Stream of Consciousness/Research

informing the work

“The objectives of the Katipunan, as the brotherhood was popularly known, were threefold: political, moral, and civic. They advocated for freedom from the yoke of Spain, to be achieved through armed struggle. They also saw it as their personal responsibility to help the poor and the oppressed, and to teach them good manners, hygiene, and morality.” 

“investigates the links between material culture, socioeconomic organization and interaction in the islandscape during the early second millennium A.D. and their role in the cultural development of pre-Spanish Visayan societies. Given current debates linking Philippine political economy and social hierarchy, this project argues that non-hierarchical organization and/or heterarchy also governed inter-island interaction in the Visayas and may be observed archaeologically in (1) variation in material culture technology, (2) economic strategies, and (3) settlement distribution. “

“The following archaeological objects have qualified to be declared National Cultural Treasures because of their outstanding value to the history and identity of Filipinos”

Kalinga Urn 20th century

“Quests of the Dragon and Bird Clan” examines how the seafaring trading people known as the “Nusantao” from Insular Southeast Asia influenced world history. This is a “blook,” a book based on a weblog (blog). The decision to publish the book came after requests to make the information in the blog available in an easier-to-read and more portable format. The advantage of the printed work is that the blog entries are arranged in easy-to-manage chronological order with out the need for the clicking through the blog archives. The glossary entries are also in alphabetical order for easy look-up, and a word index and table of contents further increase the readiblity of the blog/book. Important supplementary articles have also been included in the appendices. A must-read for those who think there is more to history than what we find in “mainstream” publications.

Google map created plotting significant areas of ceramic production and rituals.

“An element of parrhēsia, which can be overlooked when it is defined as free or frank speech, is the risk that accompanies speaking so freely and frankly. Legendary examples of the Cynic’s fearlessly free speech occur in Diogenes of Sinope’s interchanges with Alexander the Great. One such example is the following: “When he was sunning himself in the Craneum, Alexander came and stood over him and said, ‘Ask of me any boon you like.’ To which he replied, ‘Stand out of my light’” (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 6, Chapter 28). At another point, Alexander pronounces his rank to Diogenes of Sinope by saying, “I am Alexander the Great King.” Diogenes responds with his own rank, “I am Diogenes the Cynic,” which is to say “Diogenes the Dog” (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Book 6, Chapter 60).

The examples above demonstrate the unique confluence of humor, fearless truth telling, and political subversion which distinguishes the Cynic way of living. With a few notable exceptions, the philosophers of antiquity can be found at some time or another in the company of rulers (Plato, Aeschines, and Aristippus all attended the court of Dionysius, Xenophon is intimately associated with Cyrus, Aristotle with the Macedonian ruling family, and so on). The Cynics, however, made it a point to shun such contact. The Cynics strive for self-sufficiency and strength, neither of which is capable of being maintained once one enters into the conventional political game. The life of an impoverished, but virtuous and self-sufficient philosopher is preferable to the life of a pampered court philosopher.”

“I believe that the shape within an ancient fertility symbol called the lingling-o, evolved to become the symbol of BA in the writing system of the baybayin. The baybayin BA symbol represents the sound for “ba” the syllable found in girl or female in several Filipino dialects, for example Babae (tagalog) and Ba-i or Bai (Visayan).” 

Excerpts from “An Anthropological Perspective on the Role of Chinese Trade Ceramics in the Prehistory of Philippine Culture” by Helena Langrick

“In the millennium prior to Spanish contact, the political economies of lowland societies in the Philippines, such as Tanjay on southeastern Negros Island in the central Philippines, underwent significant social, political, and economic changes. Foreign trade with China increased, the circulation of wealth through events such as ritual feasting and bridewealth exchanges expanded, inter-polity competition through slave-raiding heightened, and agriculture intensified. It also has been hypothesized that the production of craft goods such as pottery and metal implements became increasingly specialized and centralized at polity centers. “

Another ceramic form that may have been part of betel paraphernalia is a covered box that was exported in large quantities to Indonesia and the Philippines . It could have served as an individual container for betel ingredients such as small quantities of clove or other spices.

Following this idea, some sources refer to a rise of passive-aggressive resistance to the Spanish in the later part of their rule by making the simple shirt into an ornate garb. Introduction of exquisite embroidery and delicate dyes on the translucent pineapple textile around the time between 1600-1800 made the barongs stand out against the drab wear of the Spanish. The proponents of the theory delighted at the thought of our Filipino ancestors strutting their beautiful barongs about in silent protest.

“This form of domination, in the eyes of Adorno, is however peculiar.On the one hand, he conceives of the culture industry as a totalizing mechanism of control through the technological production and repetition of needs, where the “technological rationale is the rationale of domination itself.”20 On the other hand, Adorno does not think that consumers are simply duped by the culture industry. “The concept of order,” he writes, which the culture industry “hammers into human beings are always those of the status quo,”21 and that “if it guarantees them even the most fleeting gratification they desire a deception which is nonetheless transparent to them.”22 Conformism is the peculiarity of this form of domination—it induces a pathological instinct (and in this sense it is successful in conquering nature by playing on our instincts!) on the part of the consumers to desire deception. As an ideology, the culture industry becomes a new form of religion or pop-religion; it is legitimated by “the spiritual constitution of the masses”23 and its promise of providing “standards of orientation”24 to organize a chaotic world. “

The Non-Christian Peoples of the Philippine Islands | National Geographic Magazine 

The Non-Christian Peoples of the Philippine Islands.  A National Geographic account from 1913.

“The possibility of tracking down continuities that link past cultures to contemporary ones will be presented. The chapter will define, for example, what makes specific caves relevant to the spirituality/cosmology of a people, and also argue that it is possible to understand and track down the continuity of cosmological components. This may be done through the study of material-culture left behind by people from past cultures, and by studying people from living cultures in a common landscape. Supporting data come mostly from the archaeology of Palawan Island, Philippines, where the author has done a decade of research.” 

“A visual aid for memorizing Baybayin script (fonts) through association. By manipulating the ancient script (re-orientation and adding imaginary lines),…”

“But another less-popular but quite significant piece was the Manunggul jar. The Manunggul jar was one of the numerous jars found in a cave believed to be a burial site (Manunggul, was part of the archaeologically significant Tabon Cave Complex in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan) that was discovered on March 1964 by Victor Decalan, Hans Kasten and other volunteer workers from the United States Peace Corps. The Manunggul burial jar was unique in all respects. Dating back to the late Neolithic Period (around 710 B.C.)”

“The sun stands for liberty; the sunburst of eight rays for the first eight provinces to take up arms against Spain; and the three stars for the three island groups fo the Philippines – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The white triangle signifies Filipino hope for equality; the upper blue stripe stands for peace, truth and justice; while the lower red stripe stands for patriotism and valor.”