Heritage Nostalgia at the Museum of the Filipino People

American actor, Brad Pitt once said "It's a lovely experience walking around a museum by yourself." I always have the habit of traveling alone, especially visiting historical sites and museums. It is my childhood dream to visit museums especially during educational tours when I was still schooling. It was a very rare opportunity to visit these places especially if I have to allot a schedule despite of hectic working days.  

The Museum of the Filipino People which was the former building of Department of Finance. 

During the celebration of Heritage Month last May 2017, I was able to visit the National Art Gallery to see the popular art works of Filipino artists from different historical periods in our country. This time, I decided to visit The Museum of the Filipino People. It is located in Agrifina Circle, next to the main National Museum, which is the National Art Gallery and the building was the former headquarters of Department of Finance.

An Ayangan house from the ancient town of Henengan, now known as Mayaoyao.

Since there is a free admission in the National Museum, I had the opportunity to visit and explore the museum. When I entered the museum, I visited the model of Ifugao house known as Ayangan. It was taken from the town of Mayaoyao, Ifugao. The abodes of the Ifugao are reflected based on their regional geography and sub-groups. The heavily thatched roof serves as protection against the rain and the cold weather of the region.

Religious images made of ivory.

Elephant tusks were used as an ivory 

Ivories were taken from sperm whale and wild pigs.

After that, I entered at the Garing: The Philippines at the Crossroads of Ivory Trade. Garing is a Tagalog word for ivory. This gallery contains different collections of tusks from elephants, whales and boars which considered as good source of ivory. In fact, the Philippines is one of the centers of ivory trade in the past and recently, the trade was prohibited in order to preserve the elephants.

The model of the San Diego.

An astrolabe used during the 16th century.

Cannons and cannon balls were used in maritime battles during the Age of Exploration.

An anchor.

The portrait of Spanish chronicler Antonio de Morga and his famous works about the Philippines.

Astronomical ring dial recovered from the San Diego Galleon Wreck.

After that, I went to the other galleries in the second level - The San Diego Exhibit and the 500 Years of Maritime Trade Before the Arrival of Western Colonizers. It is amazing to see the different artifacts such as collection of jars, clay pots, porcelains, cannons, sunken ship models and navigational devices. The galleries at the second level put me back in time during the pre-colonial times where ancient Filipinos are doing the barter with Asian traders and the adventurous maritime expeditions of the European colonizers in order to achieve their power to become an empire. I also imagined the several days of sea travel to explore new lands as well with the chronicler's journals written in black ink, ancient maps, compass and astrolabe used in navigation before the existence of travel blogs, GPS and Google maps.

Different clay jars from the Philippines and other Asian countries. 

Chinese porcelain plates.

Chinese porcelain kitchen set

Porcelain kitchenware from the ruins of a shipwreck.

Old clay jars and metal instruments from the remains of the shipwreck.

On the third level of the museum, I also had the chance to discover the indigenous Filipino culture through Kaban ng Lahi: Archaeological Treasures and Lumad Mindanao. I've had the chance to see the Manunggul Jar, a burial jar used by the ancient Filipinos which was excavated in Palawan during the 1960's.

The Manunggal Jar

I also visited the section called Lumad Mindanao. It features the different artifacts and materials such as indigenous musical instruments, colorful tribal costumes and household materials from the tribes living in Mindanao. There are also sections for Rice Farming in the Philippines, History of Writing and Weaving in the Philippines.

Therefore, I've had a chance to come back again in this museum and to explore more of the Philippine culture. Discovering the anthropological and archaeological roots of our country is very interesting in order to explore the traces of our Asian identity as a Filipino.

*This post is intended for the National Heritage Month to promote museums and discover our cultural heritage.

Date of Travel: December 17, 2016