In Basilan, museum honors master of Yakan woven cloth
LEGACY The Ambalang Ausalin Museum and Gallery is opened in the outskirts of Lamitan City to honor the late Manlilikha ng Bayan Ambalang Ausalin, master of the Yakan “tennun” (woven cloth). —photos by Julie Alipala
LAMITAN CITY, BASILAN, Philippines — Berty Ausalin tried to hold back tears as this city’s officials inaugurated a building and gallery to remember and honor his mother, the late Ambalang Ausalin, the legendary weaver and master of the Yakan “tennun” (woven cloth). Lamitan officials said the new facility would help keep Yakan culture and tradition alive.
“They still remember my mother,” said Ausalin, 48, the eldest son of the late national treasure as city officials retraced their steps from Ambalang’s weaving area in the old Gamaba house to the newly constructed Ambalang Ausalin Museum and Gallery at Barangay Parangbasak, some 14.6 kilometers from the city center.
READ: Weaving house helps preserve Yakan culture
“I am proud to have a strong mother, who brought pride and honor to the Filipino people,” he said.
Ambalang joined the roster of great Filipinos as Manlilikha ng Bayan. She was 78 when she died of a lingering illness on Feb. 18, 2022.
READ: Apuh Ambalang Ausalin, Yakan master weaver; 78
The Gamaba Weaving Center and the Ambalang Museum are now part of the city’s treasures, showcasing the rich Yakan culture to visitors.
Speechless
During the inauguration ceremony last week, Ausalin was speechless, his eyes swelled as he begged to say more, remembering how his mother, a single parent, struggled to earn a living through weaving so they would not miss a meal.
Germa Indasan and her nieces and cousins vow to keep their grandmother Ambalang’s
legacy alive through traditional weaving.
“I could hardly believe that we have a mother who is a national treasure,” he said, as he admitted it was his first time to speak in front of so many people. “I’m both happy and sad. I want to cry because our mother is gone but I’m happy to witness this honor to her name.”
They lost their father when Ausalin was around 6 years old and their youngest, Damli, was only six months. His mother started weaving not as a hobby but to support her family with three children, said Ausalin, counting his younger sister Vilma. Germa Indasan, Vilma’s daughter, said she was very proud of her grandmother. “Even if she is no longer around, her legacy lives on,” she said. Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said the construction of the museum and gallery started during the administration of his wife, the late Mayor Rosita Furigay, who died in 2022.
“We started putting up a weaving center in Gamaba and now this museum. We are doing this to show our pride because of the 17 named national treasures in the country, two are from Lamitan City,” he said, referring to Ambalang and Uwang Ahadas, a blind folk musician known for his skills in playing the traditional Yakan musical instruments “kulintang,” “kwintangan kayu,” “gabbang,” “agung” and “tuntungan.”
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts declared Ahadas, a native of the city’s Barangay Bohe Libaken, as a National Living Treasure in 2000. He died at the age of 77 on Oct. 29, 2022.
Furigay said the weaving center and museum would now be part of the city’s treasures to showcase the rich culture of the Yakans.
