Bai Estelita Tumandan Bantilan (born Labnai Tumndan; October 17, 1940) is a Filipino textile weaver from the municipality of Malapatan, Sarangani. She is credited with creating "some of the biggest, most subtly beautiful mats to be seen anywhere in Southeast Asia."[1] She was given the National Living Treasure Award by the Philippines through the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 2016.[1]

Bai
Estelita Bantilan
Estelita Bantilan (right) and Resil B. Mojares (left) during the 2018 conferment of GAMABA Awards
Born
Labnai Tumndan

(1940-10-17) October 17, 1940 (age 84)
NationalityFilipino
Known forTextile
StyleBlaan traditional weaving
AwardsNational Living Treasure Award
2016

Bantilan opened a mat weaving center in Malapatan to preserve and promote the tradition of Blaan weaving.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b Pastor Roces, Marian. "National Living Treasures: Estelita Bantilan". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  2. ^ Sembrano, Edgar Allan (2019-06-16). "National living treasure Estelita Bantilan, NCCA inaugurate weaving center in Sarangani". Inquirer. Retrieved 2020-12-05.