 So we'd like to welcome Pamela to the next panel. I will put my timer. Let's move the chairs again. Is that okay? How do I order? Thank you. It's so hard to go on right after Carlito. I'd like to begin with by thanking NCCA for supporting the fieldwork on which this paper is based. We're a university for allowing us to go to this conference and to sew us for organizing this conference and helping us in many ways. I'd also like to acknowledge the original owners of our land, our indigenous peoples whose voices are more often than not lost in the welter of discordant sounds. In 2006, the Mindanao Association of Museums realized that there was no definitive list of museums in Mindanao. So from 2006 to 2008, a team of three went in search of museums in the ARMM, that's Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and in Western Mindanao. We went to Sulu, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, Lano del Norte, and Maginda now to find them because most of them did not have an online footprint. Our research was loosely framed by Pierre Bourdieu's toolkit of field capital and habitus. We mapped the field of museums and museum identifying agents, museums and museum professionals, and investigating the kind of cultural capital museums contained. We interviewed museum management and staff while Iggy photograph documented the museum collection. We also did library and web research. So Mindanao is the traditional heartland of indigenous peoples and Muslim Filipinos, Moros, with cultures and identities separate and distinct from the rest of the Philippines. Even as islands Luzon and Visayas had succumbed to Spanish and then American colonial rule, Mindanao communities repelled both incursion and influence by armed resistance or resettlement in mountain fastnesses. Moros also warred against Japanese invaders in the 1940s and against the Philippine state beginning in 1969 for what is known as historical injustices including systematic dispossession of their lands. Organized movements such as the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front asserted their identity and right to meaningful self-governance through peaceful negotiations and armed conflicts with the state. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was established as an autonomous political entity in the Philippines as the only region with the predominantly Muslim population. Then President Corazon Siakino signed the ARMM into law in 1989. From 2001, the ARMM comprised 2,490 municipalities, two component cities, and five provinces. So Basilan, again, Lanao del Sur, Magindanao, Sulu, Tawi Tawi and the cities of Marawi and Lomita. This year, the Bangsamoro ARMM was established, or BARM, giving the region more territory. It is considered a big leap towards peace in Mindanao. The law, Bangsamoro Organic Law, is said to be a roadmap that outlines a smooth transition leading to the creation of a Bangsamoro government that promises to fulfill the Bangsamoro's aspirations for peace, justice, economic development, and self-governance. So this paper will focus on the museums in ARMM, documented in 2008, as spaces where cultural identities are restaged and negotiated. Their common themes and exhibit modes will be discussed with a view to describing their presentation of identities and histories in exhibitions. The paper profiles two museums, National Museum Sulu Branch and Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts, but I will only discuss Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Arts for their representational universe. These museums will be counter-pointed with the newest museums in Mindanao, one of which opened in time for the transition of ARMM to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. So these are the nine museums in ARMM. Two are in Marawi and they are in the same university called Mindanao State University. Two are in Katabato City, ARMM Museum. This is the museum on which the new museum is based. The collection of this ARMM museum comes from an older museum, which is the National Museum Katabato Branch. And then Notre Dame University Museum, a small world, it's like a theme park. And then in Lamitan City in Basilan, there's Lamitan Municipal Library and Museum, but it's now Lamitan City Library and Museum. In Holo, there are three museums, Notre Dame of Holo College Museum, National Museum Sulu Branch and Dep Ed Little Museum. Six of them are government owned. Dep Ed is Department of Education and is National Museum. MSU Marawi is a university. There is one city museum, which is Lamitan and one regional museum that's ARMM. So these are standalone museums. Three museums belong to a religious congregation called the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, which run the Notre Dame museums and small world. Three museums have a library. Two are in schools and one is in the city library. Four are in universities. Two are in MSU and two are in the Notre Dame schools. In terms of staffing, government museums generally have just six to ten staff and the private museums, which are mostly the Notre Dame museums, they have two to three staff, one director and one staff. So the kind of jobs that the people who work in museums, there's a museum creator, a guide, artist technician, only Agakana's a conservator. There are admin officers. There are at least two security guards and a watchman. That's how the museums are run in ARMM. All these museums do not charge a cent for admission except for small world, which charged a nominal fee of 45 pesos in 2008. So seven of these museums, so that's except small world and one other museum, they collect and display collections that represent material culture, objects that humans used to survive, define social relationships, represent facets of identity and social or