In celebration of the Filipino Food Month 2022, the #NationalMuseumPH explores Filipino gastronomy by featuring wrapped rice cakes, ground corn, mashed bananas and root crops using leaves from plants from different regions.

Filipino food ranges from sweet to savory, and from soupy to dry. Whether savory or sweet, food is usually served on platters, wrapped or unwrapped. For the former, the wrapper can be edible, folded, wound, or woven.

Common traditional food wrappers are leaves of banana, taro, coconut or buri, and corn sheaths. These are favored for their overall structure, pliable properties and aroma. Their inherent properties secure the food and prevent it from spilling—the broadness of banana leaves makes food wrapping easier as there is room for multiple folding while strips of coconut or buri leaves are woven into small containers.

Food such as suman Taal, suman sa lihiya, suman Bulacan/Tagalog, tamales, binot-ong, and sinaing na isda are cooked while wrapped in banana leaves. The pastil/pastel or cooked rice topped with sautéed shredded meat of Maguindanao and Maranao is also wrapped in a banana leaf and can be consumed on-the-go as well as the Palabok Tanza of Cavite and Pancit Habhab of Quezon.

The pusô in Visayas and Mindanao is rice cooked in woven pouch made from palm strips (Cocos nucifera) and usually paired with grilled meat. Palm strips are also used in wrapping and cooking suman sa ibos in Rizal, Aurora, Quezon, and Bicol. Dizon’s bakery of Cavite City, on the other hand, uses pandan (Pandanus sp.) as wrapped-around leaf to naturally infuse its aroma to pan de coco.

Edible food wrappers such as the lumpia wrapper made of cooked starch are used in making the fresh lumpia, fried spring rolls or lumpiang shanghai, and turon or fried plantain wrapped in lumpia wrapper covered with caramelized sugar. Taro or gabi leaf (Colocasia esculenta) is widely used in the Bicol region in coconut-based cooking—the spices and other ingredients of pinangat are wrapped in multiple layers of the leaf before stewing in coconut milk. The softened leaves due to long hours of cooking are edible and just perfect when mixed with the spices and other ingredients in it. Gabi leaves are also used in cooking another local dish called inun-on.

Food in traditional food wrappers is more sustainable and economical especially outside the metropolis. Traditionally wrapped food is an example of tangible cultural heritage, as it reflects the uniqueness of the cuisine in different regions.

#FilipinoFoodMonth2022
#FoodWraps

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

Photographs used courtesy of Jane Maren M. Dasal, Jessica T. Marquinez, Marites P. Tauro, Odie Dela Cruz/ The Dela Cruz Ancestral House, and Angel Weena Santos

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines

On the occasion of his 111th birth anniversary, the #NationalMuseumPh honors National Artist HR Ocampo, born #OnThisDay in 1911, through his works at the National Museum of Fine Arts’ Pillars of Philippine Modernism Exhibition. 

Better known as HR Ocampo, Hernando Ruiz Ocampo was born to parents Emilio Ocampo and Delfina Ruiz in Sta Cruz, Manila on April 28, 1911. He took up several courses in college, including pre-law at the Letran College (1928-29), commerce at the Far Eastern University (1929-1930), and creative writing at the Valenzuela School of Journalism (1930-1931). 

Ocampo is a self-taught artist who learned to draw and paint from magazines. He is considered one of the three significant figures of neo-realism in the country, together with Vicente Manansala and Cesar Legaspi. He was listed among Victorio Edades’ Thirteen Artists who rebelled against the conservative style of painting and introduced modern art in the Philippines in the early 20^th century. Throughout the five decades of his artistic career, he stayed true to his principles of searching for unity, coherence, and emphasis in his works. 

Throughout the 1960s, his art shifted from being a neorealist to an abstract non-configurative painter. His works were then characterized by biomorphic shapes vividly colored in hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, and black which he humorously depicted as paint by number. His usual painting process is to outline and put a number on each section or shape on the canvas. He would then fill each shape with a specific color corresponding to his assigned numbers. His meticulous and diligent artistic process is demonstrated in his five-part work entitled “Creating Cierna” (1968, mixed media on paper). This series of drawings is currently at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism Exhibition at the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

Ocampo passed away in Caloocan City in 1978. He was posthumously conferred with the National National Artist for Visual Arts Award in 1991. 

#MuseumFromHome
#HernandoOcampo
#HROcampocampo
#PhilippineArt
#AbstractArt
#ModernArt
#PhilippineModernArt

Text and photo by NMP FAD

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates World Art Day and joins Roman Catholics in the observance of Good Friday #OnThisDay, with an exhibition of the two sets of Via Crucis studies by National Artist (NA) for Visual Arts Jeremias Elizalde-Navarro (1924–1999) in the Museum Foundation of the Philippines Hall (Gallery X) of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

These two sets of studies—one on pen and ink, and the other, graphite and ink wash on illustration board, were completed in 1973, the same year that Navarro was appointed Director of Graphics of the Design Center of  the Philippines. These significant additions to the National Fine Arts Collection were made by the National Museum of the Philippines through acquisition in 2020 from the late Emma Villanueva Navarro. The Via Crucis or the Stations of the Cross depict the events of the Passion of Christ, from his condemnation to his entombment. 

In 2019, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), during its 40^th session, proclaimed April 15 of every year as World Art Day. This is to “promote the development, diffusion, and enjoyment of art.” Art continues to unite us and connects to us even in the most difficult circumstances—most especially in this time of the pandemic.  

