NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: ATTY.

GASGONIA | DLSUCOL G032019

GOLD OF OUR ANCESTORS

Ayala Museum
I.

The Austronesian Migrations

Some of the first questions that come to mind when viewing these extraordinary objects are:
Who made these? Why? And for whom? Where did these people come from?
The early Filipinos are Austronesian-speaking people who migrated out of the Austronesian homeland in
pre-Sinitic Southern China, through Taiwan, beginning 6,000 years ago, and later spread out to
Indonesia and Polynesia. The shared cultural origins of many Southeast Asian people are manifested in
related forms such as the omega-shaped ornaments known as lingling-o in Northern Luzon which were
used as adornment and as barter rings. These are called panika, a term that also means 18 karats. In
pre-colonial Philippine societies, anything below 10 karats was not considered real gold, but called
Tumbaga or Copper. Anything above 18 karats was not used for trading, but kept as family heirlooms.
A. GOLD, CHEMISTRY, AND MINING
1. Gold
Gold is the only metal that is yellow in its natural state. Its name is probably derived from the
Indo-European root ghel, which means yellow. The chemical symbol Au is from the Latin, aurum.
Ginto, the Tagalog word for gold, probably comes from the Chinese word kintoy. Gold is
classified as a noble metal because of its superior resistance to corrosion. It does not rust nor
tarnish. Pure gold is very soft. It is usually alloyed with other metals to increase its hardness. The
metal becomes slightly harder when alloyed with silver and significantly harder when alloyed with
copper.
The gold content or purity of the alloys is traditionally measured in karats, a system that has its
origins in the Arab cultural sphere. Karat is the designated unit of weight of dried carob seeds.
The karat scale is still used, often in combination with indications of fineness or parts of gold
per thousand. A gold alloy that has a fineness greater than 585/1000 (14 karats) is stable and
will not tarnish.
Fineness and Karat Equivalents
24 karat = 1,000/000 gold
18 karat = 750/000 gold
14 karat = 585/000 gold
10 karat = 417/000 gold
8 karat = 333/000 gold
2. Gold Mining
Gold naturally occurs in combination with other minerals such as copper, silver, iron, and quartz,
among others. Since gold is heavier than most other minerals, it is readily extracted through
natural gravitational methods such as panning or sluicing. Both processes use water, allowing
the heavier gold minerals to sink to the bottom of the vessel in gold panning, or to the bottom of
the inclined trough in sluicing.
Smelting and amalgamation are more complex and involve the use of chemicals and heat. In
smelting, the minerals are heated in a crucible until gold reaches its melting point, which is
different from the melting point of the other minerals from which it separates. Amalgamation is
based on the fact that mercury alloys itself with gold, forming a dough-like gold amalgam, while
other minerals are left unbound. When the gold amalgam is heated, the mercury vaporizes,
leaving behind the porous, sponge-like mass of gold.
In the late nineteenth century, a process of leaching gold with cyanides was introduced in South
African mines, significantly increasing the worlds gold production. Variations of the leaching
process are the dominant procedures for gold extraction in the twentieth and twenty-first
centuries, while scientific research into environmentally friendlier methods of extraction
continues.

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: ATTY. GASGONIA | DLSUCOL G032019

