Kulaman Burial Jar in Hawaii

I didn't expect that a simple image search in Google for "limestone burial jars" could lead me to precious photographic finds. Most of the results showed images of Egyptian burial jars, but I've become so familiar with the look of Kulaman burial jars that I could pick them out from the rest at first glance.

The photo of the jar, at the left, is from Wikimedia Commons and posted by a certain Hiart. I'm freely posting the image here because the webpage says that the uploader waives "all of his or her rights to the work." The jar is described in the webpage as something from "Southern Mindanao, Palawan." When I read that, I doubted for a while if the artifact is really from Kulaman Plateau, but after doing a little more online research, I became certain of the origin of the jar.

Mindanao and Palawan are two different islands divided by seawater. My hometown and any place in Palawan are a few hundred miles apart. The limestone burial jar could not have come from Palawan. The uploader or his source might have confused the limestone jars of Kulaman for the clay jars of Palawan. Indeed, when it comes to archaeological artifacts, Palawan is probably the most famous site in the Philippines. It's where researchers found the Manunggul Jar, one of the most admired pre-Spanish Philippine artwork, and before I forget, it's also a burial jar.

Another interesting information that goes along with the image is that it was taken sometime in 2011 at the "Honolulu Academy of Arts." That's another inaccurate description. Though such a college or educational department probably exists, the uploader should have specifically identified the Honolulu Museum of Art as the location. I can't determine yet if the burial jar is part of the regular collection of the museum or if it was just displayed there for a certain time. A website on Asian masterpieces states that the Hawaiian museum is affiliated with the Philippines-based Ayala Museum, which has displayed its Kulaman jars in short-term exhibits in many parts of the world.

My initial research does not give me a clear picture, and I have yet to piece the random facts I've gathered. Join me in my journey. Together, hunched on our keyboards for now, let's trace the trails of the burial jars, map their diaspora, and create a route that they can take on their way back home.

Kulaman Burial Jars in Australia

It looks like the limestone burial jars of Kulaman Plateau have also been Down Under. While googling for some information on the artifacts, I came upon the website of the National Gallery of Australia and read an article on one of its exhibits three years ago. The title of the exhibit was "Life, Death and Magic: 2,000 Years of Southeast Asian Ancestral Art," and Kulaman burial jars were among the items displayed.

The exhibit ran from August 31 to October 31, 2010, and as the feature on the Kulaman burial jars states, the artifacts were lent by the Ayala Museum in Makati. The photographed jars seem to be the same objects the museum lent this year for an exhibit in Paris showcasing pre-Spanish Philippine artifacts. Perhaps it is not a bad thing that this group of jars came to the possession of the Ayala Museum. The institution seems to be genuine in its purpose to promote and preserve Philippine arts and culture. I wonder now which other parts of the world the collection has been to. Maybe I should email the museum's curator about this.

Back to the exhibit in Australia, I like the short text accompanying the jar's image. It succinctly states almost everything you need to know about Kulaman burial jars. It mentions in the last sentence that the covers of the jars are "phallic," and I'm wondering if this was done on purpose or not. It's going to be the topic of a future post in this blog. For the meantime, here's the complete text from the website: 

Many ancient limestone jars were discovered in burial caves in the Cotabatu [sic] region of southern Mindanao. Too small to hold a body, they were used for the secondary burial rites still widely practised in Southeast Asian communities. In these rites to honour the dead, the bones are exhumed and ritually cleaned, then laid to rest in superbly crafted vessels. The surfaces of the jars feature geometric and spiral patterns. The lids take human form, with a phallic head or upper torso and extended arms.

Writing about the Burial Jars in the Vernacular

The writing commission from the National Commission on Culture and the Arts has turned out to be more taxing than I expected. My write-up, about the limestone burial jars of Kulaman Plateau, is not much different from the pieces that I have written before. This time, though, I have to write in Hiligaynon and then provide a Tagalog translation.

The article must be in the vernacular because the collection where it will be included will be used locally. The educational material will be used by teachers in the Department of Education–Region XII. I don't know exactly if the complete output is a book or visual aids for teaching. What I know is that one hundred cultural icons of the region will be featured and the project is being implemented for each region of the country.

