gamaba
The Philippines introduced the National Living Treasures (NLT) Award, also known as the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (GAMABA), in 1992 through Republic Act No. 7355. The NLT system serves several purposes:
1. Acknowledge Traditional Folk Artists
2. Revitalize Artistic Traditions
3. Support Skills Transfer
4. Promote Art Locally and Internationally
GAMABA system in the philippines
National Living Treasures are individuals or groups of citizens who have achieved a high level of technical and artistic excellence in uniquely Filipino traditional arts. These arts encompass a wide range of disciplines, including folk architecture, maritime transport, weaving, carving, performing arts, literature, graphic and plastic arts, ornamentation, textile or fiber art, pottery, and more.
The first NLT Award was granted in 1993 to three awardees, and subsequent awards were given in 1998 (two awardees), 2000 (three awardees), and 2004 (three awardees). The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is responsible for implementing the NLT system. Their role involves identifying traditional artists, developing programs to ensure the transfer of their skills, and promoting the appreciation of these skills among the Filipino people.
SELECTING AWARDEES
The NCCA created a special Committee (known as the GAMABA Committee), which works with a rotating Ad Hoc Panel of Experts in traditional folk arts to conduct a thorough search, fair selection and careful review of nominees for the Award.
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Nominations for the GAMABA may come from the Ad Hoc Panel of Experts, the NCCA Sub-commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts, cultural or private institutions, State agencies, local cultural offices, universities and private persons knowledgeable in any of the identified categories.
Once nominations have been received, Ad Hoc Search Committees conduct research and documentation on candidates for the Awards, in accordance with the following criteria:
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· They are members of an indigenous or traditional cultural community anywhere in the Philippines that has preserved its customs, beliefs, rituals and traditions.
· They have engaged in a folk-art tradition that has been in existence and documented for at least fifty years.
· They have consistently performed or produced, over a significant period, works of superior and distinctive quality.
· They possess a mastery of the tools and materials needed by the art, and have an established reputation in the art as master and maker of works of extraordinary technical quality.
· They have passed on and/or will pass on their skills to other members of the community.
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The assessment and selection process is conducted discreetly, i.e. without the nominee or the community concerned being aware of the nomination. The search process can take a long time as the Philippines is a large country with many ethnolinguistic groups.
Once the search process is complete, selected nominees are recommended to an Ad Hoc Panel of Reviewers which evaluates the candidates. Recommendations are then submitted to the NCCA Board of Commissioners for confirmation. Before the conferment of the Award, Awardees are informed of their obligations and rights. A Memorandum of Agreement is then signed between the Awardee and the NCCA.
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Finally, the President of the Philippines confers the Award during a public ceremony in Manila.
SELECTING AWARDEES
The NLT Awardees are obliged to transmit their skills through apprenticeship and other effective training methods. Each of the Awardees is encouraged to set up their own training centre (usually a home-based apprenticeship programme). The Awardees develop their own training methods and send monthly reports on their work; they are also expected to promote their art in cooperation with the NCCA and to donate samples or documentation of their works to the National Museum. In return, Awardees receive official recognition, an initial grant, a monthly grant and various personal allowances. The monthly grants may be withdrawn if the Awardees do not fulfil their obligations.
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Based on the monthly reports submitted by Awardees, on interviews and on feedback to the GAMABA Committee, the Award has mainly had positive effects on the Awardees although a few problems have been noted. In general, the Awardees have gained prestige in their respective communities. The Awards have also been a source of pride for the communities concerned and have been instrumental in revitalizing dying traditions such as inabal weaving
Broader impact of the Awards on ICH promotion in the Philippines
The NLT system generates most national attention during the Award ceremonies. To increase the visibility of the ICH safeguarded through the system, Awardees have now been included in textbooks for elementary school students and travelling exhibitions have been organized. Awardees are invited to give demonstrations locally, nationally and sometimes internationally.
The Awardees also raise awareness about the ICH by organizing festivals or competitions in their communities. Samaon Sulaiman, one of the Awardees and a kutyapi (two-stringed lute) player, organized a competition for all his students. The winners were given their own instruments rather than cash prizes. The competition thus raised awareness about the skills associated with kutyapi playing, assisted the best students in acquiring instruments and also gave welcome business to the few remaining kutyapi instrument-makers.
The detailed and discreet selection process under the NLT system in the Philippines ensures a thorough search for, and a fair selection and careful review of, Awardees.
This means that several years’ preparation is necessary to identify them. The Awards are thus not made every year, although a number of new Awards are planned for 2011. Reports show that the objectives of the system are being met.