3. Gold Around the World

Gold has rightly been called the eternal metal. Scientists estimate that about ninety to ninetyfive percent of the recovered gold mass from ancient times to the present are still around
although some have been buried or hidden. National treasuries and the International Monetary
Fund hold about 32,000 tons of gold reserve as backing for world currencies; the United States
guards 8,100 tons at Fort Knox and other depositaries.
The largest producers of gold in the world are South Africa, the United States, the former Soviet
Union, Australia, China, Indonesia, and Latin America. In Asia and the Middle East, the traditions
of using gold as currency and hoarding gold jewelry as a means of storing wealth remain strong.
If one were to include jewelry and not just gold reserves, India holds more gold than any other
country.
4. Gold in Pre-colonial Philippines
In the sixteenth century, the Spanish conquerors encountered cultures with a sophisticated
knowledge of gold. It is said that even children could accurately determine its purity. The Tagalog
term for pure gold was dalisay or (absolute standard). It could also be called lata (soft). Seven
grades were distinguished according to the amount of gold in relation to its alloys. Inexpensive
jewelry was made of panika (18 karats), the same grade used for trade. Higher-grade gold was
used only for heirloom jewelry.
Dalisay = 24 karats
Ginugulan = 22 karats
Hilapo = 20 karats
Panangbo = less than 20 karats
Panika = 18 karats
Lingginin = 14 karats
Bislig = 12 karats
The scholar William Henry Scott notes that the sixteenth century terms used to classify gold
appear to be related to goldworking techniques. Ginugulan (22 karats) literally means purified.
Panika is the sane term used for hollow earring made by hammering a thin sheet of gold, which
must be at least 18 karats, to be soft enough to work over a wax-resin mold. Hilapo, which
means to wipe the face, probably refers to the clear mark that 20-karat gold leaves on a
touchstone. Bislig means hardened or petrified, suggesting the stone hardness of the base
mixture of 12-karat gold. Adultered gold below 12 karats was considered as having no karats
simply called tumbaga from the Malay word for copper.
5. Goldsmithing
The goldworking techniques employed on the objects in this collection were already highly
developed several centuries before the Christian era in Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Similar
technologies were developed in early West Asian and Indian cultures. It remains unclear whether
parallels in goldsmithing motifs and methods spread through the migration of peoples and the
transnational trade of goods, or through independent invention. Research has yet to be done on
the precise relationships and chronologies of gold productions in early Southeast Asia.
The scholar William Henry Scott has called attention to the pre-colonial presence of Luzon
traders in Malacca. Local historians have similarly looked toward West Asia and the
Mediterranean for possible connections. Southeast Asian art specialist John Guy has
investigated early gold objects in the region, and the archaeologist John Miksic has assembled
much data on the gold traditions of pre-colonial Southeast Asia.
Research on this important collection will illuminate our understanding of pre-colonial cultures in
the Philippines and possibly redefine the scholarship in early Southeast Asian civilizations. Areas
of interest include, but are not limited to, patronage and usage, economics of trade, social and
symbolic implications, iconography, and technology. Although local terminologies vary, basic
technologies employed are known internationally by the following terms:

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: ATTY. GASGONIA | DLSUCOL G032019

1. Casting Producing objects in the round by pouring molten metal into a mold.
2. Filigree Plain or twisted wires arranged in patterns on a sheet gold support and soldered in
place
3. Granulation Small globules of gold soldered to a metal sheet to create decorative patterns.
4. Repousse Work on the reverse side of a metal to create raised designs on the front;
chasing is used to refine the design on the font of the work by sinking the metal.
5. Sheet gold Gold sheets made by hammering gold to the desired thinness.
II.

What we learn from Archaeology

A lot of what we know of the Philippine pre-colonial past derives from archaeology. When the Surigao
Treasure was accidentally discovered in 1981, there was a frenzy of illegal digging by grave robbers
looking for gold. It was important to find undisturbed sites to document before they were all looted and
valuable data on pre-colonial culture lost forever.
Accordingly, in April 1981, the Locsin Foundation sponsored an archaeological expedition to Agusan del
Norte led by Dr. Warren Peterson as supervising archaeologist. Six (6) burials were recovered in
Masago, Butuan, under controlled conditions. Gold and ceramics from all 6 burials are in this exhibit, in
the two (2) smaller floor cases, and the three (3) small wall cases to the rear.
What is important about these burials is that they establish the 10th-13th century dates. These dates are
based on the Chinese ceramics found with the gold and the radio-carbon dates from sherds and
charcoal samples from the burials.

III.

Journey to the Afterlife

Why are archeological sites such rich sources of information? Buried objects from the past provide a
window to past lives. Gravesites are especially rich because of beliefs in the afterlife, prestigious goods,
imported ceramics and gold jewelry were buried with the dead, many objects created specifically for the
burial.
Gold masks and eye, nose and mouth covers protected the deceased from evil spirits. We have more full
masks than any other collection; same with orifice covers and diadems seen in the other side of the
gallery.

IV.

Golden Diadems
Golden diadems announced the elite status of the deceased person to ensure cordial welcome in the
afterworld. We know that these crowns of hammered gold sheets were made specifically for burial and
manufactured at the gravesite because the gold cuttings were found in the burials beside the finished
diadems. The method of cutting openwork designs calls to mind paper cutwork still practiced today in
rural areas.

V.

