Author: National Museum of the Philippines

The “Cleaners” – the Banded Coral Shrimp

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The “Cleaners” – the Banded Coral Shrimp

Do fish ever get itchy? 

In today’s #WildlifeWednesday, let us learn more about one of the most strikingly elegant shrimps of the marine environment, the banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus). It is one of the three known groups of shrimps that are linked with cleaning fishes. 

Its spinous body and pincers are marked by bright red and white bands and bluish-white legs, and antennae that are twice as much longer than the length of its body! It prefers to live in overhangs or cave-like shelters, rock crevices, or submerged wheel tires made into artificial reefs. 

While remaining hidden in their lair, the banded coral shrimp swing their long white antennae along with the sea’s current, signaling its readiness to help the fishes clean their bodies. Fishes remain stationary in this “cleaning station” while the shrimp picks up and eat their parasites and other unwanted particles on their body, gills, or on any parts. After “cleaning”, the fish then swims off feeling “refreshed”. 

Although there are no known natural predators of this shrimp, it is threatened by man’s activities. Bio-ecological research should be conducted on coral-banded shrimp to prevent its unsustainable capturing or overfishing for the aquarium trade.

It is amazing to know that each species has its role to play in the web of underwater life!

Text by the NMP Zoology Division

Video clip from Getty Images

 

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FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE

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FEAST OF THE BLACK NAZARENE

  • January 9 – Black Nazarene A

  • January 9 – Black Nazarene B

  • January 9 – Black Nazarene C

The #NationalMuseumPH joins our Filipino Christian brothers and sisters in the observance of the Feast of the Black Nazarene. Every 9th of January, thousands of devotees of Señor Nazareno traditionally join the “Traslación”, or the procession of the image of the Black Nazarene from the Quirino Grandstand to the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, commonly known as the Quiapo Church in Manila. 

The Traslación is a reenactment of the transfer of the Black Nazarene’s replica image from Intramuros to Quiapo Church in 1787. The original statue was initially brought to the Philippines by the Augustinian Recollects in 1606. Since then, the Traslación was held annually to commemorate the Black Nazarene’s first journey to its current home.

Before sunrise, devotees donned in maroon and yellow shirts wave white towels in the air while walking the 6.5 km route of the Traslación barefoot, a symbolic gesture that emulates Christ’s suffering as he was carrying his cross to Golgotha. 

Despite the large crowd, devotees would attempt to hold and pull the rope of the Black Nazarene’s andas or carriage and throw their white towels and handkerchiefs to the Hijos del Señor Nazareno, who wipe the image with the cloth and throw these back to the crowd. 

As it navigates the thoroughfares of Manila towards Quiapo Church, the carriage makes a stop at the San Sebastian Church for the Dungaw ritual (looking out at the window), where the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel awaits to meet the Black Nazarene. The Traslación takes hours before the image reaches its destination due to the sea of people joining the procession. The longest duration of Traslación in recent history reached 22 hours, in 2012, 2017, and 2019.

Many devotees join the procession as part of their panata (vow). The panata is usually carried out as a plea to God or as thanksgiving for healing, blessing or granting of/granted wish. They believe that walking barefoot, wiping the image with the towels, holding and pulling the rope of the andas, and even climbing the carriage, will get them closer to achieving their prayers. The fervent devotion and faith shown by the devotees became a prime manifestation of the fusion of Catholic and secular beliefs and practices of Filipinos. 

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Traslación has been put to a halt. However, this did not discourage many devotees to flock to the Quiapo Church to attend the masses. Last year, the church livestreamed masses on its Facebook page following the capacity limits on religious gatherings.

#BlackNazarene
#Traslación
#SeñorNazareno
#QuiapoChurch
#Panata

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

© The National Museum of the Philippines (2022) 

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Dignayan Biyernes- Pyroxenite

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In this week’s #DignayanBiyernes, let’s get to know one rock type that is commonly used in construction of buildings and even your households.

Pyroxenite is an ultramafic plutonic igneous rock. It is formed from magma that is rich in iron and magnesium. Its minerals are mostly pyroxenes, making up more than 60% of the rock. You can recognize pyroxenes from their stubby prismatic crystals that are generally dark green to black. 

These minerals give pyroxenite its dark, greenish color. Pyroxenite is relatively rare because it occurs predominantly deep in the crust or the mantle. In the Philippines, they are found together in the same igneous complex with peridotite outcrops.

The featured samples were collected at Sta. Cruz, Zambales in western portion of Luzon Island. They are part of the Zambales Ophiolite, a fragment of Mesozoic oceanic crust that has been emplaced and exposed on land sometime during the Eocene Epoch (56 to 33.9 million years ago). 

Pyroxenites are mined because they may host economically important metals like chromium, nickel, and platinum. If you want to learn more about rocks, you may check out our collections online through this website.

#NationalMuseumPH

Text and photos by NMP Geology and Paleontology Division

2021 New Discoveries

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2021 New Discoveries

Happy New Year from your #NationalMuseumPH!
2021 was a great year for new discoveries!

Did you know that discovery is one crucial step in plant conservation? We need to discover and identify the plant to ensure its survival.

In 2021, more than 20 species of plants were discovered in the Philippines. Here are some of the novel plants discovered by researchers from the #NationalMuseumPH and their team of experts.

Three of these novel species were described during the expedition from Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an ASEAN Heritage Park located in Mindanao.

Amylotheca cleofei Tandang, Galindon & A.S. Rob is the fifth Amylotheca species in the world. This mistletoe is named after Clint Michael B. Cleofe of the DENR-PENRO Davao Oriental. Dischidia glabrata Arshed and Tandang is a succulent epiphytic vine known only in Mount Hamiguitan. The specific epithet “glabrata” refers to the glabrous habit of the plant. Hypericum perryongii Galindon is the fifth Hypericum in the Philippines and the first to be found outside Luzon. It is named in honor of Dr. Perry S. Ong, a renowned ecologist and UP Scientist who championed science-based biodiversity conservation in the country. 

