Kulaman Jars in Museum of the Filipino People

Despite being placed in the center of the display case, the Kulaman jars in Museum

of the Filipino People are outshined by other artifacts. The museum

should look for better and more samples of Kulaman jars.

The Museum of the Filipino People, being run by the National Museum, is the repository of everything that is important in the natural, historical, and ethnographical history of the Philippines. Therefore, it is only expected of the museum to contain samples of the 1,500-year-old limestone burial jars from Kulaman Plateau. I was first able to visit the museum three years ago, but I have no memory of seeing limestone burial jars there because I didn’t know yet at the time that such things exist. To my surprise weeks later, while reading about the jars in the Internet, I found out that I had missed a good opportunity, that the Museum of the Filipino People in Manila had valuable artifacts that came from my hometown.

When I went back to Manila in October this year, I put the museum in the list of places that I must go to. And go there I was able to. And see the limestone burial jars I did. I also found out why I had not noticed the jars during my first visit, even if I had spent a long time in the galleries, inspected almost every item, and read all the labels. The first reason is that the sample Kulaman jars in the museum are unremarkable. There are three specimens only—a large quadrangular limestone jar with a gable-shaped lid, a medium-sized cylindrical limestone jar with a gable-shaped lid, and one anthropomorphic clay lid. The second reason is that the labels simply state “limestone urn” and does not indicate where the urns are from. The third reason is that the Kulaman jars are outshined by the other “archaeological treasures” in Don Vicente Madrigal Gallery. The Maitum jars, made of clay and have anthropomorphic lids, occupy most of the room. The Manunggul Jar, whose image used to be in the P1,000 bill, is also in the gallery. I must have been too busy staring at the famous jar to notice the lowly limestone ones.

The larger of the two Kulaman jars has a design on its body

that looks like joined sixes and nines. The smaller jar 

as a honeycomb design.