economic standing. As objects made of wood, metal and cloth, these are cultural expressions of Mindanao's peoples in this area. Other objects appear to be archeological trade goods, such as ceramic or porcelain vessels, produced elsewhere but considered as ritual objects. So almost consistently across these museums, artifacts can be classified as belonging to these major themes, which are markers of identity as well as of ethnicity. So you have traditional apparel and personal accessories, including jewelry. You have pre-modern household tools, implements and ornaments, like personal knives and daggers. These tools include coconut graters and kitchen tools. Tools of the trade that have to do with agriculture, fisheries and weaving. Ritual objects such as battle quid containers and ritual cloths such as lul, musical instruments, fighting blades, spears and shields and religious items. There are some of the stuff that one can find in these museums. The image on the left is the work of Abdulmari Imao, one of the only Muslim national artists of the Philippines. You have calligraphy that weaves into Allah's holy name, noted Islamic symbols such as a star and a crescent. You see it, right? They're said to be traditional devices depicting religious authority. That stone marker records the first official holy mass in Holo, Sulu. That can be found in the National Museum in Holo. The mass was celebrated, the first mass was celebrated on 5 April 1786. It's said to mark the true beginnings of the Catholic Church in Sulu. These themes will be described in the profile of one museum, which will have more extensive collections than the rest. While they also incorporate objects from other cultures, indigenous and Islamized, more of the world of the culture dominant in the area, such as Tausug for Sulu and Maranau for Marawi. That's more of Abdulmari Imao's art and some photographs that are old. This is the walkthrough. I'm going to walk you through Aga Khan Museum, which can be found in Marawi. It was established in 1962 by Dr. Mamitua Saber. In 2008, it prided itself as having the biggest Philippine Muslim collection in the country. It depicts rituals, games and celebrations. When you enter, you're greeted by a mangis, an oversized and ornamented gift box. It's magnificently suspended from the high ceiling. It is hung from a tall bamboo pole and the boxes represent prizes that can be won by lucky kickers. Players have to make the boxes fall by frontal kicks using a ratan ball. This is a gender-specific sport reserved for men. 16 years old and above, married or unmarried, the biggest box represents a carabao. Others are cash boxes. And then that's the first one. Here you have things that are used during rituals. That's a ceremonial dagger at the very top. And then you have belt buckles and bracelets. Notice the signage. That's right on the artifact. This is a tobacco container. That's more decorative than functional now. This is the sarimanok, a stylized bird that represents a hawk, eagle, or any bird that plays on fish. Some scholars, like Madale, relink the sarimanok to a religious ritual. Music-making instruments are important in rituals and celebrations. This is what you will see when you enter. You will be welcomed by a kulintang ensemble. There are gongs and drums. And then these are brass urns called gadore. The Maranau are known for their beautiful brass work, which highlights their expertise and creativity. They're said to introduce brass casting to the mainland, maintained and preserved since 1000 A.D. These brass gadore are battle knot containers. These are compilands, shield, and homemade single action bolt operated shotgun. The weaponry points to the Maranau's bravery and gallantry in defense of their homeland against superior modern weapons. The other aspects of architecture and interior design are the panolong. It's the one... No, that's not the one. Those are the wing-like protrusions, extended wood beams that are decorated with ornate okir motifs. It's the panolong is said to be a symbol of power and authority. The little structure to the right would be the lamin. It's a princess dormitory built on top of a torogan for protection, seclusion. They're supposed to prevent and toward incidents against the virtue of a woman. So this is the lamin. Household things that found their way into the museum are basins, spice mortar, cocorra, that's a coconut grater. Kitchen stuff. Cooking pots. The highlight on the second floor display is a module on the Maranau Royal Bedroom, dominated by a panggau, which is the elevated bed, and an overhead coulombo or canopy. Placed on the headboard are baour or cabane there. Wooden chests in which valuable property and clothing are usually kept. And a bintang or a brass matik tray. On the second floor, the pathways connecting the Agakan Museum with the National Science Museum, they are lined with old photographs of the Musket or the Mosque through history. So from Isabella Basilan, to Simunul Tawitawi, to Lanao del Sur. Those are some of the photographs. And then Onalihal, which is a book holder, is an antique copy of the noble Quran, which according to the exhibit label was sent all over the world. And to the Philippines it was distributed at the end of the holy month of the Ramadan. He is 1309 in 1893 by authority of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. So most museums are about one or two specific cultural communities, the Yaqan of Basilan, the Tausug and Sama of Sulu, and the Magindanaw of Katabato, the Maranaw of Lanao. The people in focus are distinct identities that are shown to adorn ordinary household objects with curvilinear motifs. Among the Tausug and Sama, it's ukil, according to Barada, Sakili, Fernando, Amilbangsa. Among the Maranaw and Magindanawan, it's okir. Both