Spirit Boats
“Archaeological finds uncovered in Butuan City in the North of Mindanao in the Philippines Archipelago have provided considerable evidence of the regions connections with the Maritime Silk Roads.” - unesco.org
Boats are an essential part of life and culture of the Philippine archipelago for thousands of years. With various types and sizes that could fit from two to a hundred people, boats are meticulously designed as vessels to serve a specific purpose such as for transportation, fishing, trade, exploration, war, as well as recreation.
Boats serve as homes for the Sama Badjao people of Southern Philippines, and balangay boats continue to be built and used today to ferry passengers between Tawi-Tawi to Malaysia.
The diverse types of boats include lepa, bangka, paraw, baroto, vinta, kakap, karakoa, and balangay.
Boats are also an integral aspect of indigenous Philippine spirituality. Its purpose extends beyond the practical to that of ritual: as a vessel to the realm of the spirit.
As a symbol and metaphor of a vessel taken on a journey between the corporeal and the spiritual realm, it is a vehicle for communing with the spirit world and for traversing the transitory state between life and death, and life, again.
With Lakbai Diwa, Diasporic Spirit, a multidisciplinary project that explores ancestral oceanic culture of survival, resilience, and prosperity, we use the spirit boat as a metaphor for the ways we navigate our lives in the diaspora, for ways of healing and wellness, and the values that we bring on our journeys.
References:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2071/