Senator Cynthia Villar paid tribute Thursday to the late B’laan tribe weaver Fu Yabing Masalon Dulo, earlier declared a “national living treasure.”
The senator, a staunch advocate of weaving, also expressed her profound sympathy and condolence on the death of the 106-year old master weaver.
“We will forever treasure the legacy she left,” added Villar.
Meanwhile, the leadership of the House of Representatives has adopted a resolution expressing its condolences on the passing of Fu Yabing, a “Manlilikha ng Bayan” awardee.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco led the filing of House Resolution 1540 underscoring her “artistry, knowledge, talent, passion, and advocacy (that have) made her an important cultural bearer for the B’laan tribe and inspired a new generation to preserve the B’laan textile and clothing tradition.”
“The death of such a beloved and respected elder and artist is an immense and profound loss not only to her family and her community, but to our country and the Filipino people as well,” Velasco said in the resolution which, along with two other related resolutions, was adopted by the plenary during last Wednesday’s session.
The National Commission for Culture and Arts declared Fu Yabing a “national living treasure” in January 2017. She was honored for keeping alive her community’s traditional weaving process and sharing her skills to others.
She died on January 26 in her sleep. She will be laid to rest next to the traditional weaving center she established in her community in Sitio Amgu-o in Barangay Landa, Polomolok, South Cotabato.
Fu Yabing was hailed as “The Last Mabal Tabih Weaver” and a champion and prime advocate for the preservation of the B’laan Mabal Tabih, or the art of ikat weaving and dyeing using plant species endemic to the Philippines, such as the abaca.
Acclaimed for her “peerless mastery of the B’laan traditional textile,” Fu Yabing started weaving at a very young age as an apprentice weaver and gaining knowledge from her mother, who was also a master weaver.
