Journey
to the past: Going back to history
National
Museum Trip (January 31, 2015)
How to go
to National Museum of the Filipino People?
From
Malanday to Luneta, we ride a jeep. You can also try alternative transportation
such as LRT or much better if you have your own or rental car.
About the
Museum:
National
Museum of the Filipino People is
located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal Park, Manila adjacent to the main
National Museum building which houses the National Art Gallery. The building
formerly housed the Department of Finance.
What we
will see Inside the Building:
Museum
of the Filipino People Exhibits
I
just want to share our experience in visiting the National Museum of the
Filipino People and some information about the exhibits inside. (For Students ₱50.00 For Adults ₱120.00)
Level 1
Ø Ifugao House
Ø Offices
Ifugao Hut/Ifugao House
Info:
Fhaley Ad Henenga
Ayangan
House from Mayaoyao, Igugao
The
Architecture of the Ifugao House, of which there are many varieties based on
the different Ifugao sub-groups, is effective of the geography of the region.
The
heavily thatched roof serves as protection against the rains and cold weather
of the region. This Authentic house is the Ayangan Heritage, a sub-group of the
Ifugao People. Henengan was the Ancient name of the municipality of Mayaoyao.
For
me, Ifugao House look like a tree house. The roof is so big and thick maybe
because of the weather in Northern Luzon which is cold. Maybe the roof protect
and making warm inside. The body of the house is covered by its roof and if you
look inside it is different from Nipa Hut or Bahay Kubo.
Level 2
Ø The San Diego: History
(Asian Bank Corp./A. Soriano
Corp./PHINMA Group Gallery)
Ø 500 Years of Maritime Before the Advent of
Western Colonizers
(Hallway)
Ø The San Diego: Treasures
(San Diego Corp. Gallery)
San Diego Exhibit
Start
with the exhibit gallery on the ground floor showing the wreck site and eleven
of the recovered cannons.
The San Diego - A 16th Century Galleon
Info:
The Discovery of the San Diego has
significantly expanded our knowledge of Renaissance shipbuilding techniques. On
the basis of the finds and positioning of the wreck, the construction of the
ship had been studied.
The San
Diego was a 3-masted trading built in 1590 in Cebu by Basque, Chinese and
Filipino shipbuilders. It used different kinds of Asian woods and was about
35-40 meters long, about 12 meters wide and 8 meters high. It had at least 4
decks and could hold about 700 tons of cargo.
In San Diego, you will see
replicas of San Diego Galleon. You can also see the tools and equipment they
used in their expeditions. There is also an Anchor used by the said Galleon.
San Diego treasures and the porcelain
collection
Stoneware jars from San Diego
The Cannon
Cannon Balls, you will see
different size of cannon they used and the cannon balls like a stone form into
circles.
Old compass
Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas 1609 by Antonio
de Morga
Gold seal which was believed to be owned by
Antonio de Morga
Info:
Collected by underwater archaeologists at the
San Diego Wreck Site off the Fortune Island, Nasugbu, Batangas, this gold seal
is unique and the only one in the world.
Level 3
Ø Lantakas and Bells
(Hallway)
Ø Pinagmulan (Origins)
(Cabinet Ladies Foundation Gallery)
Ø Kaban ng Lahi (Archaeological Treasures)
(Don Vicente Madrigal Gallery)
Ø Faith, Tradition, and Place: Bangsamoro Art
(MERALCO/The Lopez Group Gallery)
The Origin (Pinagmulan)
The
gallery presents information on the origins of the Philippine Islands and the
Filipino nation. The exhibition focuses on the four periods of Philippine
pre-history: Paleolithic; Neolithic; Metal; and Ceramic Age.
Skull cap of the earliest human inhabitant in
the Philippines
Tabon
Cave, Quezon Palawan
14500 BC
Info:
One of the earliest human remains in the
archipelago is a fossilized skull-cap (frontal bone) that belongs to a female
estimated to be 22,000 years old. It was discovered together with a right mandible
(jaw) and teeth in Tabon Cave, Palawan by Robert Fox of The National Museum.
