07/09/2026
𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐧 '𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠' 𝐈𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐥
- The Inaul industry has many long term issues that were foregrounded when the Manilenyo fashion designer came out with the now deleted post about his work on the Maguindanaon textile
- Why did he have to use Maguindanaon textile when he is from Manila? This is Filipino nationalism rearing its ugly head again
- In this case, nationalism becomes justification for cultural promiscuity, the culturally deprived justifying their claim to the elements of other, more abundant communities in the name of reinforcing the Filipino identity. 'Tayo'y mga Pilipino lang naman, kaya ang iyo ay akin din!'
- There seems to be a good reason why Mangga is the national fruit
- Inaul is a very prominent marker of Bangsamoro (and to be specific of Maguindanaon and Iranun) identity, a marker to which Filipino identity is now laying claim. We are now seeing tensions to those competing claims as their value systems clash
- There are no clear laws in place for the protection of Inaul, or if there are they are poorly known and poorly enforced. IPRA does not protect Moro communities and their traditions.
- The bulk of protection is cultural: you get in trouble for misusing it. Problem with that though is that what qualifies as 'misusing' is unclear and often contentious
- What elicited near-universal rancour from Libiran's statement was the blatant and proud claim to having distorted the textile (both its tangible form and its intangible concept), a distortion he pegged as fashionably provocative
- That peg did not come out of nowhere: it is the result of several cultural shifts that have been going on for years
- One shift is towards the continued mainstreaming of cultural innovations, a development that has been emerging specially in Mindanao as purveyors of traditional expressions seek new relevance for their craft.
- Inaul has traditionally been produced as a livelihood and enjoys relative flexibility in use owing both to its accessible material (rayon silk and synthetic dye) and to its community's hesitation to associate any superstitions with it for fear of committing shirk, so it has naturally been a favourite in such initiatives to innovate
- Advocates of such innovations are right for keeping traditions dynamic (and indeed the growing popularity is their triumph). This backlash on Libiran poses the danger of creating a chilling effect on such innovations, something we do not want to happen.
- But the Libiran case should be a wakeup call for advocates of innovation too, that this innovation must be pursued with more nuance and delicacy, specially with more sensitivity to the power dynamics that underlie the production and consumption of craft
- Innovation to keep the traditions alive is crucial, but will be counterproductive if it ends up weakening the integrity of the tradition
- Another shift that brought this issue about is towards the increased commercialization and mass production of Inaul.
- The textile is becoming less and less a work of tradition and human ingenuity and more a pretty commodity whose price is haggled to its cheapest. Libiran's rhetoric is so shocking because it foregrounds to what level that dehumanization has now fallen. Even the 'sacred' he alludes to has just become one of the threads anyone with money and clout can reimagine for the bongganess
- Within this dynamic of dehumanizatiom (which first unfolds as exploitation on the local level) weavers work hard by hand and rudimentary loom but continue to live in poverty, while middlemen grow rich as they buy Inaul from the weavers at dismally paltry rates but sell at competitive but generous prices. The weaver is reduced to a machine which comes with the inconvenience of needing to be paid. Insert Marxist theories on labour here.
- Observe that there is not a single mention of the weaver behind the Inaul Libiran 'weaponized,' nor where it came from. Not even those criticizing him bother talking about the weavers he dehumanized or the locales he erased.
- Observe too how Libiran ignored the significance of the pattern he used - in the process ignoring the entire cultural context from whence it emerges. I know, this is pastiche (I eat postmodernism for breakfast), but now we reflect in the spirit of Spivak if our talk of postmodernity has hegemonic implications we may be unwittingly perpetuating
- The Bangsamoro's own complex cultural and religious dynamic has also not made it easy for traditional artisans, many of whom have historically suffered from fundamentalist views that creativity is haram
- The BARMM government issuing a statement castigating Libiran and laying claim to Inaul in very strong terms is an even greater triumph for the artisans, as it shows that the persecution of the creative is now well in the past. Strategic essentialism at its best!
- The challenge for the region now is to slowly fix the sector's problems - helping take it out of dehumanizing commercialization and elevating it to Fine Art and Craft
- The spotlight should be put on the artisans themselves. In the case of Inaul, that's the weavers. Name them, give them the chance to cultivate their own brands
- (I practice what I preach here, helping the Bansil Iranun Binalodan weavers of Nuling)
- One big dream for Inaul is to return to weaving using natural materials: natural fibers, organic dyes
- I hear that supply for silkworm silk threads have already been secured for Inaul weavers, but they are being gatekept by a certain national government agency's employees, making it accessible to only those Inaul weavers in their pay. This is a betrayal of public trust
- The revival of organic dyes is also needed, but also the need to introduce mordants. More research and development work is needed here, but one natural dye has been recorded in Hamilton, the sap of the Lipau tree.
- Inaul was historically woven on backstrap looms. The same government agency needs to be called out for going around giving handlooms, effectively helping kill Mindanao's ancient backstrap loom weaving tradition. Inaul weaving is now done entirely on handlooms
- I think helping in those areas would help Libiran redeem whatever PR damage he may have caused for himself
(Pictured: 'Paganay' by Moamar Bansil, currently on display at the Masbad Gallery)
