Lang Dulay

Location: Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
Date of Birth: (August 3, 1924)
Day of Death: (April 30, 2015)
Cause of Death: Stroke during the age of 91 years old

Lang Dulay is considered to be the master of dream weaver of the T'boli people and a living master of T'nalaka Weaving. Shi is also a recipient of the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan Award (National Living Treasure Award) in 1998 by President Fidel V. Ramos. Lang Dulay Started weaving during the age of 12 years old and recieves the t'nalak patterns from dreams granted by Fu Dalu, the god of abaca. She established the Manlilikha ng Bayan Center in order to teach people, including her grandchildren her crafts. Though she teaches people how to to weave T'nalak, Lang Dulay Still falls under a different category as a dream weaver. The ordinary weavers, are employed just to weave the T'nalak cloth and they are not its creators. Lang Dulay is considered as the nation's oldest dreamweaver and has more than 100 patterns to her credit.

At the age of 91-years old, she suffered from a massive stroke (January) in which the T'boli community conducted a four-week funeral to mourn for her death and celebrate her life.

Many younger people, particularly T'boli women, have been able to study the trade thanks to Lang Dulay's crafts, and thousands of people all over the world are now aware of the revered T'nalak art, demonstrating that Lang Dulay not only has the vision but is also a visionary.
Whether or not they are aware of it, the influence and legacy of Lang Dulay nourishes Filipinos from all walks of life. We can e confident that her form of art will continue to define our identity especially her devotion to T'nalak weaving will be pass it not only to her grandaughters, but also the whole T'boli community to represent one of the Filipino cultures in the world.