Author: National Museum of the Philippines

Abaknon and their view of the world

In the continuing celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month, the #NationalMuseumPH features the Abaknon and their belief system and schemes in interpreting their natural world.

The Abaknon group lives in Capul Island, Northern Samar, located between the Bicol peninsula and Samar islands. Their language, Inabaknon, differs from Bicol or Visayan languages. It is grouped within the Sama languages, spoken by people of the Sulu Archipelago, Sabah in Malaysia, and other parts of Indonesia, under the Austronesian language family.

The location of Capul makes it susceptible to typhoons, giving way for the local community to adapt and develop their own system of predictions, many of which are connected to the sea (kalawot). They believe that a lumod (dolphin) seen pushing its body into the water indicates an incoming typhoon. A half pamalangaw (rainbow) or a muddy sea water likewise indicate a bad weather.

Along with the wind system, directions of the sea current, and position of the stars (bituon), the moon (bulan) plays an important role in dictating fishing activity. To the Abaknon paradaying (fisherfolk), there are 4 phases of the moon – kawara orgimata (new moon), kaudto si kawara (first quarter moon), kadayaw (full moon), and kaudto si kadayaw (last quarter moon). Luyô refers to the days in between these phases, and there are 7 luyô from one phase to another. The moon cycle directly affects the tides and the current of the sea (landus).

Two kinds of landus alternate in a day – humugot and tumaob – distinguished by the direction of the flow. A fishing method dependent on the moon as it uses bait by allowing it to be pulled by the landus is pagla’gulo. It starts 4 days before the kadayaw when the humugot is stronger, and lasts until the 3rd night after kadayaw since the current gets weaker afterwards.

They also believe that lunar eclipse (bakunawa) occurs because the moon is swallowed by a snake, that is why old folks would command the snake to let go of the moon. During an eclipse, pregnant women are neither allowed to enter nor leave the house, and are advised to stay wherever they are until the eclipse is over; otherwise, this will lead to a miscarriage.

Predictions using the natural environment remain a vital part of community life despite having modern devices, and should not be disregarded as it carries traditional knowledge passed on through several generations. Follow the #NationalMuseumPH and learn more from our #MuseumFromHome series.

#Abaknon

#Ethnoastronomy

#MuseumsAndGalleriesMonth2021

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

The Fluorescent Minerals

Did you know that minerals glow in the dark? For today’s #DignayanBiyernes, let us learn the reason behind it.

All minerals can reflect light but about 15% have the interesting property known as fluorescence. Fluorescence or glow, occurs when “activators” or specific impurities are present within the minerals. A single specimen may exhibit at least one color, spectacularly displayed when illuminated with the appropriate ultraviolet (UV) light wavelength in the dark. Minerals, when subjected to different UV wavelengths, respond by showing different colors. 

Fluorescence is used in mineralogy, mining, and petrology. Geologists sometimes use UV light when prospecting or searching for a particular mineral, examining for indicators of oil thermal maturity in oil and gas drills and cores, and tracing ore-bearing rocks in underground mines.  Fluorescence, however, is an unpredictable property, hence it is rarely or not routinely used in mineral identification.

If you want to see these amazing glowing minerals, you may book a tour at the National Museum of Natural History through this website.

#MuseumFromHome

#NationalMuseumPH

Text and image by the NMP Geology and Paleontology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Built Heritage Tradition of the Sta. Ana Church

Built Heritage Tradition of the Sta. Ana Church
(Parish Church of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados) in Sta. Ana, Manila City

In our #MuseumFromHome series, this week’s feature of our #BuiltTraditionThursday is the Sta. Ana Church, formally known as the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish. Located in a declared and protected Heritage Zone in the district of Sta. Ana in Manila City, the parish church tracing its origins to the 1500s is also notable for being site and setting of two declared National Cultural Treasures of the country, the Camarin dela Virgen and the Sta. Ana Site Museum. The Parish Church is a significant example of enduring architectural and cultural Filipino heritage.

The Sta. Ana Church is a Spanish colonial period church. Its site was established by the Spanish Franciscan Missionaries in 1578, in the first settlement established outside of Intramuros. Originally of nipa and bamboo make, construction of a larger church in stone begun around 1720 and finished in 1725 upon the direction of then parish priest, Fr. Vicente Ingles. In time, the church became known as Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish, as it also houses the centuries old and miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados, which was brought by Fr. Ingles from Spain.

