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Rare artifacts find their way home to the Philippines thanks to a 91亚色 professor

Posted on 15 July 2021

A museum in the northern Philippines has received a treasure trove of local artifacts, all thanks to a connection made during the  organized by 91亚色 and partners in January 2021.

Patrick Alcedo
Patrick Alcedo

, associate professor of dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD), was one of the conference speakers. He gave a presentation about using dance as a pedagogical tool. Alcedo is a dancer, dance ethnographer and documentary filmmaker who specializes in the folk dances of the Philippines.

In the audience for  was Faye Snodgress, an American education consultant and granddaughter of a man who taught English in the northern Philippines in the late 1800s.

Following the conference, Snodgress wrote to Alcedo to explain her family connection to the Philippines. She sent along photos of some cultural artifacts that her grandfather had brought home as mementos of his stay in the rural Philippines. Snodgress expressed a desire to donate them to a museum or an appreciative audience. She asked Alcedo if he had any ideas about a good home or any connections to someone who could assist her with the donation.

A rare bag from the Philippines
This embroidered bag is among the artifacts sent to the Museo Kordilyera. Photograph courtesy of Patrick Alcedo

Alcedo, who hails from the central Philippines, immediately thought of a colleague at OCAD University, Lynne B. Milgram, who conducts research in the northern part of the Philippines. He got in touch with Milgram and she told him that a new museum, the , had opened in 2019 at the University of the Philippines. Milgram contacted the director of Museo Kordilyera and received an enthusiastic response: the museum would be delighted to add the artifacts to its collection.

Carved spoons
Included in the artifacts are two rare carved spoons and a vessel. Photograph courtesy of Patrick Alcedo

鈥淭he artifacts are amazing,鈥 said Alcedo. 鈥淭here are wooden spoons with carvings of humans on the handle, for example, and a very rare bag that is used in a particular Philippine dance. Material objects are inextricably linked with Philippine dance; they are used as props. I used a similar bag when I was a dancer. These traditions still exist. The dance movements are specific, but they alone can鈥檛 signify the culture; the dances are so object-driven.鈥

The artifacts are now in Baguio, the city that houses the Museo Kordilyera.

Alcedo, who often travels to the area to conduct research on regional dances, is planning a visit to the collection once it is safe to travel again.

鈥淚magine, these artifacts came to North America 120 years ago,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t is such a generous thing to do to return them to a place where they will be treasured.

鈥淚n addition, it is fitting that these artifacts are being returned home during the Philippines鈥 quincentennial year so that the entire country can enjoy them,鈥 added Alcedo, who was named by the Philippine Consulate as a recipient of a 2021 Quincentennial Award.

By Elaine Smith, special contributor

Courtesy of YFile.