I was working out at the gym this morning and one of my buddies handed me a baller's band with a candidate's name on it. Instantly, I put it on my wrist without thinking about it. I didn't realize the other bands he gave out were of a rival candidate's.
It's funny but Filipinos, of whatever social strata, are known for being fastidious in manner of dress and all sorts of accoutrement. Years ago when my dear departed grandmother was alive, all my female cousins were not lacking in all types of jewelry. She made sure that the women in the family were ably provided with earrings and bracelets, brooches and necklaces.
She also, in her lifetime, set aside a portion of her earnings for what would be family heirlooms to be handed down from one generation to the next. And what would eventually be pieces of jewelry that were divided among the womenfolk of the Red, Maristany, Atienza and Dimaculangan families.
Apparently this was not a tradition practiced solely in our clan. Every matriarch was doing it as well...
When the Spaniard's arrived in 1521, their earliest reports were of awe and astonishment at the manner of dress of the natives who welcomed them. It was obvious to them that the society they stumbled upon were a cultured society of no mean feat. The women that formed part of the "welcoming committee" provided for entertainment were bare-chested and covered with strings of beads, bracelets and anklets. The warriors wore nothing but loincloths and were covered in tattoos from head to foot (depending on their valor and courage in battle). They were easily referred to as "pintados". And the ruling class, well, they were garbed in long robes of the finest silks and accentuated their attire with rows and rows of gold necklaces, gold earrings, bracelets that covered most of their forearms and anklets on their feet.
This is well documented in the Boxer Codex (ca. 1597), the earliest known printed material on the Philippine society that was formerly owned by Luis Perez de Dasmarinas (son of the former Spanish Governor Gomez Perez de Dasmarinas who was killed in the Chinese Uprising during his term). It is uncertain how the codex came upon the hands of a certain Lord Ilchester in England. The manuscript miraculously survived from destruction during a direct hit of his home in the 1942 bombing and eventually fell into the hands of Professor Charles Boxer ( after whom the manuscript is named.) The codex is now in the Lilly Library of the Indiana University.
This gives credence to the fact that the society the Spanish colonizers stumbled upon were not barbaric, uncivilized people. Evidence of this may be seen the Ayala Museum's Gold of Our Ancestors exhibit. The exhibit showcases more than a thousand pieces of GOLD jewelry and covers everything from icons to death masks (to prepare the dead for the after-life); the highlight of which is an intricately woven gold body harness that weighs a little more than four kilograms. It is a must see if you want to feel proud about your cultural heritage.
Eventually, the concept of beauty and aesthetics shifted. In this fast-paced modern world the art of jewelry-making has all but disappeared. So now, women adorn themselves with synthetic, inorganic materials... much to the dismay of the matronas. Or they gets tattoos nowadays like men do. So whether the accessories are expensive or not... or perhaps, even painted on... we find that just putting on our clothes simply will not do!
Some people like me even go one step further... Pump Iron!
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