Over the centuries, Sta. Ana church has suffered the inclemency of tropical weather and has survived major earthquakes. Fortunately, it was saved from World War II, while the rest of Manila burned down, the town and the church stood unscathed. In 1977, major restoration was undertaken by the National Artist Juan F. Nakpil with the assistance of Engineer Arturo Mañalac to bring out the church’s original appearance for the town of Sta. Ana’s 400th anniversary.

The current state of the Sta. Ana Church itself depicts Baroque style structure, with elements suggesting a composite of the characteristic features of religious architecture. The main church features a long hall nave with no transepts. The structure measures an estimated sixty-three (63) meters by thirty (30) meters and is oriented with the longitude along the North and South axis, with the main entrance on the North façade and the convent and cloisters along the East side of the main church structure. The construction of the main church utilized stone and stucco finish with Philippine hardwood.

The Sta. Ana Church is also notable for its extensive use of capis in its windows and fenestrations. These extant capis are found throughout the church, but are most prevalent in the convent courtyard; featuring a gallery corridor measuring approximately four (4) meters in width, with the exception of the Western corridor which is attached to the church proper and measuring six (6) meters in width. This gallery corridor wraps around the entirety of the convent courtyard, overlooking the central patio, and is comprised entirely of sliding windows that feature capis shells, with panes of the shell in first and second grade, ranging in size from a 5 to 7 centimeter square.

Each wall of the square inner structure facing out unto the patio includes four (4) unit sets of windows, with each unit comprising of eight (8) panels: this totals to thirty-two (32) panels per wall, and one hundred and twenty-eight (128) sliding panels in the convent. Each individual sliding window panel contains approximately (100) individual capis panes, distributed into two sections of the panel, considering the aforementioned total of one hundred and twenty-eight (128) panels in the convent this totals to approximately twelve-thousand and eight hundred (12,800) capis panes within the sliding windows of the convent alone.

Currently, the Sta. Ana Church is amongst Manila’s built heritage structures featured at the National Museum of Philippines’ interdisciplinary exhibition, “Placuna placenta: Capis Shells and Windows to Indigenous Artistry” waiting for visitor’s appreciation, a panel of the capis windows from the church convent is also currently loaned from the parish to the exhibit. The Sta. Ana Church is representative of the country’s religious history, and its significance is manifested clearly in its preservation and long-enduring place in the community it represents.

You can appreciate this architectural marvel at the Gallery 20, third level of the National Museum of Fine Arts or see the virtual exhibition thru this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTpyLDCaero

Text and illustrations/photos by Ar. Armando Arciaga III of the NMP Architectural Arts And Built Heritage Division

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A glimpse into the Philippine National Herbarium

As we are nearing the conclusion of this year’s Museum and Galleries Month, your #NationalMuseumPH would like to give you a glimpse of the Philippine National Herbarium (PNH) in a short video showcasing our main functions as the custodian of our natural heritage.

Take a look at how the team of technical staff from the Botany and National Herbarium Division ensures that the botanical specimens are properly managed and conserved in the PNH.

Several measures are being taken to ensure the integrity of herbarium specimens to last for many generations. Freeze-drying is the process where mounted specimens will be exposed to extremely low temperatures which will kill insects and pests that may be found in the specimens. This is a preliminary step before placing the specimens inside the metal compactor cabinets in the National Museum of Natural History for arrangement and distribution.

The arrangement of specimens in a compactor cabinet is also a crucial consideration for maintaining the herbarium. At present, our researchers are making sure that herbarium specimens are properly distributed in each cabinet, following the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system of classification for flowering plants.

Databasing of collections is significant in herbarium management most especially now that the PNH is gearing towards the digitization of our herbarium collections. Digitization can widen the access of the public to the once limited herbarium data which could be utilized for both educational and scientific purposes.

If you have inquiries regarding collections of the PNH, please send your official requests to pnh@nationalmuseum.gov.ph . Otherwise, book a tour through this website to view some of the exhibited collections of the PNH.

