Espacio e Imperio:
Mindanao and the Restructuring
of Colonial Spaces for Empire
Embedded Files
I. Introduction:
These Mindanao Records from the Spanish Documents Section II have just recently been brought to light. For many years, this section had not been studied due to a lack of research tools. As a result of the ongoing digitization program, this section is now open to the public. It is the first time that these records are publicly displayed and made accessible for viewing and research.
Among the three groups of islands, Mindanao has the least number of research studies. This may be due in part to the accessibility of records. The insurgencies that have affected the region have also made the conduct of fieldwork difficult.
Democratizing Mindanao records is essential in order to provide more opportunities to better understand the island and its peoples. These images provide glimpses of what still remains to be discovered at the National Archives.
Empires require structures for their daily as well as their ceremonial activities. The native landscape was transformed to accommodate roads and squares. Forests were felled. Mountains were carved out to provide material for churches, offices, and squares.
This exhibit, Espacio e Imperio shows how indigenous spaces were replaced by colonial spaces all in the name of empire.
The displays’ focus on Mindanao demonstrates how Spanish infrastructure penetrated the southernmost island of the Philippines. Though there were certainly more communities that were hispanized in Luzon and Visayas, the Spanish presence was also felt in Mindanao.
The last section presents photos of structures erected by some of the other colonial powers in South East Asia. The photos come from the National Archives of the Philippines’ sister archives in Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, and Myanmar.
Sketch of the location and fortification of the Morros on the summit
of Mount Alanguilan, showing the cave above the Cumaycay River
April 7, 1850
28 x 39 cm, ink and watercolor on paper, with cloth seal
Superior Gobierno Misamis, SDS 34557, p.110
The NAP website featured this material in October 2022 with the following article:
https://nationalarchives.gov.ph/featured-document-of-the-month-for-october-2022/
Sketch of Location and Fortification of the Moros on the Summit of Mount Alanguilan, including the Cave above Cumaycay River, 1850
The document of the month is a non-textual record of a military campaign made in 1850. The illustration shows the location and fortification of the Moros on the summit of Mt. Alanguilan and the cave nearby. Included are drawings of establishments on the peak, a treetop observation post, locations of adversaries, and surroundings.
Stitched on the illustration is a patch with an inscription, “Al Valor en Alanguilan de Misamis en 7 Abril de 1850 (Valor at Alanguilan in Misamis on April 7, 1850).” It could imply that heroes emerged from the campaign made in Misamis at the time.
According to a geologist from the Lands Geological Survey Division of Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Mt. Alanguilan is now known as Mt. Kitanglad. Located in Bukidnon, it is an inactive volcano that is inside the Kitanglad mountain range. It is the fourth-highest mountain in the Philippines, with a height of 2,899 meters more or less.
Within the ancestral domain of several indigenous communities like the Bukidnons, Higaonons, and Talaandigs, the range was declared a natural park. Tourists and bird watchers frequent the park to appreciate and document the flora and fauna in place. The Philippine eagle has been periodically sighted over the ranges of Kitanglad.
The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB), the agency that documents Philippine inland wetlands and caves came out with an atlas about these natural formations in 2016. The caves in the list are then classified either as tourist-friendly sites to visit or as dangerous places not to stay in.
BMB is currently clueless about the cave included in the 1850 illustration. But do not despair because new discoveries are periodically being encountered here and there. I also hope that someone from the Bukidnon local government units (LGUS) finds the cave and shares the story with all nature lovers and spelunkers alike.
This is the recreation of the cloth seal or patch featured in the Mount Alanguilan map. This was made by a tailor in Quiapo.
“Stitched on the illustration is a patch with an inscription, “Al Valor en Alanguilan de Misamis en 7 Abril de 1850 (Valor at Alanguilan in Misamis on April 7, 1850).” It could imply that heroes emerged from the campaign made in Misamis at the time.”
II. Knowing the Land
The Spaniards began by exploring the islands. Often places were known as much by inspection as by imagination. Notions of vast forests, wild tribes, and tree-dwelling inhabitants sometimes prevailed. After the Spanish were done with exploration, they began to give names to the places they had visited. Naming a place assured domination.
Then came the making of maps. Maps recorded what was there. They also provided access that facilitated the erection of what was not yet there.
This “Hydrographic and Political Map of Mindanao” shows the ethnicity of the people occupying the land if they are Christians, Moros, or from other denominations like Atas (No. 7), Bagobos (9) and Manobos (3).
