Contemporary Arts in the Philippines: National Living Treasure

1. CONTEMPORARY
ARTS IN THE
PHILIPPINES
OUTPUT NO. 5:
NATIONAL LIVING TREASURE
PRESENTATION
UWANG AHADAS

2. UWANG AHADAS was born on February 16,
1945 in Lamitan, Basilan Philippines.
• Recognized by the National
Commission for Culture and Arts
(NCCA) as one of the Philippine
National Living Treasures for Music

3. ADDITIONAL FACTS ABOUT
UWANG AHADAS:
• He first learned how to play gabbing, a wooden bamboo instrument similar to xylophone.
• Then he learned to play the agung, an instrument traditionally played by Yakan men.
• By the age of 20, he already mastered playing the kwintangan, which is considered to be
the most important Yakan musical instrument, despite the fact that the said instrument was
traditionally played by women.
• He can also play tuntungan, a wooden log drum.

4. Musical Instruments that Uwang Ahadas played:
GABBON
G
TUNTUNGA
N
AGUNG
KWINTANGA
N

5. Despite Uwang’s near-blindness, he continued teaching
his students, young and old about Yakan musical tradition.
His proclamation as one of National Living Treasures in the
Philippines and traditional significance in music, he
became an inspiration for the Filipinos.

6. PRESENTED BY:
JUAN, JOHN ERIC P.
12-HUMSS 2