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Power is the central message of the exhibit Beyond the Currents: The
Culture and Power of Sulu ongoing at the Yuchengco Museum in RCBC
Plaza in Makati City.
Rare Tausug suits of body armor and weapons of
power and defense highlight the strength and might of the Sulu
Sultanate during the 18th and19th centuries. This was the period
when the Sulu archipelago was a major trading zone, as it bridged
two worlds and lay at a most strategic point for maritime trade.
The exhibit tells the story of power wielded
over European expansion and commerce (the Spanish, Dutch and
British) in relation to the Chinese trading zone during an era when
the China trade was strong and profitable. In order to have goods to
barter for Chinese tea, the British traded firearms to Sulu in
exchange for its sea and forest products. The Chinese meanwhile
bartered their goods for native products such as mats, yellow wax,
lake wood, tortoise shell and the famous Sulu pearls. To Sulu went
textiles and other imported manufactures and, of crucial importance,
guns and gunpowder which contributed to Sulu’s physical power.
The exhibit also presents the independent Sulu
Sultanate’s culture and geographical reach through kinship and
intermarriages, and as the heart of a trade zone, market center, and
regional power.
Through the Sultanate’s alliance with other
nations and successful engagements in both war and diplomacy with
the colonizers, Sulu has survived attempts at colonization by the
Spaniards for more than three centuries.
Beyond the Currents, curated by a team led by
Abraham Sakili, PhD and Ramon Villegas, also presents the culture
of the various indigenous inhabitants of Sulu such the Tausug, Sama
and the Badjao. Highlighted are archival photos, prints, tradeware
ceramics, maps, jewelry, textiles and ritual objects defense
gathered from private collections and museum partners like the
National Museum, Lopez Museum and Ayala Museum.
The exhibit gives an alternative picture of Sulu,
and can help address, in the midst of the present volatile Mindanao
situation, the urgent need to institute social justice, lasting
peace, and meaningful development in southern Philippines.
Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of
Sulu runs until September 24 and may be viewed Monday to Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Yuchengco Museum, RCBC Plaza, Corner
Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat avenues, Makati.
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