This colorized drawing by E. Ronjat features a Manobo Datu from Central Mindanao, which, according to the Hydrographic and Political Map of Mindanao, could have been located in the area within the big green circle, which could be in the Cotabato or Bukidnon area. Areas circled with the smaller green circles show the areas marked with the No. 3 which pertains to Manobo communities during that period.
The other images are drawn images from photographs and sketches. Shows the river and a road in Davao and examples of houses during the period, some are small huts beside the river and the road while one example like the drawing titled “Molbato” (which we have not deciphered yet) are bigger grander houses made of wood and nipa roofing and raised from the ground by multiple wooden columns. These drawings can be observed better from the blown-up images on pull-up tarps at the side of the gallery.
If you look closely at the “Molbato house,” just at the top of the stairs, there is a dog sitting. Could this house be a Muslim or a Christian home? Because “in Islam, the saliva of a dog is ritually impure and that objects (or perhaps persons) that come into contact with a dog's saliva require them to be washed seven times. This ruling comes from the hadith: When the dog licks the utensil, wash it seven times, and rub it with earth the eighth time.
… It is to be noted, however, that one of the major Islamic schools of thought (Maliki) indicates that this is not a matter of ritual cleanliness, but simply a common-sense method way to prevent the spread of disease.
There are several other hadith, however, that warns of consequences for dog-owners:
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Whoever keeps a dog, his good deeds will decrease every day by one qeeraat [a unit of measurement], unless it is a dog for farming or herding.' In another report, it is said: ' …unless it is a dog for herding sheep, farming or hunting.'"—Bukhari Sharif
"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'Angels do not enter a house wherein there is a dog or an animate picture.'"—Bukhari Sharif
Many Muslims base the prohibition against keeping a dog in one's home, except for the case of working or service dogs, on these traditions.
https://www.learnreligions.com/dogs-in-islam-2004392
Samples of local crafts were also on display like the banig, some baskets, and a woven cloth called the T’nalak, which is a traditional hand-woven cloth indigenous to the T’boli people from the Cotabato region. It is woven in order to celebrate and pay tribute to major life events such as birth, life, marriage, or death within the community. The cloth is woven from abaca fibers and is naturally dyed from bark, roots, and certain plants.
III. Reordering Space
Out of the wilderness, out of the jungles and plains, the Spanish created their new communities. There were also many existing native communities that were to be included in the Spanish fold.
In most cases, settlements were remade according to the edicts of the imperial capital. One such edict dictated that the towns of the empire were to lay-out their streets in a checkerboard pattern known as cuadricula.
So it is that from Africa to America and to Asia, these crisscrossing streets became the mark of membership in the Spanish world. It was also a standard feature that at the very center of the streets was a town plaza around which was arranged the municipio and the church, the twin poles of power. Space was now reordered to accommodate the demands of the empire. Meeting spaces for community gatherings became fora for displays of colonial administration.
To support town centers and town life, a whole infrastructure was needed – roads, bridges, and even forts and ports. Later on came railroads and lighthouses, spreading the Spanish presence across plains and seas. All these were done in the name of empire and emporium.
Sketch of the Land on the Simuay River
Location of the Camp and Town of Amadeo
raised with compass and measuring lines
April 28, 1872
66.5 x 58 cm, ink on cloth
Map # 208
This town plan is one example of the cuadricula concept, showing how the Town of Amadeo near the Simuay River is laid out in a grid pattern. At the present time, there is no town named Amadeo in the Philippines, except the Town of Amadeo in Cavite. The Simuay River, can still be found in the Province of Maguindanao.
What can be noted in the town plan of the Town of Amadeo is that while the authorities are planning the development of the space, they are still on the watch for perhaps possible repercussions that might arise coming from community leaders in the area. Circled is a site on the other side of the Simuay River marked with a red dot and text that says “Casa del Datto de Simuay” (House of the Datu of Simuay). The seashore of Simuay is also one of the places that is being considered as the resting place of the remains of Muslim hero, Sultan Muhammad Dipatuan Kudarat, who died 340 years ago.
