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June 04, 2024

WEAVING THE BANGSAMORO IDENTITY: Tennun of Basilan

โ€œ๐–๐ž๐š๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐š๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐จ ๐ˆ๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ: ๐€ ๐‚๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐žโ€
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In a historic event, the Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (BCPCH-BARMM) proudly presents the Bangsamoro Cultural Heritage Exhibit, taking the center stage at the Open Gallery of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) from May 7 to May 31, 2024.ย 
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Featuring the indigenous textiles of the BARMM Regionโ€™s Basilan, the โ€˜tennunโ€™ is a term used for creating the traditional Yakan woven cloth. Some unfamiliar with their weaving process often mistakenly believed these textiles as embroidered. The different lists of Yakan tennun such as the bunga sama, sinaluโ€™an, and seputangan are categorized according to their distinctive style and motif.

ย In Yakan weaving, nature, such as the animals and plants are depicted in their textile. The bunga sama, also known as fruit of the ancestors, refers to Yakan weaving featuring animal shapes, floral and grain-like bolder motif. This is often crafted in the form of embellished clothing piece, blouses and pants and was only then reserved for esteemed Yakan.

Sinalu’an, on the other hand, involves smallest band motif in the shape of lozenges. It is also traditionally sewn as trousers and upper garments.ย 
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The seputangan is a one-meter square piece with intricate geometric designs. It is intricately woven as part of the Yakan female ensemble.