HAJA AMINA APPI
Haja Amina Appi was born on June 25, 1925. She is a Filipino who belongs to the Sama-Tepo ethnic community. She was considered an expert mat weaver by her peers. She utilizes the technique known as Tepo. The latter technique is characterized by an observance of evenness throughout the mat design. Further, her rendition of the technique is unorthodox as compared to her predecessors due to her use of various colors (Tobias, 2006) such as purple, red, yellow, and up to eight colors. In the year 2004, she fit the onus for the “Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan” award as per Article II, Section 17 and some provisions states in Article XIV of the same 1987 Philippine constitution which implies the state promoting education, science, and technology, culture, and arts (National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2016a). The aforementioned onus refers to possessing mastery of tools and materials to produce extraordinary work, producing works of superior quality, engaging in art that has been documented for at least 50 years, commanding respect and admiration of the country, and he or she must have transferred or must be willing to transfer the technique (National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2016b). She continued teaching her art to her fellow peers until the day she passed away on April 2, 2013. She will be remembered as one of the artists of her time.