CHAPTER 5

PROMOTING AND PRESERVING HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:
✓ Manifest interest intent in local history and show concern in promoting
it; and,
✓ Critically evaluate, promote and preserve the Philippine museums,
historical shrines, indigenous practices, religious rites and rituals,
archeological sites and other cultural heritage.

LOCAL HISTORY

Local History refers to a written record of past events relating to local institutions.
National histories actually sprouted from the contributions of local history. In other word,
there was local history before there was national history.

The following are the controversial issues:

Importance of Local History

1. Local history enriches our understanding of our national history. It provides us with
the documentation and analysis of the broad processes which are important to the
life of the people. It is more than the study of towns, provinces, and regions of the
Philippines and the people who live there. The study of local history provides the
foundation and the substance of true national history is history in the local context.

2. More importantly, it encourages creative and innovative responses to development

with people with special talents and potentials. It provides more room for local
initiatives to develop and for local potentials to progress. Autonomy implies an
exercise of freedom with limited control or influence from the national government.
Local history along with oral history are basic to autonomy.

3. From this inexhaustible reservoir people can draw patriotic strength in times of
crisis, inspiration, in moments of despair, and direction, and in times of ambiguity
and dilemma. It is actually a reservoir of local data and memories of events,
realties, and things that provide the essences of local life. History is defined as an
organized record of a meaningful past.

4. The Philippines has a strong and varied source of local history because it has 16
regions, 78 provinces, 1.537 municipalities, 69 cities, 41,925 barangays and over
a hundred ethnolinguistic groups. Here we can see community life in the context
of social perspective. Local history provides the vital task of putting the meaningful
essence of community in space and time.

5. National interests by reason of national purpose and will should represent the
various localities, sectors, and ethnic groups from Batanes to Tawi – Tawi,
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

regardless of creed, origin, race and gender. National history seeks together all
diverse groups. By their very nature both help unite the nation as an example of
unity in diversity. Local and oral history are fundamental to national interests.

6. Filipino historiography incorporates both approaches to national history. The

difference of Hispanic historiography is that it autocratic and prescriptive while the
American is liberal and democratic. This includes the Hispano – American
historiography tradition we have preserved in our national historiography.

7. In short, national history without local history is shallow just as local history without
national interest is parochial and divisive. It must derive substance and sustenance
from local history data before it can establish generalizations. Local history is an
important tool of decolonization. Nationalist historiography aims to decolonize the
old views which is the task of the Filipino historian.

Sources In Local History

History without sources is like a bird without wings. Sources are the foundation of
historical data and information. However, not all historical works with sources are
commendable.

This brings to the question on what sources to use and how to use them for
historical construction. History without sources is unthinkable but not all historical works
with sources are commendable.

Cultural sources which are preserved evidences of human culture including

archaeological artifacts as far back in time as possible. Oral historical sources gathered
from interviews which represent the main focus of oral history as a methodology. Written
source such as reports, correspondence, speeches, memorials, petitions and any printed
matter available. Historical sources may be generally divided into:

• Secondary accounts which include accounts by individuals with some valid

information from eyewitnesses.
• Primary accounts such as eyewitnesses accounts.

Methodology of Local History

What is worth researching and what are those things to be researched are
essential matters in conducting historical research.

It must deal with a subject of historical value. Note everything which happened in
the past is worth researching. History is an academic discipline in which we look back
where we came from, how things changed and what particular path we have taken for
what persons and why we are where we are now. It must be an original work not a
recycling or rehashed work that has been written countless of times. It should present
new information or at least a new perspective, insight or interpretation.

Any historical work that does not cite its sources is not credible because it cannot
be cross-verified. Proper attributes through a bibliography with footnotes and end notes.

1|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

Clarity of presentation or narrative. Good research must have good grammar. Thirdly,
basic academic requirements must be met.

Other forms of local histories are features articles in local and national newspaper
which contain stories about events in town and cities. These taken form in souvenir
programs by countless town fiestas and similar community celebrations. Local history
actually has a long tradition in the country.

With the end of monoliths historians can now have more freedom and exercise
cultural creativity including historical research. Elements of monoliths such as state-
censorship and state- sponsored writing of an official history and the suppression of
counter thoughts prevented the emergence of “other views”. The effect of the fall of a
monolith such as the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 triggered interest in local history.

