Boholano culture and landscapes in paintings

In line with Bohol’s annual Sandugo Festival, Bohol Ways of Life and Landscapes is on view at the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP)-Bohol in Tagbilaran City. Mounted by NMP Bohol, together with the Sigala Arts and Cultural Heritage Research and Development Foundation Inc. and opened on 6 July, the exhibit celebrates the island province’s natural wonders, as well as its culture and traditions, an apt follow-up to its LGBTQ+ Pride Month event, “Weaving with Pride.”

Bohol Ways of Life and Landscapes features 30 paintings by five Boholano artists, from the private collection of Janssen Bantugan, chairperson of Sigala foundation.

Showcased are works by Florante “Ranths” Anunciado, who has participated in several art shows in Metor Manila and who has produced many paintings depicting the countryside.

His Asin Tibuok (24 by 32 inches, oil on canvas, 2022) depicts the making of the artisanal sea salt, a pre-colonial tradition that is now only existing in Alburqueque. This is a heritage product of Bohol that needs to be put back on every table. Another work also depicts local food. Sikwate (32 by 24 inches, oil on canvas, 2022) shows the local version of the chocolate drink. It is prepared using the tableya de cacao, made from dried, roasted, and ground cacao beans formed into tablets. The wooden batirol is used to whisk the mixture of hot water and tableya. Depicted is Tiya Lalang, who loves to prepare sikwate for her nephews in their home in Camaya-an, Loboc, Bohol.

On the other hand, Emerald (24 by 36 inches, oil on canvas, 2017) shows Ingkumhan Falls in the barangay of Bauhagan in Dimiao.

The exhibition’s centerpiece and its largest painting is Datu Sigala (122 by 92 centimeters, oil on canvas, 2023), by Sherwin A. Tutor, an advocate of Bohol’s history and pre-Hispanic Visayan culture. Higher in rank than the more popular Sikatuna, Datu Sigala, who lived in Jimili-an, Loboc, performed a blood compact with Miguel Lopez de Legazpi on 28 March 1565, three days after Datu Sikatuna. This scene is also interpreted by Tutor in Boceto Para El Pacto de Sangre de Sigala-Legazpi (77 by 128 centimeters, oil on canvas, 2024).

Datu Sigala came to the flagship San Pedro anchored at Hinawanan Bay in Loay. After the blood compact ceremony, Sigala gave a roasted piglet as a present and brought out a cantaro (about four gallons) of tuba (coconut wine) inviting Legazpi to drink with him.

After the siege and burning of Tagbilaran Strait and Baclayon in 1563, Sikatuna was badly injured, retreated inland, and took refuge under Sigala’s care in Loboc. Datu Sigala portrays the chieftain and his entourage on top of the mountain where the river mouth of Loay is visible from afar, with his lieutenants on heightened alert, while his wife and attendants are preparing their meal.

Another featured artist is Czar Petrus Cempron, a former seafarer whose accident on board ended his seafaring career but fate brought him back to his passion for painting. His Balaang Kinampay (24 by 32 inches, acrylic on canvas, 2021) depicts one of the well-known varieties of purple yam in Bohol. It is considered a sacred crop that should be held with utmost care.

Elvin Perocho Vitor, an awardee of the Leonardo Da Vinci International Prize Awards in Milan last April, has two artworks depicting Tagbilaran City’s Saulog festival including Ambongan (Saulog Series) (26 by 34 inches, oil on canvas, 2021) depicting a woman dancing during the annual festival in May in Tagbilaran City.

Also included are the works of Glenn Melendrez Lumantao, one of the pioneers of Boholano modern art, who has been mounting local and foreign arts shows for the past two decades.

Gracing the launch event were board member Jiselle Rae Aumentado-Villamor, chairperson for the Committee on Culture and the Arts of the provincial government, and Michael Amores of the Philippine Cultural Heritage Research and Development, a native of Mindanao, who has a deep appreciation for Bohol’s rich heritage. The music of the Dimiao Children’s Rondalla added a local vibe during the event.

Extending support to exhibit are fellow artists, the Center for Culture and the Arts Development Office of the provincial government, museum partners, Bohol Purple Women, and GOPanglao Travel and Tours.

The exhibition runs until 4 August.