Born in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique, Jeremias “Jerry” Elizalde Navarro graduated from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) with a degree in fine arts in 1951. He pursued his graduate studies in New York City, returned to teach at the University of Santo Tomas, and later on taught at the Randwick University in Australia. Navarro experimented with various media and techniques. He also represented the Philippines in numerous art competitions abroad. Navarro was proclaimed National Artist for Visual Arts in 1999. 

In observance of Holy Week, the National Museum complex in Rizal Park will be closed from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday. You may view National Artist Navarro’s Via Crucis starting Easter Sunday, as we resume our regular museum hours. Admission is free and walk-in visitors are accepted. 

#WorldArtDay
#GoodFriday
#MuseumFromHome

Text and photos by NMP-FAD

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPH is one with the Filipino Catholic community in remembering Christ’s sacrifice through his crucifixion this Good Friday. For our #MuseumFromHome feature this Holy Week, we highlight one of the Lenten traditions that have evolved throughout the centuries since it has been first performed—the Senakulo. 

The Senakulo (or cenaculo) is the staged re-enactment of Christ’s passion and death. It is also known as pasyon y muerte, passion play (Rizal, Bulacan, Bataan, and Pampanga); centurion or hudyuhan (Laguna); tanggal (Bicol region); and pamalandong (Leyte). The performance of the Senakulo is traced to the late 17^th and early 18^th centuries when the first Pasyon text was written. Unlike the Pasyon which is chanted in a mournful tone called tagulaylay, the Senakulo aims to dramatize scenes while also deriving from the contents of the Pasyon.

Drawing from the text of the newer Pasyong Henesis or Pasyong Pilapil, which became popular among the folk community in the early 19^th century, has caused the Senakulo to be lengthier. In some provinces, the traditional performance of a Senakulo may last from 7 to 8 days. Shortened versions however have been staged during Good Friday, beginning only from the agony of Christ, particularly in the urban areas.  

The town or church plaza, as well as the streets, serve as the venue of most Senakulo performances. In some instances, during the early 20^th century, it has also been performed in sabungan (cockpits) in areas near Manila. As with other Holy Week traditions marked by community participation, the staging of the Senakulo is no different. Senakulo actors would prepare the props and sew their own costumes in anticipation of the Holy Week while the stage is built in the plaza using scaffolding and wooden boards, which are painted to serve as the backdrop. While the stage is central to the performance of main scenes such as the crucifixion, many episodes of the Senakulo are performed while going around the town streets. After which, they circle back to the plaza where the stage is located. As the plaza is usually located in front of the church, the end of the Senakulo will serve as a transition for the viewers to attend the succeeding activities such as the Seven Last Words or the procession of the Santo Entierro (image of the dead Jesus Christ) around the town. 

#MahalNaAraw2022
#BiyernesSanto
#Senakulo

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division
Photo courtesy of Michael Dalogdog (2018). 

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines

Special Artillery Projectiles | San Diego Shipwreck

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  Main Poster, Special artillery projectiles including bar shots (bs), and chain shots (cs) from the San Diego shipwreck.

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  Speculative 3D assembly of bar shots from the San Diego shipwreck. Image Source: © 2022 NMP-MUCHD

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  Speculative 3D assembly of chain shots from the San Diego shipwreck. Image Source: © 2022 NMP-MUCHD

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  Double-barreled cannon in Athens, Georgia, USA, invented by John Gilleland in 1862. Image Source: Kaushik Patorwary 2017 from https://bit.ly/3JOMRol, © J. Stephen Conn/Flickr.

Today, the #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the life of Manlilikha ng Bayan Masino Intaray, an outstanding storyteller and musical genius well-acquainted with the traditional instruments of the Pala’wan people. 

The Pala’wan, along with the Batak and Tagbanwa, is one of the indigenous communities living in southern Palawan. They are known to be an egalitarian society, firmly believing that no one owns the land, sea, sky, and other natural elements. They value harmony with their natural environment and among themselves that sharing is an inherent part of their community. One of their most important rituals, the tambilaw – a collective cooking and sharing of rice and ritual offering to Ampo’t Paray (god of rice) – is a testament to this. 

Born in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, MB Masino Intaray embodies the characteristics of a Pala’wan whose life is deeply entwined with nature and his community. Aside from mastering the basal (gong ensemble) and kulilal (lyrical poem with lute and zither accompaniment) and bagit (instrumental music depicting the rhythms, movements and sounds of nature), he also plays the aroding (mouth harp) and the babarak (ring flute). 

MB Masino Intaray was also a prolific poet, well-versed in oral traditions such as tultul (epics), sudsungit (narratives), and tuturan (myths of origin and teachings of ancestors). His being attuned to nature, sense of spiritual purpose, and creative memory allowed him to chant for longer hours on successive nights. 

Along with the basal and kulilal ensemble, MB Masino Intaray was conferred the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan in 1993 for his significant contribution to literature and performing arts. He passed away in his hometown at the age of 70 after succumbing to a series of strokes compounded by his diabetes. He left behind his wife and 4 children. His legacy, however, remains in his community, along with his enduring contributions to the rich cultural heritage of the Filipino nation.

#MBMasinoIntaray
#ManlilikhaNgBayan
#GAMABA
#Palawan

Text and poster by the NMP Ethnology Division

Photo courtesy of the NCCA GAMABA Executive Council

© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines