Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I claimed my PRC ID card today in Morayta and I had my driver’s license renewed in a mall in Pasay. Taking the opportunity, I went to Intramuros and visited San Agustin Church, the Filipino-Chinese Museum and the Manila Cathedral. When I applied back in November, I dropped by the two buildings of the National Museum.
From Morayta, I took a jeepney that goes to North Harbor (Domestic Pier) and entered Intramuros through the gate near Letran, the school. Prior to my visit, I was visualizing it as a small walled church yard, which was absolutely wrong because Intramuros is a big city inside a wall!
I walked towards the gate I saw in a war photo being entered by a US tank. It’s now closed and behind it is a golf course.
The museums there close at noon so I had to wait at the front of San Agustin Church. There’s a marker outside that indicates that it’s a UNESCO World Heritage. What disturbed me is the apparent makeover of the frontage of the church, with rough cement and orange paint, which by the way is the same color as the shirt I was wearing making me look like a chameleon!
The entrance fee was Php100.00. I paid and… went to the rest room, which has nice, out of this era, tiles. There was a big bell in the entrance of the monastery. It’s the biggest I’ve seen so far and weighs 3.4 tons. After the bell is a room that contains a collection of religious statuettes made of ivory and an 18th century retablo (the background you see at an altar).
In the corridor that leads to the church are big paintings. On my way out, I saw a statue here of what seemed to be a nun, now a saint, which holds a skull. Very bizarre!
Next was the church which was so grand. Like other churches in Luzon, the rich and famous of the era were entombed inside. The creepy tomb of the founder of Manila is on the right side of the altar. A big portion of the floor of the church’s right side is covered with tombstones which appeared like floor tiles. The pulpit, whoever is in there, would surely be obeyed by anyone because of its elaborate design. The paintings done on the dome and the columns were extraordinary as they were 3-D!
Another remarkable room is the crypt which has a monument in the middle, in memory of the victims of the Japanese War. I tried looking for the niche of Juan Luna, but I didn’t find it.
Going to the second floor is through a staircase made of imported granite from China. The highlight of this floor is the choirloft. There’s a pipe organ and a giant rotating lectern. The choir seats were exceptional too, but they’re also imported from Macau.
Downstairs, before I went out, I had a quick look at Fr. Manuel Blanco’s garden. He’s the author of Flora de Filipinas. There was nothing exceptional here since the garden was destroyed during the war.
There was also an exhibit on the galleon trade and Fr. Urdaneta on the first floor during my visit. It took me one hour to complete this museum visit.
Bahay Tsinoy was next. It was a short walk away from the San Agustin Church. The museum focuses on the influence of Chinese on our lives now.
The exhibit on the Sultan of Sulu, Padaka Batara was an eye opener for me. I always thought that only the Chinese were able to travel that time and that the early Filipinos just waited for their junks to arrive so that they could barter. But as early as 1417, the sultan went to Beijing and became friends with the emperor, Yung Lo. A barangay went with him but he died when they were going home and he was buried there. Some of his family members were left there. Their descendants, as shown in old photos there, looked like native Chinese.
As immigrants during the Spanish regime, they were segregated from the Filipino populace because the Spaniards “feared and distrusted” them. They were housed in a parian, sort of a Chinatown and were only allowed to join the baptized ones after 1790. Probably this was the time where many changed their names and surnames to adapt. This was also the time when some married Filipinos, producing the likes of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, Mo. Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Jose Rizal and many others.
Meanwhile, trading continued as the galleons connected with junks to carry their goods to Mexico. This went on for two and a half centuries.
The museum also highlights the pioneer businesses of the Tsinoys like Distileria Limtuaco, the producers of Sioktong; China Bank and Ma Mon Luk. Another was the involvement of the mestizos in the revolution during the late 1800’s. Jose Ignacio Paua who has a giant statue in Silang, Cavite is a pure Chinese. Aguinaldo is also a mestizo, which explains the eyes.
And did you know that the very Filipino sari-sari store was an offspring of the cabecilla system where in the Tsinoys were the wholesalers? Not only food items were sold but also imported and fabricated farm tools.
The kinship system used by Tagalogs also have Chinese origins: kuya, ate, diko, etc.
TBC