Salinta Monon - Filipino Weaver

Salinta Monon, a native of Bansalan (December 12, 1920–June 4, 2009), also referred to as the "last Bagobo Weaver" and the creator of the renowned traditional Bagobo–Tagabawa textiles known as Inabal. She received the National Living Treasure Award, also known as the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan, from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in 1988.

Salinta Monon was born on December 12, 1920 in Bitaug, Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Monon learned weaving from her mother when she was still a child. She continued developing her skills and weaving techniques throughout her life and eventually became known as a master weaver. On July 4, 1946, she married Agton Monon, and the couple had six children. Given that Salinta Monon was an expert weaver, Agton Monon paid a considerable sum to marry her.

Salinta's intricate designs and high-caliber output have helped her establish a solid reputation. Her fabrics continue to be in demand. She has advanced to the point where she can determine her own price but confesses to having a persistent sense of being paid inadequately for the time she invests in her work. In three to four months, she completes one abaca tube skirt per month, or a fabric measuring 3.5 m by 42 cm.

Before the market was overrun with inexpensive machine-made fabrics, she wore the traditional Bagobo hand-woven tube skirt. The sinukla and the bandira were two of the most popular varieties. She now only dresses traditionally for important occasions. She weaves various patterns, but her favorite is the binuwaya (crocodile) which is said to be the most challenging to make, and the Inabal, which is a traditional textile made from abaca with a unique weave, either in patterns of kinatkat, the cloth with a central panel, worn only by women. These textiles woven in the ikat style and colored with vegetable and natural dyes were customarily used as the garment for ancestral royalty.

The Philippine government honored Monon with the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (National Living Treasure) award in 1998 in recognition of her efforts to preserve traditional weaving methods. People acknowledged as masters of traditional arts and crafts in the Philippines are accorded this honor.
Monon continued teaching and practicing weaving in her community until she died on June 4, 2009, at eighty-eight. She was devoted to passing on her expertise to the following generation to maintain the traditional Bagobo weaving legacy in the Philippines.