Friday, September 05, 2008 Picpican: Immortalizing the Cordillera culture By Isikias T. Picpican Light That Transforms
SINCE it opened in the early 1970s, the Saint Louis University (SLU)-Museum of Arts and Cultures continued to grow and is now regarded as a "must-see" place to visit in SLU and in Baguio City.
Its collections are generally ethnographic such as cultural artifacts from the provinces of the Cordillera region -- namely Benguet, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Kalinga, Apayao, and Abra -- as well as a few collections from the lowlands. A special section displays Spanish religious relics.
Classified as a university community museum that caters to the academic needs of SLU students and local and foreign tourists, the SLU Museum is one of the few museums in the Cordillera region and in Northern Luzon.
The SLU Museum is envisioned as an excellent center for the preservation and promotion of the Cordillera indigenous people's culture and traditions through systematic collection and conservation, documentation and research, and exhibition and promotion that shall develop cultural relativity and appreciation of the indigenous traditions among its patrons, encourage interest in cultural and anthropological studies, and provide services.
The museum has adopted the theme "Unity in Cultural Diversity." It hopes to develop the attitude of cultural relativism and tolerance among the students and visitors. The objective appreciation and understanding of the cultures and traditions of a people will make the bridging between cultures possible and meaningful.
The SLU Museum's collection include the following: Cordillera house structures, dress and adornments; traditional religious artifacts; wooden kitchenware and implements; bamboo food containers and storage; weaving tools/implements; farming tools/implements; food collecting tools/implements; rice processing tools/implements; fishing implements; carpentry tools; wood carving tools; weapons/fighting paraphernalia; sugar cane presser; gold processing paraphernalia and other stone tools; agricultural implements; animal domestication implements; transport baskets/containers; musical instruments; wood carved statues and art works; rain protectors; ornaments for men and women; Chinese porcelain/ceramics; potteries; burial artifacts and photo documentation of funeral rites and practices; century-old lowland religious relics; and, ethnographic reports, among others.
Most of the collections in the museum were donated by SLU students, benefactors, parents, and other individuals who believe in the objectives and commitment of the museum and SLU in preserving and promoting the cultures and arts. The other rare and significant items were purchased by SLU.
Included in the Lonely Planet Tourist Guidebook, the SLU Museum is a favorite place being visited by local and foreign tourists. From June 2007 to May 2008, a total of 12,805 people visited the museum, broken down into: 6,771 individuals who were from 90 groups; 6,589 individual visitors (both SLU and local); and, 475 foreign visitors representing 40 various nationalities.
Some of the prominent personalities who have visited the museum were, among others, the following: officers and delegates from the National Delphic Council of different nationalities who attended the National Delphic Convention in Baguio in August 2007; the president of the University of Economics of Korea; Dr. Howard Fry, British author of Cordillera history; Georges-Gaston Feydeau, counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs of the French Embassy in Manila; and administrators from Jinan University of Guangzhou, P.R. China.
The SLU Museum participated in outreach activities by assisting other museums and institutions. It assisted in the installation of the exhibits at Baguio Ecclesiastical Museum, Bishop's House in Baguio City in connection with its blessing and inauguration in November 2007 as part of the activities for the CICM Centennial celebration.
SLU sister schools were also assisted by providing them some exhibit materials for their respective CICM centennial celebrations. Other provincial and municipal government units in the region were also assisted in enhancing their museum exhibits or in their plans to establish local community museums.
The SLU Museum is currently maintaining a permanent exhibit about the CICM Centennial at the third floor of the Msgr. Charles Vath Library building.
The SLU Museum also joined major celebrations in the CAR such as the Cordillera Month in July 2007, Civil Service Month in September 2007, Indigenous Peoples' Month in October 2007, and by joining other museums in the CAR on public museum tour. It also participated in the International Museum Day by hosting the IMD celebration for Northern Luzon in May 2007.
For inquiries, you may visit or call Mr. Isikias T. Picpican, the SLU Museum's curator and archivist, at the 2nd floor of the Charles Vath library building, telephone numbers (074) 444-8246 (to 48 & 53) local 260, or e-mail slumac@slu.edu.ph.
