Today’s #MaritimeMonday features the Chinese blue and white porcelain that were found in the Pandanan shipwreck, off the shores of Pandanan Island, southern Palawan. The vessel was accidentally discovered by a pearl farm diver, who was looking for a missing pearl basket and instead found stoneware jars at a depth of more than 40 m below sea surface level.

The trade vessel sunk between the middle to the late 15th CE (Common Era) and yielded more than 4,700 objects with a dominant ceramic cargo along with iron, glass, wood, stone, and organic remains. More than 70% of the ceramic cargo came from the kilns of Northern and Central Vietnam. At least 40 pieces of Chinese blue and white porcelain were recovered, among them were dishes, jarlets, and bowls. The most significant of the blue and white porcelain objects is a big bowl dated to Yuan Dynasty Period (1279–1368 CE). It is more than 100 years older than the rest of the cargo, and designated as a National Cultural Treasure. To learn more about the Pandanan blue and white porcelain bowl, please see: https://tinyurl.com/4dvsdawt.

The rest of the Chinese blue and white porcelain pieces were dated to the so-called Interregnum Period (1436–1464 CE) and produced by the kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. This is based on the similarity of the artistic styles of artefacts found in dated Chinese tombs, as well as fragments from the kilns sites at Jingdezhen and excavated pieces from an area near the Ming imperial palace in Nanjing. These wares include dishes with mythical animal themes (unicorns, phoenix, and qilin) and floral designs. The limited quantity of the Chinese ceramics with less than 4% of the ceramic cargo, reflects the scarcity of Chinese ceramics during this period due to the prohibition of maritime trade in China. The substantial presence of ceramics from Vietnam, Thailand, and Myanmar also indicate that these countries filled this Chinese ceramic export vacuum. 

The #NationalMuseumPH is now open to the public with limited capacity. You may book your appointment through this website. Monitor our social media pages such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for further announcements. In the meantime, you may watch the virtual tour of the upgraded ‘300 Years of Maritime Trade in the Philippines’ exhibition here: https://tinyurl.com/300YearsOfMaritimeTradePH.

#ChineseBlueAndWhitePorcelain

#PandananShipwreck

#MuseumFromHome

#StaySafeStayHome

#BeatCOVID19

Poster and text by the Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

As the #NationalMuseumPH continues to celebrate the National Indigenous Peoples Month, our #MuseumFromHome features the Panay Bukidnon inhabiting the highlands of Panay Island in Western Visayas and their continuing belief system related to their subsistence activities. 

The Panay Bukidnon traditionally depended on kaingin or shifting cultivation, supplemented by hunting, fishing, and local trade. In particular, agricultural production is guided by signs and omens, such as phases of the moon which are often anticipated as basis of when and what to plant. It is believed that the ugsad (full moon) and lati (3 days before and after new moon) affect the produce from the planted crops. The third day after new moon is also called himatayon when it is a waning crescent.

During lati, they plant root crops such as balinghoy (cassava) and kamote (sweet potato). Called hanulod, this is considered a good time to plant root crops and other tubers as it is believed that they would bear big tubers to harvest. Hamonga or planting of beans like latoy (string beans) and monggo (mung beans) also assures them good yield.

The Panay Bukidnon also awaits the ugsad. Bananas are best planted during hambot (day after full moon) since it induces the growth of more saha (banana sucker). Paminhi (sowing of rice) must also be done during ugsad. Rice planted with lots of muro-puro or bitoon (stars) at night are believed to yield good harvest.

Successful fishing is also guaranteed during lati. Panolo (fishing at night) is best done during this period since fish like sili (eel), urang (shrimp), and kagang (crab) are abundant in the river and are easily caught at night.

From 2017 to 2019, the Ethnology and Botany and National Herbarium Divisions, and NM Western Visayas Regional Museum documented the cultural and natural heritage of the communities in Calinog, Iloilo. In October 2020, NM Western Visayas held an online film screening, director’s talk, and lectures on the Pátok (The Mountain Carvers), which discussed the rice terracing tradition of the Iraynon Bukidnon of San Remigio, Antique and underscored the importance of their ancestral lands to their way of life.

Over the course of generations, our indigenous peoples have developed sets of knowledge on preserving and protecting our natural resources. These cultural traditions and knowledge enable us to stay connected to our indigenous heritage and understand our place in this world. Let us continue supporting the keepers of our heritage. Happy National Indigenous Peoples Month! 

#IndigenousPeoplesMonth

#PanayBukidnon

#MuseumsAndGalleriesMonth

Text and Posters by the NMP Ethnology Division and NM Western Visayas Regional Museum

©The National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

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