NCCA will have the copyright of my write-up, so I will only share with you the first paragraph of my draft. Here's the original in Hiligaynon:

Sang mga 1,500 na ka tuig ang nagligad, ang Kulaman Plateau sa South Central Mindanao ginpuy-an sang mga tawo nga may pinasahi nga pamaagi sang paglubong sang ila patay. Wala mahibaloi kung ginalubong nila sa lupa ang ila patay o ginasulod lang sa lungon asta madunot, pero basta madunot na ang unod, ila ibalhin ang tul-an sa banga nga ginhimo halin sa bato nga limestone. Ang mga banga gintago sa sulod sang mga kweba kag mga rock-shelter, o puluy-anan nga bato, amo nga sa sulod sang isa kag tunga ka siglo, napreserba ang mga banga kag tul-an sang tawo kag, sa karon, nagahatag sa aton sang higayon nga masilip ang panginabuhi sang mga sinauna nga tawo sang Mindanao.

As far as I can remember, this is my first time to write nonfiction in my mother tongue, and I wish I don't have to do this again. I prefer writing in English. I'm not being an elitist or a poseur. I like English better because it has a huge vocabulary and it's easier to check online if my spelling and grammar are correct. With Hiligaynon, I can barely find reliable and comprehensive references. For the same reasons, I find writing the Tagalog translation comparatively easier. Here it is:

Mga 1,500 taon na ang nakalipas, ang talampas ng Kulaman sa Gitnang Timog ng Mindanao ay pinaninirahan ng mga tao na may kakaibang pamamaraan ng paglilibing. Hindi nalaman kung nililibing nila sa lupa ang kanilang patay o nilalagay lang nila sa loob ng kabaong hanggang maagnas, ngunit kapag naagnas na ang laman, nililipat nila ang mga buto sa banga na gawa sa batong limestone. Ang mga banga ay tinago sa loob ng mga kuweba at mga rock-shelter, o kanlungang bato, kaya sa loob ng isa’t kalahating siglo, napreserba ang mga banga at buto at, ngayon, nagbibigay sa atin ng pagkakatong masilip ang pamumuhay ng mga sinaunang tao ng Mindanao.

Book: Defending the Land

Even though I’m three hundred miles away, I’m confident I’ll still be able to keep on writing about Kulaman Plateau. One of the reasons is that I’ve taken with me a book about the Dulangan Manobo, the indigenous people of the place. Let me correct that. I've taken with me a copy of the book. And let me correct myself again. I've taken with me a photocopy of the book—the whole book.

I'm blatantly proclaiming that I pirated the reading material because its publishers allow and even encourage it. The book, Defending the Land: Lumad and Moro People's Struggle for Ancestral Domain in Mindanao, was published by a group of non-government organizations, and they included an "anti-copyright" notice at the supposedly copyright page. The notice reads: "Reproduction, citation and other forms of propagation of this book—whether in part or in its entirety—are welcome and encouraged by the author and publishers."

I'm willing to shell out some amount if the book is available in major bookstores, but it's not. The original copy I got my hands on was from Dakyas, a claimant to the sultan title and the tribal chieftain of Manobo Village, Barangay Poblacion, Municipality of Senator Ninoy Aquino. No, I did not borrow the book directly from Sultan Dakyas. I borrowed it from a cousin who was doing her thesis for her master's degree. She's the one who knew Sultan Dakyas personally and borrowed the book.

Defending the Land contains 21 pages of write-up about the Dulangan Manobo, with sub-sections on their domain, history, economy, art and culture, kinship and social ties, beliefs and practices, polity, and status of ancestral domain claim. The book so far is the most comprehensive reference I have on the Dulangan Manobo. The information there, however, was really just an overview. I wish to find—or write!—a more detailed and voluminous study on the tribe. For now, though, I'm happy enough to have the handy resource.

The book contains interesting facts and is insightful, especially on its discussion on how the tribe has been affected by new forces and structures that encroached Kulaman Plateau. I'll be generously quoting the book in the next few weeks, so do drop by. Together let's learn more about the Dulangan Manobo and think of ways how our knowledge can be translated to tangible results.