Philippine Master Culture Bearers of T'boli, Yakan, and Kalinga People

Saturday, April 27, 2024
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Oakland Asian Cultural Center
388 9th St. #290, Oakland, CA 94607

Boi Myrna Bebing Pula, photo by Gabriel Nivera; Evelynda Otong Hamja, photo by Artu Nepomuceno; Jenny Bawer Young.

Join visiting T’boli master culture bearer Boi Myrna Bebing Pula, Yakan master weaver Evelynda Otong Hamja, and Kalinga master weaver Jenny Bawer Young for an afternoon of conversation, epic story-telling, weaving, dance and meryenda as a part of KULARTS’ Spring 2024 Philippine Master Artists in Residency Program.

Spring PMAIR program is in partnership with Oakland Asian Cultural Center and The Weaving Stories & Dreams Project a collaboration with KINdom, Rag Royalty, Vegan Women's Summit,  and CulturAid, and House of Gongs’.


Boi Myrna Bebing Pula
T’boli Storyteller and Cultural Leader

Boi Myrna Bebing Pula is a  master T’boli culture bearer  born in Sitio Lembisol, Poblacion, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. Her mother was a T’nalak weaver and food producer, while her father was a village chieftain and legal advisor.  A cultural researcher, storyteller, weaver, translator,  and  writer, Boi Myrna  is a recipient of Tubas Talimbong Award of Excellence in Culture and the Arts  and she has  represented the T’boli people in Belgium, England, Australia, Taipei, the USA, and Hong Kong University. Recently, she was chosen by Boris LeLong to bring Lemhadung, her music and dance troupe, to France in Partnership with the NCCA.

She’s  the composer of Lemlunay and O D’wata Holi Kemudung. She is a contributor  to  numerous T’boli academic and artistic projects. 

Evelynda Otong Hamja
Yakan Master Weaver

Evelynda Otong Hamja is a fourth-generation master Yakan weaver currently residing at the Yakan Village in Zamboanga City. She was born and raised in Lamitan, Basilan until the 1970's  when the military forced them out of Basilan and  moved them to Zamboanga where many settled in what is now called the Yakan Village. Her father was a farmer while her mother stayed home to weave. She began  weaving at the age of 7. She currently works with a community of weavers,  called the Tuwas Yakan Weavers of Basilan. Using  the traditional backstrap loom,  weavers can produce  beautiful  three  foot  or one meter pieces in  four to seven days. It is part of her mission to keep the weaving tradition alive by influencing her community to keep weaving for those  who are able to appreciate their artisan crafts.

Jenny Bawer Young

Kalinga Master Weaver

Jenny Bawer Young is the Master Weaver, co-founder, and driving force behind Kalingafornia Laga, a women’s collective dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional Kalinga culture in the Bay Area. She was born and cradled by a family that bears the Kalinga Traditional way of life. She is the daughter of Maria and Cirilo “Sapi” Bawer, who is internationally recognized as a Culture Bearer of Indigenous Knowledge, Skills, and Practices of the Kalinga people. Since childhood, Jenny’s parents and grandparents passed their knowledge and practice of Kalinga traditional arts—particularly laga (backstrap weaving), music, chants, and dances—to her siblings.

Jenny has performed and conducted Kalinga traditional arts workshops in her native Cordillera region, Metro Manila, Switzerland, Germany and in the US. Since immigrating to California with her family in 2006, Jenny has been a valuable resource on Kalinga culture for the Filipino American community, especially in the San Francisco area.