DID YOU KNOW: 7th death anniversary of Samaon Sulaiman

Today, May 21, is the seventh death anniversary of Manlilikha ng Bayan Samaon Sulaiman.

Born in 1957, he was conferred the title of Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993 for keeping alive the Maguindanao kutyapi music.

The kutyapi is a two-stringed plucked lute that is recognized as among the most technically demanding and difficult to master among Filipino musical instruments.

In 2012, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts launched “Mamayog: the Music of Samaon Sulaiman” at the Tanghalang Leandro V. Locsin at the NCCA Building in Intramuros, Manila, to mark Sulaiman’s first death anniversary. —Hezron Pios