ESTELITA BANTILAN

Estelita Bantilan is known for being the “master weaver.” She is 79-years-old from Mindanao province of Sarangani and South Cotabato. They are also called as B’laan just like their native language.

She learned how to weave since she was just a child. And until now, she’s still doing what she loves because she believes that if she stopped weaving then the next generation won’t be able to inherit the tradition that they have.

In fact, the people in the community would usually call her as, “Princess” as their term of endearment. This is to acknowledge her and to give her the highest respect.

In 2016, Estelita Bantilan was awarded by the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan or the GAMABA. And the NCCA or the National Commission for Culture and the Arts built a mat weaving center in Malapatan, Sarangani. It is to pay respect for all the works of Estelita Bantilan and to preserve, promote, and to continue the B’laan weaving tradition

Marian Pastor-Roces who is an art critic said that her mat weaving is very unique and excellent. She also stated in the article that she wrote for Estelita Bantilan that, “Estelita is therefore right to take the nickname “Princess” in stride, to not regard herself separate from her milieu. She makes for a beautiful Princess, in truth. But her remarkable artistic and personal attribute is her ability to vanish into her community — even as she shines out.”

​What makes her mat weaving different from the others is the interesting mix of color and patterns. And she still continued to make the motif that she learned since she was a child.