Uwang Ahadas was born on February 16, 1945. He went near blind when he was five years old. Along with his siblings who were also musicians, he was taught how to play traditional Yakan instruments as a child. He first learned how to play the 'gabbang,' a wooden bamboo instrument similar to the xylophone, then learned how to play the 'agung,' a wide-rimmed gong, traditionally played by Yakan men. By age 20, he had already mastered the 'kwintangan kayu,' which are comprised of five wooden logs hung horizontally, and is considered as the most important Yakan musical instrument, despite the instrument traditionally reserved for women. He can also play the 'tuntungan,' a long, hanging flat wooden plank above which the mouth of two clay pot resonators are suspended without touching the wood.

He taught his children how to play Yakan traditional instruments, including his daugher, Darna, who would later become a teacher of these traditions herself. Ahadas went on to promote these traditions outside his native town of Lamitan, Basilan. He was later recognized and proclaimed as a National Living Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the year 2000 for his dexterity in playing Yakan musical instruments and for his deep knowledge of the aesthetic possibilities and social contexts of these instruments.