BUTUAN CITY – The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) is set to open a new exhibition featuring Lumad (native) textile traditions highlighting the works of Mindanao Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees in this region’s frontier and capital city of Butuan, on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

“Works of Mindanao’s costume and tradition of our indigenous peoples will be showcased in this activity,” NMP information officer Eunice Montaos-Plaza told The Manila Bulletin on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

In celebration of the Museums and Galleries Month and National Indigenous Peoples Month 2022, the NMP, in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Executive Council of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, will open an exhibition entitled ‘Panapton sa Lumad: Mga Arte ug Kailhanan (Lumad Textiles: Artistry and Identity),’ in NMP Butuan, the region’s information officer said.

The exhibition highlights the traditional textiles of ten Lumad ethnolinguistic groups namely: Bagobo, Blaan, Bukidnon, Higaonon, Mandaya, Manobo, Obo-Manobo, Tagakaolo, Tboli, and Tiruray from the National Ethnographic Collection and the works of three Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees from Mindanao -- Tboli Master Weaver Lang Dulay, Bagobo Master Weaver Salinta Monon, and Blaan Master Weaver Fu Yabing Masalon Dulo.

The exhibition also features the shared textiles and ornaments between and among the cultural communities in Mindanao, specifically that of the Lumad groups, Ms. Plaza said.

Included in the exhibition are abaca fibers and natural dyes, backstrap/tension looms, tie-dyed woven abaca fibers, and commercially available cotton cloth intricately decorated with embroidery, colorful glass beads, shells, and applique, she said.

This is the 5th Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Regional Gallery in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.

The other Hibla regional galleries are located at the NMP Ilocos Regional Museum in Vigan City featuring Abel Iloko; NMP Western Visayas Regional Museum in Iloilo City featuring Habol Panay: The Artistry of Western Visayas Textiles; Luhul, Landap, Inaul, and Tennun: Fabrics of Protection and Strength among the Bangsamoro People at the NMP Western Southern Regional Museum in Zamboanga City; and Binodbodan and Pinilian: Shared Textile Traditions Among the Cordillera People in NMP Cordillera Regional Museum in Kiangan, Ifugao.