A replica of the Duyong cave
Info:
Duyong Cave, located in Iwahig, Palawan, is an
important site, providing insights into the burial and ritual practices of the
Neolithic Duyong, meaning sea cow, was the name given to the cave because of
the abundance of this type of bone material discovered during the excavation.
Researchers believe that these animals were ritual offerings in format cult
involving sea cow.
Among the
Artifacts found in the cave are a type of earring common in Vietnam, pendants,
bracelets, small stud-like objects, ornaments of nephrite, and a double-headed
jade pendant, probably that of a horse.
Butuan Boat
Libertad,
Butuan City
320 AD
Info:
Prehistoric boats were recovered in Butuan,
Agusan del Norte in 1978. There are nine existing prehistoric boats. The first
boat dated 320 A.D. is in the site museum in Libertad, Butuan. The second boat
dated to 1250 A.D. was transferred to the Pinagmulan Gallery (The Origin), in
the 2nd floor of the Museum of the Filipino People in Manila. The third boat
dated 990 A.D. is in the Butuan Regional Museum (Agusan del Norte, southern
Philippines).
The
Butuan boat is an edged- pegged plank type of boat. The planks were made from
hard wood like ‘doongon’ (Heriteriera littoralis). Built to withstand
long-distance voyages, the boat can seat 25 people. Early merchants purchased
goods from foreign traders and sailed the small waterways redistributing the
commodities to remote communities in the archipelago. The presence of glass
beads and metals in the sites where the boats were discovered shows that
Philippine coastal communities were active in Asian maritime trade during that
time. Evidence of a flourishing maritime trade placed the early Filipinos’
seamanship and boat- building skill on equal footing with other Asian
countries.
The
edged-pegged plank style of boat-building was once popular from Scandinavian
countries to the South Pacific during the 3rd century. Present- day boat makers
of Sibutu Island and in southern Philippines still use the same technology.
Butuan
Boat is a proof that the Filipino before are really smart and creative. They
made their own boat for transportation and maybe even for trades.
Sama grave marker
Info:
The Sama D’Laut are sea faring people but they
bury their dead in land. They mark their graves with stylized human figures
that indicate the gender and age of the deceased. The grave markers of the Sama
D’laut are silent sentinels of the afterworld. Grave markers consist of an
upright piece of wood called sundok. This is placed over the head of the
deceased and in front of the sunduk is a raised mound of earth or sand, and a
rectangular frame called the kabul that surrounds the entire site. Sea cow
figures are commonly carved into wooden markers along with crocodiles, birds
and human figures. Sometimes sundoks are inserted into a base formed into a sea
cow, boat, box, or some other animals. These motifs are representative of the
Sama belief in the transportation of the spirit to the next life.
Male and Female Bul’ul
(From Left: Female Bul'ul, Male Bul'ul)
Info:
Guardians of Igorot
Archaeological Treasures (Kaban ng Lahi)
The
Archaeological Treasures Gallery portrays secondary burial jar collections as
well as samples of other utilitarian vessels unearthed from different cave
sites in the Philippines. It also features the importance of burial practices
associated with the death of early Filipinos in the southern Philippines and
other parts of the country.
Manunggul and Maitum jar
Manunggul Jar
Manunggul
Cave, Lipuun Pt., Palawan
895-775
BC
Info:
The cultural treasure found in the early 1960’s
in Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan is a secondary burial jar. The upper
portion of the jar, as well as the cover is incised with curvilinear scroll
designs and painted with natural iron or hematite. On top of the jar cover or
lid is a boat with two human figures representing two souls on a voyage to the
afterlife. The boatman is seated behind a figure whose hands are crossed on the
chest. The position of the hands is a traditional Filipino practice observed
when arranging the corpse.
The
Manunggul Jar is a unique secondary-burial jar. On top of the cover is a boat
with two human figures that represent souls on a journey to the afterlife.
