The Baybayin: Ancient and Traditional Scripts of the Philippines Gallery is a permanent exhibition highlighting baybayin – a Filipino traditional syllabic writing system. It features and promotes awareness of the writing systems used by the early Filipinos, through a showcase of archaeological artifacts, archival records from the Spanish colonial era, and ethnographic collection.
The gallery exhibits archaeological artifacts including the Laguna Copper-plate and Calatagan Pot. The continuing tradition of syllabic writing among the indigenous communities in Mindoro and Palawan, particularly the Hanunoo-Mangyan, Buhid-Mangyan, Tagbanua, and Pala’wan peoples through the ethnographic collection shown here. Amulets and talismans bearing baybayin scripts and Latin words used by Millenarian movements, particularly in the Tagalog region near Banahaw, also manifest the continuity of the script and enduring practice of including words symbolized in old writing, conveying belief core, indigenous powers.
Baybayin, as widely used by coastal groups since the 16th century, was often inscribed on leaves using pigments, or on bamboo using sharp objects for engraving. This was eventually replaced by the Roman alphabet but retained in the islands of Mindoro (Buhid-Mangyan and Hanunuo-Mangyan) and Palawan (Pala’wan and Tagbanua) until today.
The revival of interest use of baybayin as a distinctive marker of Filipino identity among youth both in the Philippines and abroad through websites, animations, blogs, tattoos, and t-shirts is also presented here. The resonance of the ancient and traditional with the contemporary transnational and cross-cultural recontextualization allows the integration of multiple voices and interpretations.
Reference: nationalmuseum.gov.ph
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