Lamitan and the Yakan Weavers

The Most Intricate Weaving Tradition In The Philippines, From A Province Most Of The Country Knows Only From Headlines · Lamitan, Basilan

THE YAKAN OF BASILAN WEAVE WHAT IS WIDELY HELD TO BE THE MOST INTRICATE TEXTILE IN THE PHILIPPINES - geometric patterns in tight, dense, many-coloured cloth worked on backstrap looms, with designs that carry names and meanings and take weeks of work for a length. THE SEPUTANGAN, the head cloth, is the most demanding of them. LAMITAN IS THE YAKAN TOWN and its LAMI-LAMIHAN FESTIVAL is when the tradition is most visible. THE HONEST FRAMING IS UNAVOIDABLE. BASILAN IS KNOWN TO MOST FILIPINOS AND TO THE WORLD ONLY THROUGH DECADES OF CONFLICT AND KIDNAPPING, AND SEVERAL GOVERNMENTS ADVISE AGAINST ALL TRAVEL TO THE PROVINCE. That is the position and this row will not soften it. MANY YAKAN WEAVERS NOW LIVE AND WORK IN A COMMUNITY OUTSIDE ZAMBOANGA CITY, displaced by that conflict, and that is where most outsiders will ever see the weaving done. Buy directly from them; a fine length represents weeks of somebody's work.

Lamitan City, Basilan, Lamitan, Basilan, Philippines

CHECK YOUR GOVERNMENT'S CURRENT TRAVEL ADVICE BEFORE CONSIDERING ANYTHING - SEVERAL STATES ADVISE AGAINST ALL TRAVEL TO BASILAN and the position has been stable in that direction for many years. BASILAN IS REACHED BY FERRY FROM ZAMBOANGA CITY to Isabela City or Lamitan, roughly an hour and a half to two hours. THE LAMI-LAMIHAN FESTIVAL FALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR at Lamitan and is when Yakan dress, weaving and music are most visible. FOR ALMOST EVERY OUTSIDER, THE PRACTICAL PLACE TO SEE YAKAN WEAVING IS THE YAKAN WEAVING VILLAGE OUTSIDE ZAMBOANGA CITY, on the mainland, where displaced families sell directly and work at the looms. BUY FROM THE WEAVERS. Modest dress; this is a Muslim province.

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