by Shanadine Doria
Visitors, faculty, staff and students of the University of the Philippines Baguio (UPB) joined the two-day “Agabel tayo! Cordillera Weaving Workshop” that aimed to preserve traditional textiles and revive Cordilleran weaving culture through weaving workshops at the Museo Kordilyera, February 19.
In an interview, Felisa Safawil, 61, local weaver from Bontoc, Mountain Province, started to learn the skill of weaving at the age of 17 under the guidance of her mother. Now, she hopes to pass on this tradition to her granddaughter.
"Puro lalaki anak ko kaya hindi sila nagmana sa akin. ’Yung apo kong babae baka gusto niyang (matututo) mag-weave," Safawil said.
(All my children are boys, so they did not inherit (the skill) from me. My granddaughter might want to learn how to weave.)
A participant gently weaves his craft during the Agabel Tayo! Cordillera Weaving Workshop at the Museo Kordilyera.
Traditionally, only women were allowed to weave because they only stay at home while men were working on the rice fields to provide for the family's needs.
On the other hand, a student participant was driven to join the event by his desire to get to know more about the Cordilleran culture.
William Matawaran, a Fine Arts student, pointed out that since his freshman year he was already interested in the culture of Cordillera which made him join the workshop.
“As a Fine Arts student, alam ko ’yung hirap ng starting from scratch. Gusto ko ring maranasan kasi iba yung hirap ng fine artist sa weaving. May distinction ’yung sa crafts,” Matawaran said.
(As a Fine Arts student, I know how hard it is to start from scratch. I want to experience how hard it is because there's a difference in the difficulty of Fine Arts as compared to weaving. There's a distinction in doing crafts.)
Ides Macapanpan, instructor at the UPB, said that she appreciated the weaving tradition and was amazed at how great the master weavers developed the skill.
"Gusto kong maintindihan ’yung weaving kasi mahalaga siya sa culture ng Cordi lalo na't bilang bagong nagtuturo dito sa UPB," Macapanpan said.
(I want to understand weaving because it is important in the culture of Cordillera, and also especially because I am a new instructor here at the UPB.)
She also thinks that the purpose of this event is to revive the dying culture of weaving.
Fine Arts instructor, Ides Macapanpan practices mat weaving during the Agabel Tayo! Cordillera Weaving Workshop at the Museo Kordilyera.
The event featured the process of paper weaving, table loom, backstrap loom weaving, and foot loom weaving.
A loom is the basic tool for turning yarn into textiles. In the past, the people of the Cordillera used textiles as mediums of communication and exchange.
The CordiTex Project is a multi-disciplinary research that aims to preserve the traditional textiles and encourage an in-depth understanding of the old woven fabrics in Cordillera.
The two-day event was spearheaded by the Museo Kordilyera and the CordiTex Project.
Edited by Joemariequeen Del Rosario
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