Instead of reliving national events there are efforts to research the effect of national
events in local situations. Events such as the centennial of the declaration of Philippine
independence provided impetus.

The Philippine government actually encourages this through its agencies such as
the National Commission for Culture and the Arts which fund local history research.
Governments following the collapse of the monoliths actually encourage local research.

Local historians serve an interpreter to the larger world and can conversely
interpret the larger world to the local community. He will have the advantage of knowing
the vernacular or the local language in using local sources especially oral histories. Local
historians will have the authority to express their own values and perceptions specific to
his group or province. It is a source of pride for the local historians to have people of their
own culture write about their ethnic group, their hometown or home province. The history
of a region or a province can be best researched by the people of the locality themselves.

HISTORY OF MINDANAO ISLAND

Mindanao, island, the second largest (after Luzon) in the Philippines, in the
southern part of the archipelago, surrounded by the Bohol, Philippines, Celebes and Sulu
seas. Irregularly shaped, it measures 293 miles (471 km) north to south and 324 miles
(521 km) east to west. The island is marked by peninsulas and is heavily indented by the
Davao and Moro gulfs in the south and by Iligan Bay in the north. The long, semicircular
Zamboanga Peninsula (west) extends southwesterly toward the Sulu Archipelago and
Borneo, and the Cotabato and Surigao peninsulas extend south and north respectively.

Rugged, faulted mountains and volcanoes occur in many areas. Mount Apo, at
9,692 feet (2,954 meters), is an active volcano in the southern part of the central
highlands; it is the highest peak in the Philippines. The island has narrow coastal plains
and broad fertile basins and extensive swamps are formed by the Mindanao and Agusan
River systems. Lake Lanao (Lake Sultan Alonto), created by a lava dam, has an area of
134 square miles (347 square km). The island has a marsch-game refuge and bird
sanctuary. The rare Philippine eagle is found on Mindanao.

Mindanao is a Muslim outpost in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines.

Although Muslims are no longer a majority, Islamic culture is evident; there are many
mosques, and distinctive brassware, including the kris, or dagger, is manufactured. The

2|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

autonomous region of Muslim Mindanao – consisting of territory in western and

southwestern Mindanao along with a number of nearby islands, including Tawi Tawi anf
Jolo – was established in 1990.

Mindanao also has the largest concentration of ethnic minorities in the Philippines.
They include the Maguindanao, maranao, Ilanun, and Sangil; all are Muslin groups
sometimes collectively called Moro. Groups usually found in the uplands include the
T’boli, Subanon, Bukidnon, Bagobo, Mandaya, and Manono. Another important group in
the Tiruray, whose religion is a mixture of Christian, Muslin, and Local beliefs. Because
of its large expanses of undeveloped fertile land, Mindanao has been considered the
country’s “pioneer frontier.” It did not experience substantial population increase until
migration was promoted, particularly in the mid-20th century. The chief crops are corn
(maize), rice, abaca, bananas, pineapples, mangoes and coconut. Cotton, ramie (a fibre
plant), coffee, and cacao are also grown. The timber industry is important, and there are
gold, nickel, iron and coal deposits. Chartered cities include Zambaoanga City, Cotabato
City, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, and Butuab. Area 36, 537 square miles (94, 630 squre
km).

PROMOTION AND PRESERVATION OF PHILIPPINE MUSEUMS

The Historic Presentation Division (HPD) of the NHCP aims to promote Filipino
cultural heritage through the presentation, protection, and development of historic
museums, archives, shrines, landmarks, art galleries, and other historical structures. It
keeps itself abreast and updated with the latest on scientific and information technologies
in relation to the field of historic conservation.

MUSEUMS of the PHILIPIINES

A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its

development, open to the public, which acquires, conserves, researches, communicates,
and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the
purposes of education, study, and enjoyment.

