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Burial ornaments and our Cultural Identity
Burial ornaments and our Cultural Identity
Along with the excavation of the Bolinao skull is the discovery that the people of Bolinao have a long-standing tradition of leaving luxurious tradewares, ornaments, and other materials with the dead. Uncovering these opened up new doors to further understand why traditions such as these are still existing in the Philippines. All of these are part of a common thread that weaves our past and our present together.
In order for the dead to be accepted after death in a different realm, the artefacts functioned as gifts to the deceased's ancestors; these materials' magical and religious functions in daily rituals. The custom of accepting and dispensing tributes in the form of prestige commodities at specific socio-political-religious rites, such as forming political and commercial alliances, feasting, and organizing religious festivities, demonstrates the high cultural value associated with these products.
"Luxury or non-functional products have a significant impact on a community's ability to maintain its sociopolitical order and cultural identity. These items were considered to be prestigious in the ethnohistoric context because of their function in fostering sociopolitical alliances through gifts and tributes; and the belief that life goes on."
"Luxury or non-functional products have a significant impact on a community's ability to maintain its sociopolitical order and cultural identity. These items were considered to be prestigious in the ethnohistoric context because of their function in fostering sociopolitical alliances through gifts and tributes; and the belief that life goes on."
Fray Sanchez's 1617 Leyte-Samareo (Waray) dictionary contains information on the regional words of tooth modification methods at the time:
Maybe heroes care about their teeth too.
Maybe heroes care about their teeth too.
Joseph de Laporte, a traveler in the 17th century, described encountering an Indio population that filed and stained their teeth because "their primary aim is to have tidy and even teeth." Women of the highest standing embellish them with thin strips of gold. Interestingly, Andres Bonifacio filed his teeth with a piece of broken earthenware to even them out, according to his sister Espiridiona.
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