Maitum Jar
Info:
This is unique burial jar with two arms. It has
a head and two ears.
The
place where you find Manunggul Jar and Maitum Jar is in a dark area. They use
somekind of light that is safe for this jar that help to preserve these jars.
Some
of Maitum Jar are broken maybe because of the age. Also this jars are black and
brown in color. Manunggul Jar is bigger than Maitum Jar.
Jarlet with gaping mouth from Leta-leta Cave
Info:
The jarlet is one of the several intact pieces
of pottery recovered in Leta-Leta Cave, Northern Palawan in 1965.
Faith, Tradition, and Place: Bangsamoro Art
This
area is one of my favourite department/exhibit in the museum. You will see a
lot of things use by the people in Mindanao. That shows how rich their culture
from instrument, clothing, and so on.
Also
a reason why I love this part, for the first time I saw a Koran. It’s a long
story why I really want to see it and finally I achieve it.
Brass Gong from a Maranao Community
Okir of the Maranaos, Maranao Sarimanok
Maranao
of Lanao del Sur
Wood,
paint and marble
Mandaya basket
Info: The bakuta or the Mandaya basket is cylindrical in
form made of rattan strips and is smeared with beeswax all over to make it
sturdy and waterproof. This is decorated with reinforced bamboo strips forming
curvilinear designs. There is a braided strap provided for suspension purposes.
The basket is 0.041 meters in height and is used as
a betel chew container.
Level 4
Ø Baybayin (Ancient Scripts of the Philippines)
(Metrobank Foundation Gallery)
Ø Hibla ng Lahing Filipino (Philippine
Textiles)
Ø Rice and Climate Change
(Antonio and Aurora Tambunting
Gallery/ Villonio-Samson Gallery)
Ø Pagkaing Filipino: Food Photography Neal
Oshima
(Reception Room)
Ø Biodiversity and Climate Change
(PAGCOR Gallery II)
Baybayin (Ancient Scripts of the Philippines)
Mangyan script on a tobacco container
Laguna copperplate
Info:
The thin copper plate has ten lines of small
script characters that are impressed on one side. This rare artifact was
studied by Dr. Anton Postma and Dr. Johannes de Casparis. According to them,
the main language of the copper plate is old Malay but the text is sprinkled
with Sanskrit, old Javanese and old Tagalog terms.
Calatagan Pot
14th-15th
Centuries A.D.
Info:
Height: 12 cm; Width (Body) 20.2 cm Diameter
(Rim): 14:8 cm; 872 grams
The pot
was recovered in Mang Tomas Archaeological Site, Calatagan, Batangas in 1961.
It is unique and classified as atypical earthenware with ancient syllabic
inscription on the shoulder.
Hibla ng Lahing Filipino (Philippine
Textiles)
Ifugao blanket
Info:
The blanket is woven by women using the back
strap loom. It is made and formed from commercialized cotton threads, utilizing
the tie and dye method from natural dyes (ikat technique).
The
blanket has anthropomorphic figures at the center. It was used to cover the
corpse of an Ifugao after death. The blanket is a national cultural treasure
collected in June 13, 1968 by William Beyer in the municipality of Amganad,
Banaue, Ifugao.
The
blanket is 2.68 meters in length and 1.92 meters in width.
Banton Burial Cloth
Info: Found
in association with coffin burial in Banton Island, Romblon Province, this
burial cloth is the oldest textile associated with Yuan ceramic trade ware and
the oldest textile so far found in the Philippines.
In
this level you will notice the richness of our culture. In our language or
baybayin, in the making clothes and blankets by our ancestors, even in animals
that you will see only in our country.
Climate Change
Level 5
Ø Ethnology Repository
Ø Zoology Repository
It’s Unbelievable
how they preserve this animals.
There
it goes, you must experience it also. Appreciate our past and be proud that we
are Filipino.
After
Visiting the National Museum, you can go to Lapu-Lapu Monument or in Luneta
Park.
Just
Like We Did J
Thanks
for Dropping By J
Reference:
National
Museum
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