A new species of Dischidia was described again in November 2021. Dischidia argentii Arshed, J.R. Callado & Tandang was named in honor of the late Dr. George Argent for his contribution to the flora of the Philippines. This novel species is known only from Mt. Kilang, Ilocos Norte.

For more information about this plants, click the links below:

https://bit.ly/3eLglW7 (Amylotheca cleofei)
https://bit.ly/3sVvNr6 (Dischidia glabrata)
https://bit.ly/3nfjO47 (Dischidia argentii)
https://bit.ly/3pQzeNR (Hypericum perryongii)

Text and photos by the Botany and National Herbarium Division
© National Museum of the Philippines (2022)

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Manlilikha ng Bayan Ginaw Bilog

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The #NationalMuseumPH commemorates the birth anniversary of Ginaw Bilog, the first awardee of Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993. 

Manlilikha ng Bayan Ginaw Bilog was recognized for the preservation of the surat Mangyan, or Mangyan script and the ambahan, a metaphoric poem with seven–syllable lines etched on bamboo tubes used in conveying messages among the Hanunuo Mangyan of southern Mindoro. The ambahan is recited during social gatherings and accompanied by musical instruments such as guitars, fiddles, flutes, and jew’s harps. One of the four remaining syllabic scripts in the country, the surat Mangyan, is instrumental in perpetuating the use of ambahan. The Philippine syllabic scripts were declared National Cultural Treasure in 1997 by the National Museum of the Philippines, and have been officially inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in 1999.

According to Manlilikha ng Bayan Ginaw Bilog, ambahan is the key to the Mangyan soul and this was his motivation to continue keeping its scores that were both written on bamboo nodes and in his notebook for this purpose. He has also maintained the ambahan collection of his father and grandfather, which served as his inspiration and guidance in his endeavors. He has shared both collections with his fellow Mangyan and promoted them to other groups on every possible occasion.

Manlilikha ng Bayan Ginaw Bilog passed away in 2003.

#GAMABA

#ManlilikhaNgBayan

#GinawBilog

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division and NCCA GAMABA Executive Council

© The National Museum of the Philippines (2022)

Chinese blue and white porcelain pouring vessels from the Lena Shoal shipwreck

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Chinese blue and white porcelain pouring vessels from the Lena Shoal shipwreck

  • Lena Shoal blue and white boxes and pouring vessels

  • Lena Shoal dishes and a bottle

  • Lena Shoal excavation

This week on #MaritimeMonday highlights the ceramic pouring vessels found at the Lena Shoal shipwreck. The vessel was inadvertently discovered by deep sea fishermen more than 40 m deep near Lena Shoal, Busuanga, northern Palawan. Significant looting followed before the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) and the Far Eastern Foundation for Nautical Archaeology (FEFNA) intervened and carried out systematic excavations in 1997. To learn more about the Lena Shoal shipwreck, please read at https://tinyurl.com/bdfjksu3.

More than 4,700 artifacts were recovered consisting mostly of Asian stoneware and porcelain ceramics along with earthenware pottery, metal, glass, stone, and wooden objects as well as organic materials and ecofacts. The vessel measured 24 m long with a carrying capacity of 100 tons and was made using the South China Shipbuilding Tradition, which combines Chinese (bulkheads and iron nails) and Southeast Asian techniques (keel and wooden dowel). The ship may have sunk during the late 15th to the early 16th century Common Era (CE) based on the analysis of the Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese ceramic shapes and decoration.

Among the Chinese blue and white porcelain retrieved were pouring vessels with unique shapes in the form of ewers and bottles. There are large ewers that are made of thick, white porcelain covered with a thick bluish-glaze except at the foot and the base. The decorations are composed of floral patterns and scrolls while a single ewer is completely covered with blue glaze sans decoration. Also present in limited quantities are duck-shaped ewers with bluish glaze and molded into the shape of a pair of ducks swimming side by side. Liquids are filled in through the opening at the back of the birds and poured out through the beak if it is pierced. The cover may be domed with a knob on the top or shaped like a lotus leaf.

The bottles have globular bodies with necks narrowing at the center, similar to an hourglass in shape and end in an everted rim. The pieces are fashioned from thick, white porcelain and covered in bluish glaze with floral patterns and scrolls. They are classified as water bottles and thought to be copied from a metal prototype from the Middle East. These pouring vessels may have been used during meals and for ritual hand washing that is customary in the Moslem world.

All of these were produced by the private kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province which rose to prominence in the 15th century as the major ceramic production center in China specializing in porcelain with underglaze blue glaze. They are more commonly known as blue and white porcelain in the western world. The ship may have been part of a fleet of ships engaged in private trade and destined for Islamic markets in southern Philippines, Indonesia or even in the Indian Ocean states.

Your #NationalMuseumPH is now open to the public with minimum health protocols. Please visit our newly upgraded ‘300 Years of Maritime Trade in the Philippines’ exhibition on the second floor of the National Museum of Anthropology building. You may also opt to watch the virtual tour of the said gallery here: https://tinyurl.com/300YearsOfMaritimeTradePH. Please monitor this website and social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for further information and booking arrangements.

#PouringVessels

#EwerAndBottle

#LenaShoalShipwreck

#MuseumFromHome

#StaySafeStayHome

#BeatCOVID19

 Poster and text by the NMP Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division

Photos © Franck Goddio and Far Eastern Foundation for Nautical Archaeology (FEFNA)

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

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