eloquently than words could. Images from the distant past of her people, the T’boli, were recreated by her nimble hands – the crocodiles, butterflies, and flowers., along with the mountains and streams of Lake Sebu, where she and her ancestors were born, filled the fabrics with their longing to be remembered. Lang Dulay did everything to keep her people’s traditions alive.