Text and video by the NMP Botany and National Herbarium Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

The Allure of Blue: Blue Pigment on Porcelain

Are you fascinated by the blue and white aesthetics of these porcelain?

As we continue to celebrate the #MuseumsAndGalleriesMonth, this week’s #MaritimeMonday features the blue pigment on porcelain and its significance throughout the history.

The color blue was notably absent among the earliest pigments used in pre-history, as naturally occurring blue pigments are rare and can only be mined on deposits that are difficult to access. Lapis Lazuli and Azurite were among the first known sources of mineral blue pigment and were considered highly valuable and expensive, due to their rarity and importance.

The shortage of blue pigments from natural resources prompted the manufacture of synthetic blue pigments. These artificial pigments were made from readily accessible raw materials and were less expensive than the mineral pigments. The significance of blue color increased as the Chinese blue and white porcelain became a popular commodity worldwide. This was evidenced by the number of blue and whites found along the maritime trade routes, including the shipwrecks in the Philippines dated from 14th to 18th centuries Common Era (CE). Examples of shipwrecks with blue and white porcelain on their cargos are the Pandanan (15th century CE), Santa Cruz (15th century CE), and San Diego (16th century CE).

Cobalt blue decoration derived from cobalt oxide was discovered to be the most stable pigment when fired at high temperatures of 1200 to 1350 °C, which is required in producing porcelain. This yielded a striking, permanent bright blue design on the white surface. The scarcity of stable natural blue pigments attributed to the glamour status of blue color of these porcelain. Persia, present-day Iran, is a well-known source of cobalt ores in early times. There were also reported sources from China, Iraq, and Sumatra during the Medieval Period (c. 5th–15th century CE). The cobalt blue pigment used in different periods also vary in composition. Other known blue pigments used were ultramarine, Egyptian blue, Han blue, Maya blue, and Prussian blue.

Your #NationalMuseumPH is now open to the public. You may see and appreciate these blue and white porcelain at the ‘300 Years of Maritime Trade in the Philippines’ exhibition at the 2nd floor hallway gallery of the National Museum of Anthropology. To book a slot, please visit our website at www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph and click ‘Book A Tour’. Remember to #KeepSafe by practicing minimum health protocols while viewing our galleries.  You may also experience the virtual tour of the exhibit by clicking on this link: https://tinyurl.com/300YearsOfMaritimeTradePH

#BlueAndWhitePorcelain

#MuseumFromHome

#MGM2021

#BeatCOVID19

Text and poster by the NMP Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division
©National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

The Lesser Long-tongued Bat (Macroglossus minimus)

Photo of Macroglossus minimus (E. Geoffroy, 1810) taken from Mt. Natib, Bataan Natural Park in 2015. English: Lesser long-tongued nectar bat, Tagalog: Paniki, Bisaya: Kagi, Ivatan: Panichi
Scientific illustration of the Macroglossus minimus by the National Museum artist illustrator Aissa Domingo with the flatlay of the actual skull of the M. minimus. If you zoom in on the actual skull, you will notice the small but very sharp teeth of the bat.

As your #NationalMuseumPH joins the observance of #BatWeek, we want to share with you a small amazing bat that provides an awesome service to our planet.

The Lesser Long-tongued Bat (Macroglossus minimus) is a small bat with about 65-78 mm length and 14-20 g weight. It has a narrow muzzle long tongue, hence its English name. It has large eyes compared to other small bats and has canines that are slender and sharp.

This native bat is found throughout the Philippines and in almost every habitat. They are usually observed in mangrove areas, along streams in the forests, and in agricultural areas. This nectarivore (an animal that feeds on nectar and pollen) bat is an important pollinator of bat-loving (chiropterophilous) plants in the mangrove. The flowers of these plants are usually white or pale in color and have a very strong scent so the bats can easily locate them in the dark.

The bat’s long and slender snout is well adapted for feeding on the nectar of flowers. At night while humans are in slumber, the bat makes its trip to the wooded areas where flowers of chiropterophilous plants are in bloom. They probe their narrow mouth to the funnel shaped flowers and feed on the nectar. This kind of feeding behavior contributes to the regrowth of vegetation in the forests and other wooded areas.

Text and images by the NMP Zoology Division

©National Museum of the Philippines (2021)