BIOGRAPHY

Salinta Monon was born on December 12, 1920 in Bitaug, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

She used to watch her mother weave ikat, a traditional abaca fabric, and at the age of 12 she learned how to use the weaving loom.

She and her sister are the only remaining Bagobo weavers in her community.

Her husband paid her parents a higher bride price because of her weaving skills.

Life was such that she was obliged to help out on the farm, often putting her own work aside to make sure the planting got done and the harvest were brought in.

All her life she has woven continuously, through her marriage and six pregnancies, and even after her husband’s death.

Salinta has built a solid reputation for the quality of her work and the intricacies of her designs. There is a continuing demand for her fabrics. She has reached the stage where she is able to set her own price.

It takes her three to four months to finish a fabric 3.5 m x 42 cm in length, or one abaca tube skirt per month.

Today, she has her son to strip the abaca fibers for her. Now, they are starting to domesticate their own plants to keep up with the steady demand for the fabric.

Now, she wears her traditional clothes only on special occasions. Of the many designs she weaves, her favorite is the binuwaya (crocodile), which is one of the hardest to make.

At the moment, she does her weaving in her own home, but she wants nothing better than to build a structure just for weaving, a place exclusively for the use of weavers.

She looks forward to teaching young wives in her community the art of weaving, for, despite the increasing pressures of modern society, Bagobo women are still interested in learning the art.