Deities Adored and the Kinnari

The ancestral offerings found in gravesites are expressions of belief in the afterlife. In contrast, images of
supernatural beings are expressions of belied during ones life. Perhaps the most beautiful object in this
exhibition is the golden vessel in the form of a half-woman, half-bird called Kinnari in Hindu mythology.
The Kinnari is a supernatural being associated with beauty and music, which are evident in the lyrical
elegance of this vessel, also part of the Surigao Treasure. You can see details of her face and bird-like
body in the enlarged graphics on the right. As you walk around thecase, note the elegant rendering of
her head and the hair pulled back in an elegant chignon. This Kinnari vessel was also part of the Surigao
Treasure, pointing to Hindu affiliations among the elite before Christianity. Indigenous beliefs in a
powerful female are expressed in the two (2) examples of female images on the rear wall. The objects of
adoration in this small gallery exist in no other collection here or abroad.

VI.

The Surigao Treasure

The most spectacular find in the 20th century is the Surigao Treasure discovered accidentally in 1981 by
a heavy-machine operator during an irrigation system building project in Surigao. This hoard of precious
objects appears to have been hidden deliberately at some point in the past, perhaps in anticipation of an
invasion. This extraordinary gold bowl also found with the Surigao Treasure, attest to the tremendous

NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS: ATTY. GASGONIA | DLSUCOL G032019

wealth and power of the individual owner or family that owned this magnificent collection of spectacular
objects. Please open the drawers in these galleries to view more examples of ornaments, which you can
see in detail with the magnifying glasses built into the top drawers.
What is important to remember is that these objects were not grave goods, but objects used in ones life.
VII.

Open-work Basket with Chinese motifs

The use of widespread motifs such as the Chinese phoenix and kilin bears witness to dynamic contacts
with the great civilizations of Asia. Two of the mythical beasts associated with the south and north
cardinal directions and with good fortune, are depicted in this fantastic open-work basket. The motifs and
the undulating curvilinear patterns on this vessel also echo the designs found in Chinese ceramics and
textiles.

VIII.

Garuda-shaped Ear Ornaments

These garuda-shaped ear ornaments reflect lively trade and cultural exchange in the archipelago as well
as the wealth and sophistication of the Filipinos prior western colonization. The garuda or celestial eagle
of Vishnu is a popular motif in the Hindu-Buddhist, Southeast Asian culture. However, these ear
ornaments found in the Eastern Visayas and Agusan province in Mindanao are unique interpretations of
the icon and are found only within the Philippine thus far.

IX.

The Boxer Codex

The 16th century manuscript called the Boxer Codex, reproduced on the walls of this gallery provides the
earliest visual record of how Filipinos dressed at the time of first contact with Spain. Many of the jewelry
types depicted correspond to the gold ornaments recovered in different archaeological sites. This
console features selected translated excerpts from the manuscript.

X.

The Sacred Thread

Precious objects were the prerogative of the most powerful persons, usually the chief or datu. Ones rank
and power, acquired through descent, political cunning, or physical prowess determined the types of
ornaments and objects one could own. The most extraordinary object in this entire exhibition is this
magnificent golden halter worn over one shoulder and across the chest in the manner of the Hindu
Upativa, or Sacred Thread. In Hindu society, the sacred thread was bestowed only on those of the elite
Brahim caste during a sacred ritual.
Similar cords of precious materials such as gold are depicted on images of Hindu-Buddhist deities. This
massive chain consists of an inner loop-in-loop chains, and an outer skin tubular beads and loop-chain
edging on all four (4) sides to create this squared ceremonial chain. It weighs 3.8 kilos, probably too
heavy to wear on a daily basis nor to battle-hence, its function was most likely ceremonial for a very high
ranking person.

XI.

Gold Around the World

Spectacular objects from the Surigao Treasure such as the golden waistband to your right and the wide
wrist cuff in front of you, bear witness to the sophisticated goldworking techniques at this time. The
masterpiece in this section exhibit workmanship that can hold their own against gold treasures around
the world from the same period.

XII.

Chastity Covers
Regional affinities are seen in art forms that are similar in other parts of Southeast Asia, such as the
chastity covers. These triangular plates are worn by elite girls to shield their private parts. In many
related cultures like Malaysia, little girls traditionally wore only the chastity cover until they reached
puberty.