Hablon: The looming legacy

MIAGAO, ILOILO – A family of weavers believe that the Hablon industry is not dying as long as there are passionate people like them who keep the weaving culture alive.

At age three, Jade Caitlyn Otian went viral on social media after a video of her weaving Hablon cloth was posted on Facebook.

The video was featured on both local and national televisions after it garnered positive online comments.

Jade, now five, grew up in a family of weavers. She was exposed to the industry and as a result, she inherited an eye for Hablon weaving.

“Daw bata man siya. Gahampang man siya. Pero ang tawag nga kumbaga sang gatubo isip niya, amo lang gd ni makita ya kay dira ma lang ila balay. Kun ano diri lang siya kis-a ga tambay muna na tun-an niya gid pano maghablon,” Mary Faye Amlanya, 26, said.

Jade never had a proper training in weaving.

“Bata pa lang na siya ga bisita na siya di. Galantaw lantaw na paano mag weave. Mahambal mo gid nga may interes gid siya kay wala man siya gina pilit,” said Mary Jean Nabong, a weaver at Miag-ao Multipurpose Cooperative.

She developed an interest after constantly watching her grandmother, Criselda Monreal, weave.

“Actually, wala man gid may ti nagtudlo kay gatan-aw lang man siya mo kun paano,” Monreal, 54, said.

Jade began weaving whenever her grandmother took breaks in the backbreaking work.

“Siling ko kabalo ka sina? ‘Kabalo ko na mommy mong.’ Ti pagpungko niya to, ti kabalo gid man siya. Wala namon siya gintudlan ah,” Monreal said.

She immediately took a video of Jade and posted it on Facebook.

Monreal said her other children are also into weaving but Jade stood out and showed great interest in the process.

“Kabalo sila ah galing wala lang gid sila na anuhan bala nga mag-ubra pero ang inang gamay daw bal-an mo nga daw siya ang aresgada bala. Interesado gid siya ya,” Monreal said.

Monreal is a notable Hablon weaver in Miagao and she dedicates most of her time weaving a variety of Hablon products ranging from shawls, scarves, table runners, to varying patadyongdesigns.

In January 2018, Monreal’s pattern design was featured by an international brand Michael Louboutin in a bag collection dubbed Manilacaba. The bags featured different textiles all throughout the Philippines.

Monreal grew up surrounded with talented and skillful weavers in her family. Today, she manages her own weaving shop at New York Street in Miagao, Iloilo.

Monreal expressed relief in Jade’s enthusiasm. She believes that the future of Hablon weaving is in good hands.

Hablon weaving plays an integral part in the Philippine textile industry and was at its peak in the late 1950s to 1970s.

Due to the predominance of machine-made textiles, the demands for its hand- made production has decreased. However, in 1980, the people of Indag-an with the help of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), made an effort to revive the art of Hablon in its purest form.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian

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