FIVE (5) BEST MUSEUMS IN THE PHILIPPINES (Source: Internet)

Within these museums lies the grandness and richness of human culture and its
legacy. Visit them and see how fabulous and finest they are:

1. University of Santo Tomas Museum of Arts and Sciences

Location: University of Sto. Tomas, España Boulevard, Manila

Starting out as Gabinete de Fisica, an observation room of mineral,

botanical and biological collections for science course especially in Medicine and
Pharmacy in the 17th century, the University of Santo Tomas Museum, known to
be the oldest existing museum in the Philippines boasts of a vast collection.
Preserved for over 300 years, the collection expanded to include cultural pieces
and artifacts.
A larger part of the UST Museum’s pieces are cultural artifacts indigenous
to the Philippine, categorized into tribal musical instruments, three-dimensional

3|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

artifacts and petrified animals. It even includes the chair Pope John Paul II sat in
during his 1981 visit to Manila, leftover pieces from old Intramuros churches, gold
pieces found all over the Philippines, household wares, weaponry, brass and metal
crafts and burial jars.

2. Ayala Museum
Location: Makati Ave. cor. Dela Rosa St., Makati City

Located at the heart of the country’s business district, Makati City, the Ayala
Museum is one of the most important and most visited private museums. It houses
a large number of rare and priceless cultural and historical items not found
elsewhere in the country.

For over 40 years, its handcrafted dioramas of Philippine history scenes

have impressed visitors. But the Ayala Museum really has so much more to offer.
The Maritime Vessels Collection of finely crafted ship models paying tribute to
ancient boats is worth every visit. The museum’s finest arts collection, which
includes paintings by Juan Luna, Fernando Armosolo, and Fernando Zobel,
representing Philippine art from the late 19th to the 20th century, is not one to be
missed. It also holds a small collection of ethnographic artifacts of Filipino minority
communities that include tools, weapons, ritual objects, clothing, body ornaments
and musical instruments.

3. Rizal Shrine
Location: Calamba, Laguna

Being one of the most frequented historical and tourist sites in Laguna, Jose
Rizal Shrine in Calamba has an average of 270,000 visitors annually. The museum
is a replica of the ancestral house where Jose Rizal was shaped and molded and
who would later become the finest expression of his race.

With the house destroyed during World War II, President Elpidio Quirino
orders the reconstruction of the national hero’s home through the supervision of
National Artist, Architect Juan Nakpil. It was inaugurated in 1950. One of the known
features of the Spanish-Colonial house is a deep well that has become a “wishing
well” for tourists and visitors. It is home to various memorabilia, books, manuscripts
and artworks that belonged to the Philippine national hero. (This author fortunately
visited twice the shrine in the past).

4. The Mind Museum

Location: JY Campos Park, 3rd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City

The Mind Museum is the first world-class science museum in the Philippines
that makes everything you didn’t bother learning in grade school suddenly so
fascinating.

4|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

It has five interesting galleries namely: (1) The Story of the Universe: Its
Beginning and Majesty; (2) The Story of the Earth: Its Story across the Breadth of
Time; (3) The Story of Life: The Exuberant Varieties of Life; (4) The Story of the
Atom; The Strange World of the Very Small; and (5) The Story of Technology: The
Showcase of Human Ingenuity – presenting science through five main stories.

All the exhibitions are originally designed by Filipino artists and fabricators
who worked closely with both local and international scientists.

5. National Museum of the Philippines

Location: Taft Ave, Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila

The National Museum, officially the Museum of the Filipino People, in Rizal
Park, Manila was originally designed as a public library in 1918 before it was
inaugurated on July 16, 1926. In 2003, renovations started to transform it into the
National Art Gallery.

The National Museum is the premier institution and repository of the Filipino
heritage. Within its walls are National Art Gallery, Planetarium, and the regional
museums. This massive museum offers an enriching visual experience for its
visitors with its extensive archeological, anthropological, botanical, geological and
zoological artifacts and diverse artworks by local artists.

CULTURAL COMMUNITIES IN MINDANAO

THE LUMAD

The indigenous cultural communities (ICC) in the Philippines or Lumad are

believed to make up about 10% of the national population, In 1986, 15 or more
than 18 ICC in Mindanao adopted the term Lumad, a Bisaya word “native” or
“indigenous”, to distinguish themselves from the Christians and Muslims in
Mindanao. Republic Act 6734, enacted during Corazon Aquino’s time.

