Uwang Ahadas
Background
Born on February 15, 1945, he came to the Yakan tribe, where instrumental music is important because of its connection to both the agricultural cycle and the social sphere. He is famous for his ability and skill in playing various Yakan instruments as well as for continuing to develop his musical tradition despite his perceived poor eyesight.
A talented musician from Bohe Bessey, Lamitan, and a member of the Lamitan Yakan Family Ensemble, is regarded as a master of traditional Yakan instrumental music. He observed Yakan elders picking up the basics of playing the peregeyan kwintangan instruments from them. Uwang's consistent companions are these instruments. Everyone in Uwang's community became his students as a result of their appreciation for his skills and his thorough knowledge of Yakan culture. Several of his protégés took first place in the yearly music competitions presented at the Lami-lamihan Festival in Lamitan.
Uwang's outstanding skills as a musician and teacher are taking him to many places in the Philippines and internationally despite his failing vision. He stands out from other talented musicians because of his deep understanding of the context of traditional Yakan music and its significance to the Yakan community, and to Lamitan in particular. As a consequence, he has become an essential member of the campaign to preserve Yakan music as an individual characteristic of the Yakan of Basilan.
Ahadas was recognized as a National Living Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the year 2000.
Instruments
He first learned how to play the gabbang, a wooden bamboo instrument similar to the xylophone, then learned how to play the agungan instrument. He dedicated his life to teaching Yakan musical traditions. Ahadas continued these traditions outside his hometown in Lamitan, Basilan.
