Uwang Ahadas. Yakan. National Living Treasure.

Uwang Ahadas was given recognition in 2000 as one of the Philippines’ Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA) awardees, or a National Living Treasure, by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Uwang Ilul Ahadas, a gifted musician from Bohe Bessey, Lamitan, and a member of the Lamitan Yakan Family Ensemble, is a recognized master of traditional Yakan instrumental music in the entire Yakan domain. He learned the fundamentals of playing the instruments of the peregeyan kwintangan from observing the Yakan elders. These instruments have since been Uwang’s constant companions.

Recognizing and valuing Uwang’s gifts and his deep understanding of Yakan culture, everyone in his community became his students. Many of his protégés have gone on to become winners in the annual music competitions held during the Lami-lamihan Festival in Lamitan.

Despite his failing eyesight, Uwang’s remarkable skills as musician and teacher have brought him to many places in the Philippines and abroad. His immense knowledge on the context of traditional Yakan music and its meaning to the Yakan community, and to Lamitan in particular, has distinguished him from other skillful musicians. Thus he has become an invaluable contributor to the preservation of Yakan musical heritage as an identifying mark of the Yakan of Basilan.

From PASSAGES