1. Cotabato Manobo
Manobo simply means “people” or “person”; alternate names include
Manuvu and Minuvu. The term may have originated from “Mansuba” a
combination of man (people) and suba (river). Is a group that has
traditionally lived in the southwest highland of Mindanao. Also known as the
Dulangan and Tundag, they are mostly Christians and have been largely
assimilated and their tradition culture has disappeared.

2. Bagobo
Are group that live in very mountainous region of Mindanao between the
upper Pilangi and Davao rivers. Also known as the Manobo, Manuvu, Obbo
and Obo, they are divided in two main groups. Coastal Bogobo who were
influenced by Christianity, plantation and were largely assimilated; and

5|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

upland Bagobo who tradionally practice slash and burn agriculture and
derived about 25% of their food from hunting, gathering, and fishing.
Bagobo culture is characterized by strict incest prohibitions, the formation
of vengeance a group and the production of long epic poem called
TUWAANG.

3. The Bilaan or B’Laan

A group that lives in south-central Mindanao. Also known as the Balud,
Baraan, Bilanes, Blann, Buluan, Buluanes, Tagalagad, Takogan, Tumanao,
Vilanes, they live in houses scattered among gardens and are also ruled by
Datu. The Bilaan people of Mindanao wrap their dead inside tree barks.
Being enveloped as such, the dead person’s body is then suspended from
treetops.

4. The Bukidnon
A group that lives in the highland of north-central Mindanao. Also known as
the Binokid, Binukid, Higaonan and Higaunen, they have traditionally been
farmer who raised corn, rice, sweet potatoes, bananas and coconuts are
used water buffalo to plow their fields. The ones who remain closest to the
old ways live near the headwaters of the Pulangi Rover on the slopes of
Mount Kitanglad or Mount Katalungan. They used to live in communal
houses with as many as fifty families but now they live in single-family
houses.

5. The Mandaya
“Mandaya” derives from “man” meaning “first” and “daya” meaning
“upstream” or “upper portion of a river”. Animist ethic group that lives along
the Mayo River. In the old days. Mandaya youth field and blacken their teeth
upon reacting puberty. These acts were considered aids to beauty which
helped a young person find a suitable partner for marriage.

6. The T’boli of Mindanao

People live in the southern part of the province of Cotabato, in the area
around lake Sebu, west of the city General Dantos. In the past the T’boli
practiced “slash and burn” agriculture. “Slash and burn” means that the
people will clear a part of the forest by cutting the big trees and burning the
lower and smaller trees and bushes, after which they use the cleared plots
are arable land for some years without any fertilization. Rice, cassava, and
yams were the most important agriculture product. Hunting or fishing for
additional foods.

THE MUSLIMS

Muslims are the most significant minority in the Philippines. They are for the most
part remain outside the mainstream of national life, set apart by their religion and way of
life. The Muslims believers of Islam. The Muslims possess culture which is different
from that of the Christian Filipinos. Their culture has been greatly influenced by Islam.
The creed of the Muslim is simple: There is no god but the God; Mohammed is His

6|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

messenger. God has revealed Himself to different people and in different languages it
inspires thinkers such as Moses, Jesus and Mohammed.

1. Maguindanao

The Maguindanao refer to the people living in the Pulangi area, located in what
are now North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao Province. Cultural
communities within this region also include the Tituray, T’boli and the Manobos.
Maguindanao originally means “people of flooded plain”. This Muslim group
lives in south-central Mindanao. They are also known as the Maguinadanao,
Manguinadanaon, Magindanaw, they are the largest group of Muslim
Filipinos.They speak a language that is in the same group as most other
Philippine languages, including Tagalog, and are believed to have converted
to Islam around the 15th and 16th centuries.

2. Maranao

Maranao means “people of the lake”. Their homeland is called Lanao or

“lake”. Their oldest settlement started around here, and up to this day, highly
populated communities still dot the lake. Their language is similar to
Maguindanao and Iranun. They form the largest Muslim community and
cultural minority in the Philippines.

3. Tausug

“Tausug” was derived from tau meaning “man” and sug meaning “current” and
translates into “people of the current”. Another argument made on the meaning
of the name states that the name in fact translates to “brave people”. The
Tausug even before the arrival the Christianity and the people who
promulgated their own system of government that came with it. This has bred
to the establishment of the Sulu sultanate. Leader from this region moved to
other places in the country, spreading Islam and its system of government in
Tawi-Tawi, Palawan, Basilan, Zamboanga, and Sabah.