consist of biomorphic motifs that are reminiscent of wave vine and leaf elements. They're supposed to suggest grace and harmony. These artifacts point to a pre-Islamic sense of beauty that integrates art in daily life. I've already mentioned markers of identity feature the museums, apparel and accessories, ritual objects, musical instruments, household tools and vessels, tools of the trade and blades. Although not as pronounced as others, religion through Islam and Catholicism is also an identity marker. The everyday narratives of life are shown on the level of the humble household implements. The grandiose is revealed in the diorama of the Sultan's bedroom with layers of mats, applied cloths, chests, brass boxes and vessels. History is not the museum's strongest suit. These museums have more to do with cultural expressions than significant events. Forney issues are avoided, struggles for rights and protracted wars are not part of the narrative. Aga Khan Museum tackles the issue of war, but then only the moral wars of the Spanish and American colonial periods. The National Museum Sulu branch displays two photos of the destruction of Fallot, but they do not in general refer to the what is known as the multi-dimensional moral problem, which Sakili describes as the struggle of the Philippine Muslims to safeguard and preserve their cultural and religious identity to achieve economic development through real autonomy. The three main exhibition modes, as you probably saw are shelves or glass cases of objects of the same kind all in a row. Gador all in a row, Betel Quidboxes all in a row, this place of an ensemble for male and female clothing, modules of artifacts grouped as dioramas, life-size exhibits of a scene with painted background. Photographs and some paintings are of the same kind. They do provide the context of objects, use or user, or to honor important people such as governors and sultans. At their simplest, labels consist of the name of the object, sometimes the material in both English and the language of the culture, the language of the culture to which the object belongs. For example, talam, brass tree. The use of the indigenous or native language represents the artifact springs as a people apart, as distinct from others. But then nearly the same artifacts are featured across different museums in the privilege of different cultures. This points to shared traditions, Betel Quid, chewing, at most respect for royalty. For example, restaged thrice in seven museums is the Royal Bedroom of the Tausu, the Marinau and the Magindaunao. Although anchored in real objects, the representational universe in museums seems unconnected to the Mindanao of today. This place of a static and moving quality that probably comes from having the same artifacts stay undisturbed for years. The permanent exhibits refer to the past without consideration for the present world of the viewers without mention of the moral struggle for recognition in the national arena. The museums... That's my... Yes, you warned me. I'm sorry. Just one more minute. The museums have succeeded however in portraying these people as having a high level of craftsmanship in metal, cloth and wood, as owning a keen aesthetic sense also as being gallant and brave in battle against foreign invaders. May I show you just three slides of newer museums so that I can conclude. So these are more contemporary museums. This is in Amaskidapawan City. It is the first... They say that they are the first community-curated museum in Mindanao. And then in the words of one of the viewers Estan Cabigas Huseo Kutawato takes charge not only of its own identity but also owns its narrative and tells its tri-people stories in the form of their shared histories, struggles and aspirations. Because this museum talks about Christian migration all the difficulties that tomorrow peoples underwent Cabigas says, although there are hard bitter truths it ends in a hopeful note that the tri-people that comprise this land are always there keeping the harmony hoping and working for peace. And then... Okay. Let's steal Huseo Kutawato. Okay. The other new museum is the Bangsamorom Museum which opened almost of the same season as the barn being established. It features a coran that was retrieved from Shelled Mosque. It really featured beautiful things but it also shows objects that point to contemporary history. So that's just the panolong but it's used it's juxtaposed with a scene from the Marawi Siege. Okay. I'm going to end this. So newer museums in Mindanao are working towards redefining themselves as the International Council of Museum dares to produce a new definition of museums this year in September. Museums are becoming more than just a repository of memories. They present the landscape of discrimination and prejudice, extremism and protracted wars in objects such as the motorcycle of Father Tulio Favali who was gunned down by the Manero Brothers into Lunan in 1985 and a big cauldron that women used to cook food for the bakuit running away from firefights Abraham Garcia, Mindanao's artist and curator puts it this way they communicate the humanity of cultures better. More contemporary objects are being pressed into service to share aspirations for peace and messages for the future. Newer museums are engaging viewers in narratives and images of the un-peace in recent memory to help build sustainable peace in Mindanao. They're becoming active spaces for asserting identities and histories in the time of Barm just in time for people to chart their own political and cultural path with dignity and the rest of the country understand the challenges. Thank you. Yes ma'am. Oh, it's in my paper it's Marianne Pastor-Roses who should have been here. So Mariana was supposed to come but she was not able to. That's her work.