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/717541/in-search-of-sultan-kudarats-grave#ixzz8PkDxBC00
The other side of the setup of the “Reordering Space” section
Town of Solana located from the east of the Town of Jasaan
June 7, 1852
32 x 44 cm Superior Gobierno Misamis, SDS 34557, p.252
The Plan of the town is part of a request The Town of Solana, now is a Barangay in the Municipality of Jasaan in Misamis Occidental. The Municipality of Jasaan was downgraded in 1903 by the American Government to a barrio, but in 1948, its status as a municipality was restored by Executive Order No. 165 of President Elpidio Quirino.
A model of the Town of Solana was created by the NAP Exhibit Production Team. The cross standing in the middle of the square or the plaza is the site where the church will be built.
One of the inscriptions on the plan “Este pueblo se halla situado al oriente del de Jasaan, distante una hora y media de mal camino de este ultimo pues la mayor parte de el lo constituye una cuesta vastante pendiente” says that the Town of Solana is situated east of the Town of Jasaan with a distance of 1 and a half hour of bad road and most of it is a vast and steep slope.
IV. Buildings for Empire
Along the streets and clustered around the plaza were the buildings which the Spanish put up: the churches, the town halls or municipios, and also schools. These buildings housed the bureaucracy of empire. Interestingly the Spanish were not –for the most part– erecting Spanish buildings like those found in Spain. Rather what was being built under the aegis of the Spanish colonizers were edifices with features now recognized as Filipino: shell windows, thatched roofs, airy rooms, and coral walls. One wonders whose agency was responsible for these features?
Project for the Government House in Cottabato
August 30, 1896
107 x 44 cm, Ink on cloth
It is possible that these proposed projects were not approved for construction.
This scale model is a very simple representation of the proposed Government House in Cottabato in 1896. This was created from the actual plans and was made for the viewers to at least see how the plans are implemented to form an actual building.
The other side of the “Building for Empire” section showing other government projects in Mindanao
Plan for a Church and Parochial House in Cagayan, Misamis
July 28, 1846
43 x 115 cm, Ink on paper
The only old church is Cagayan de Oro in Misamis Oriental is the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral. We are not certain but this church and parochial house plan may be the stone church that was requested for construction by Father Simon Loscos in 1841. That is why the need for these records to be researched is very important.
The current Cathedral in Cagayan de Oro was a reconstruction after the war of 1945, with the bell tower on the right.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Augustine_Metropolitan_Cathedral
Project for a 1st Class Public School
Mati, Mindanao
1887
33 x 46 cm, ink on paper
Project for a Market for the Zamboanga Plaza
1867-1882
105 x 74 cm, ink on cloth
Sketch of the Floorplan of the Military Hospital
January 11, 1890
27 x 35 cm, ink on cloth
If you examine the plan of this Military Hospital they already have an operating room (sala de cirugia). There are rooms for European and Senior Officials but nothing is marked for local patients. This Military Hospital was built in Mindanao (Cotabato) and Palawan as per the report attached.
Plan No. 1 for the Courthouse of Davao - Facade
December 6, 1880
31 x 22 cm, ink on paper
In the document box get the documents for the courthouse of Davao, explain that this plan has the courthouse at the upper floors and the prison at the ground floor.
Show this printout that shows a different prison cell for men and women and a smaller high security “calaboso” for maybe dangerous prisoners.
V. Other Colonies, Other Spaces
Even while the Spanish were reordering spaces and places in the Philippines. The French, British, and the Dutch were creating the infrastructure of their empires in other parts of the South East Asia. In this section are images from Singapore, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The Philippines was colonized by Spain from 1565 to 1898 and for a short period by British forces from 1762 to 1764. The Philippines was then ceded to the Americans and became an American colony from 1898 to 1946, but the Japanese also occupied the Philippines during World War II from 1942 to 1945.
The Philippines is not the only country that underwent a period of colonization. Other South East Asian countries were also colonized by different European countries. Here are other countries that had the same fate of having been colonized:
Laos was colonized by the French from 1887 to 1953
Singapore was a British Colony from 1819-1963
Myanmar was also a British Colony from 1886 to 1937
Indonesia was a colony of the Dutch from 1602 to 1949 but before that was a Portuguese colony from 1522 to 1605
Malaysia was another British colony from 1826 to 1946
Only Thailand was not colonized in Southeast Asia simply because it served as a natural buffer zone between the French and British colonies.
By observing the town plans, colonizers deploy different systems of town planning. Although almost all are similar in employing a grid pattern, the Spanish system of “quadricula” employs a segregation pattern of almost similarly sized blocks of land that emanates from the plaza complex where the administration building is situated with the church.
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