Analysis or Commentary

Ambalang Ausalin is a 73-year-old virtuoso weaver from the Yakan community in Parangbasak, Lamitan City, known for her exceptional skills in weaving She learned from her mother, who was the best weaver of her time and is highly esteemed in all of Lamitan for her expertise in all designs and textile categories typical to the Yakan The Yakan community is known for its intricate and colorful textiles with tiny motifs, and the backstrap tension loom is used to weave them Ambalang Ausalin can execute the suwah bekkat and suwah pendan techniques of the bunga sama category and possesses the complex knowledge of the entire weaving process, aware at the same time of the cultural significance of each textile design or category There are different categories of a Yakan cloth, including bunga sama, sinalu’an, and seputangan, and Ambalang has mastered all these