BOOK REVIEW: Cabinet of Curiosities—History from Philippine Artifacts

by Rose Cruz Churma

“Cabinet of Curiosities–History from Philippine Artifacts” is the latest book from noted historian, Ambeth Ocampo. He is also an independent curator whose predominant research covers the late nineteenth century Philippines, and covers its arts, culture and its heroes and ordinary folks who influenced the birth of the new nation.

Ambeth Ocampo has 35 books to his name, and growing, with some articles culled from his column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer or from his social media presence on Instagram and Facebook.

In 1999, he took on the challenge to do a 100-day front page series called “Millennium Countdown” to bid goodbye to the 20th century and welcome the new one. This was similar to the “Centennial Countdown” that he undertook as the Philippines anticipated its centennial leading up to June 12, 1998.

Unlike the “Centennial Countdown” publication (its second printing was rebranded as 101 Stories of the Philippine Revolution), the “Millennium Countdown” series took 23 years to get published as Cabinet of Curiosities which is focused on 100 objects.

The author notes in the preface that his “ primary criterion for selection was that all the artifacts must be relevant to the Philippines…everything had to be manmade.” He included works of art by Filipino artists, folk expressions of Philippine culture like the banig, baskets and brooms, including the bulul.

As a 100-day page series, he was faced with a strict deadline—and he admits that his choices were uneven “in terms of time period and geographic origin.”

In any event, the book is still an enjoyable read for those constantly curious about Philippine culture and history. It’s like going through a box of assorted goodies one normally gets as pasalubong—some are worth reading. You just roll your eyes for the others.

The objects under scrutiny are grouped into three: Pre-historic Period, Spanish Period and the Contemporary Era. Each object is listed alphabetically—from the Angono Petroglyphs to the Tinguian Cloth under the Pre-Historic Period, with items like Banig, Boxer Codex and Bulul in between.

It’s like getting small doses of history: you can pick up the book and read one or a few of the articles about a certain object. It need not be read in a strict chronology.

For example, Anting Anting falls under the Spanish Period; this object probably had its roots in Pre-Historic Philippines but evolved during the Spanish Period and is still treasured during the Contemporary Era. It can be grouped anywhere—one of the timeless Filipino icons.

Another object that is familiar to those who frequent Filipino restaurants is the palayok—the earthenware used to serve kare-kare or sinigang and other soupy dishes. What is included in this book is the Calatagan pot which was discovered in Calatagan, Batangas in 1961.

For over sixty years now, this palayok has been a source of scholarly debate. Baybayin, the ancient script attributed to pre-hispanic Filipinos, is incised on the shoulder of the pot.

It is clear evidence that writing was being done in pre-colonial Philippines. Various scholars have different interpretations on what the Baybayin carved on its rim is saying. Some scholars even question its authenticity. Perhaps this is what makes this palayok fascinating: it gives these so-called scholars relevance.

The banig is another item listed under the Pre-Hispanic period. Originally used for sleeping, one rolls it on the floor or a raised platform called papag and is the equivalent of the fitted sheet in today’s homes. When I was growing up, the banig was a standard personal issue—and is usually paired with the kumot or blanket.

The banig was usually woven in the Visayas (such as Samar or Leyte) or the southern islands near Sulu, while the kumot was usually abel cloth from the Ilocos. The banig article featured in this book included a photo of a banig gifted to the US Governor-General of the Philippines Frank Murphy. Made from Basey, Samar it had the portrait of Frank Murphy emblazoned at its center. I doubt if he used it for sleeping when he returned to Michigan which accounts for its pristine state.

Photographs were also included such as the “Wacky Photos” and the “Recuerdos de Patay” or souvenirs of the dead. What was intriguing but ghoulish was a souvenir “selfie” of Teodora Alonso, the mother of national hero Jose Rizal with his skull!

Apparently she kept her son’s remains in an ornate wood urn in her home in Binondo. Eventually Jose Rizal’s remains were interred under the Rizal Monument in Luneta or Rizal Park in 1913. But prior to that, Teodora posed with her son’s skull as souvenir photos, a prime example of a “Recuerdos de Patay.”

Art work were also included—facsimile of paintings of Fernando Amorsolo, BenCab’s works from his “Flag Paintings” or sketches of Juan Luna for Rizal’s novel Noli Me Tangere, including Leandro Locsin’s Philippine Cultural Center.

Nick Joaquin’s play, Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino was included in the mix. Considered the most important Filipino play in English, it was translated into Filipino twice, by Alfred Yuson in 1969 and by Bienvenido Lumbera in 1992.

The play was translated into film and was featured at the Filipino Film Festival at the Honolulu Museum of Art a few years ago. Considered a classic, I found the English dialogue of folks dressed in Filipiniana and living in a bahay na bato uncomfortably stilted. Someday, I may be lucky enough to watch the play in the Filipino language.

The most surprising item for me was the inclusion of Jose Garcia Villa’s poetry. An anthology of his poems titled Poems 55: The Best Poems of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen by Himself is one I still have on my bookshelf. I first read the book in high school and it inspired me to dabble in poetry for a bit.

One section titled “Caprices” are what Ocampo notes as defying description. Poem 37, “The Bashful One” has nothing on the page but a lone comma at the bottom of an empty page.

Strangely, this was one of my favorites. Villa also had a poem called “The Emperor’s New Sonnet” which was just a blank page, or the poem called “Parenthetical Sonnet” which consists of a parenthesis that opens at the top left and closes at the bottom right. He was also one of the earliest Filipino poets (writing in English) about sensual love.

Jose Garcia Villa was declared the National Artist for Literature in 1973 and part of his award’s citation notes: “To the art of poetry, Villa introduced the reversed consonance rhyme scheme for greater subtlety and discipline, and the “comma poems” which glorify the punctuation mark by a strangely innovative functional and poetic use.”

I always looked at the comma differently since.

History should never be confined to the written word, whether in print or online. As noted in the back cover: “…artifacts are mute. Yet, they too have stories to tell, many stories that contribute to a sense of what it means to be Filipino.”

The author, Ambeth Ocampo, is currently the Horacio de la Costa Professor in History and the Humanities and former chairman of the Department of History at the Ateneo de Manila University. He previously served as President of the Philippine Historical Association (PHA); Chairman of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP); and Chairman of the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA): among others.

ROSE CRUZ CHURMA established Kalamansi Books & Things three decades ago. It has evolved from a mail-order bookstore into an online advocacy with the intent of helping global Pinoys discover their heritage by promoting books of value from the Philippines and those written by Filipinos in the Diaspora. We can be reached at kalamansibooks@gmail.com.