ESTELITA BANTILAN, BORN IN 1940

B’laan are one of the indigenous people of Southern Mindanao. Born on the 17th of October, 1940, the now 81 years old Estelita Bantilan, is the B’laan’s master weaver and 2016 GAMABA awardee from the municipality of Malapatan, Sarangani. She was born with the name of Labnai Tumandan but later took the name Estelita in the 1950s and her last name, Bantilan, after her marriage. Labnai learned how to weave from her mother ever since she was a child, weaving intricate mats using pandan variety called romblon. Even after her marriage, with the support of her husband, Tawada Bantilan, Estelita continued her love and passion for mat weaving even if other women her age at that time would spend more time on domestic and farming duties. With her years of cultivating her talent in mat weaving, Estelita’s works were considered as some of the biggest and most subtly beautiful mats to be seen anywhere in Southeast Asia today.

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Her legacy has earned her the nickname “Princess” that came from agreement and genuine respect for her superior gifts from her fellow people especially from the other mat weavers of Upper Lasang.

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In 2016, to honor even more her remarkable artistic talents and work in mat weaving, Estelita Bantilan became a recipient of the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA). The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCAA) opened a mat weaving center in Malapatan, Sarangani, to continue to preserve and promote the B’laan weaving tradition.