Kinabuhi: Suyam and Ompo of the Agusan-Manobo, an exhibition on the rich cultural heritage of the Agusan Manobo tribe, was recently showcased and gained wide recognition at the Université Internationale de Rabat in Morocco.
In line with the National Indigenous Peoples Month in the Philippines, featured visual artist Carlito Camahalan Amalla, a member of the tribe, unraveled and explicated the interconnectedness between the social, cultural, and visceral ecologies through narratives from his homeland.
Amalla, founder and leader of the Agusan Artists Association in Butuan City and the Balangay Artists Association in Manila, gave a public lecture where he presented an impressive collection of sculptural ceramics – puppets and dolls that are tell-tales of important characters, including chieftains, shamans and warriors.
As it depicted a historical panorama, the pieces had their very own traditional embroidery, suyam. Characterized by various geometrical design, the pattern has become an extension of the body and a form of universal art grounded on their rituals, unity, and life.
The exhibition displayed Amalla’s array of paintings and textiles, which provided glimpses of the life of the Manobos, as well as recent writings from his scholarly work and creative practice.
Amalla is a performer, dancer, chanter, musician, puppeteer, ceramist, and researcher, who participated in exhibitions in Wales, Belgium, England, and USA.
He holds a bachelor in Fine Arts with major in sculpture and a master’s degree in Art History, both from the University of the Philippines. His Agusan Manobo embroidery art thesis, paintings, and puppetry in Sinuyaman: Awit ni Baylan were part of the Mindanao: Cartography of History, Identity and Representation presented at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 2019.
Kinabuhi: Suyam and Ompo of the Agusan-Manobo was curated by arts-lifestyle writer and Benilde Arts Management Program Chairperson Alain Zedrick Camiling, who also maintains an active curatorial practice.
Kinabuhi: Suyam and Ompo of the Agusan-Manobo was presented by the Philippine Embassy to Morocco in Rabat. The show was in partnership with Université Internationale de Rabat with auxiliary support from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.