4. Sama

In the Sulu Archipelago are the Sama consisting of five sub-groups including
the Sama and the Badjao. These people are highly dispersed in the Sulu
Archipelago. They are considered boat-people, spending most of their time in
constant movement throughout the island in the area or living on the water. The
Sama are also considered the sea-gypsies of the Philippines.

5. Yakan

The majority Muslim group in Basilan, south of Mindanao. The Yakan have
generally two spheres of belief integrating Islamic principles and traditional
beliefs into what is referred to as “folk Islam”. They speak a language known
as Bissa Yakan, which has characteristics of both Sama-Bajau Sinama and
Tausug.

7|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

6. Ilanon or Iranun

Origin of the ethnic groups within the Lanao del Sur to the Maguindanao areas.
The Iranun language is in fact seen in the Maranao and Maguindanao
languages. The Iranun were said to have fought under the Maguindanao
sultanate.

7. Kolibugan

“Half breeds”. Originally from the Subunon tribes, these people are called such
because their cultures has been said to be half breed, having come into Islam
through intermarriage with Muslim communities.The term Kolibugan is as well
used to refer to all people who have accepted Islam through intermarriage.

8. Sangil

Found in the Balut Sarangi, part of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur
provinces. They are said to have come from Sanghe, the origin of the name
Sangil. They are people who were already Muslims before they came in
Philippines shores. They have also been said to be buccaneers who attacked
Spanish territories in other parts of the Philippines.

9. Kalagan

Mostly found in the Davao provinces. Their islamization was achieved through
the arrival of the Manguidano and the Tausug. However, when Maguindanao
sultanates and Tausug left, the Kaagan became marginalized and with less
improvement in their social originations.

10. Muslim Inhabitants of Palawan

Palawan inhabitants (Panimusan) were Islamized through the Sulu sultanates,

through the Tausug who went there to introduce to Islam to the local people.
Now, the Muslim populations in the area are found in Batarasa, Quezon,
Brooke’s Point, Espanalo, Narra, Roxas, Taytay and Aborlan.

11. Jama Mapun

The island municipality in theSulu Sea on the south-western extreme of the

Philippines, located very close to Sabah, Malaysia. The largest concentration
of Jama Mapun is on the island of Cagayan de sulu. They ae more oriented
towards a land-based existence than most Sama groups, but are also heavily
oriented towards maritime trade emphasizing copra and forest product; they
receive many consumer products through barter with northern Borneo cities.

12. Badjao

Widely known as the “Sea Gypsies” of the Sulu and Celebes Seas, the Badjao
are scattered along the coastal areas of Tawi Tawi, Sulu, Basilan, and some
coastal municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur in the ARRM. Amongst

8|P age
 READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

themselves, they’re known as Sama Laus (Sea Sama) and found living on
houseboats.

13. Subanun

Also called “Subanu”, “Subano”. “Subanen”, are the biggest group of lumad or
non-Muslim indigenous cultural community on the islabd of Mindanao. The
word is derived from the word soba or suba, a word common in Sulu, Visayas
and Mindanao, which means “river”, and the suffix “nun or non” which indicates
a locality or place origin.

References:

“1986 Provisional (Freedom) Constitution of the Philippines – Chan Robles Virtual Law
Library”. Chanrobles.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia, “Mount Apo: Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Oct.

2016, https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Apo. Accessed 29 November 2021.

Candelaria and Aphora, Jhon Lee and Veronica (2018). Readings in Philippine History.
Recto Avenue, Manila, Philippines: Rex Book Store, Inc. pp 71-82. ISBN 978-971-23-
8665-7.

“Cuban Constitutionalism and Rights: An overview of the Constitutions of 1901 and 1940”.
ASCE. Retrieved December 3, 2019.

Dr. Mariano M. Ariola and Rowena P. Parajas (2018). Readings in Philippine History.
ISBM:978-621-427-037-7

“G.R. No. 127325”. The LawPhil Project. Retrieved November 17, 2019.

Readings In Philippine History, Dr. Mariano M. Ariola & Rowena P. Parajas

9|P age