Lakbay-Diwa: Anting-Anting as Living Heritage




Lakbay-Diwa, Episode 1.

A visit to Museo De La Salle becomes a journey into living memory—where Anting-Anting, blades, and belief reveal how faith, resistance, and identity were forged long before colonization. This is not just history remembered, but heritage still breathing.

Mary Ann Jimenez-Salvador, Museum Director

Episode 1

Lakbay-Diwa: Anting-Anting as Living Heritage

Yesterday, my journey led me to Dasmariñas, Cavite—to Museo De La Salle at De La Salle University–Dasmariñas, a quiet yet powerful space where cultural memory is carefully preserved and continually reawakened. I extend my sincere gratitude to Mary Ann Jimenez-Salvador, Museum Director, for the warm welcome and for opening the doors of this heritage campus, recognized as the greenest university in the Philippines. Many moments unfolded throughout this visit—each one a reminder that our heritage should not be presented merely as something remembered, but as a living narrative that continues to shape the present.






A significant part of this journey was my conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Alfaro Lubang, lead curator of the current Anting-Anting Exhibition. As a scholar and cultural witness, Dr. Lubang brings more than two decades of research into the intersection of material culture, mysticism, and folk spirituality. Under his curatorial direction, the exhibition presents a thoughtful collection of medallions, consecrated textiles, and archival texts—objects that document belief systems deeply embedded in Filipino consciousness long before colonial contact.

Dr. Jeffrey Alfaro Lubang, lead curator of the current Anting-Anting Exhibition.


At Art Camp Philippines, we are committed to tracing culture back to its deepest roots. The anting-anting is not merely an object—it is an intangible heritage: a convergence of belief, devotion, and courage. It served as protection, as spiritual armor, and as a symbol of resilience in different moments of our history. Understanding this legacy is especially vital for the youth, as it reveals how faith and identity once functioned as both shield and strength in times of struggle.


                 Marby Sayno

                    French Mile

This journey also introduced us to new faces—Marboy Sayno and French Mile, documenters of museum artifacts who happened to be photographing the intricate designs of Philippine blades during my visit. Their work offered a powerful visual parallel to the exhibition itself. Etched into steel are stories of resistance and reverence, where struggle and spirituality converge in form, talim, and ornamentation. These blades affirm that belief is not only carried in prayer or ritual but also forged in iron and design.








This visit marks Episode 1 of an ongoing series—an exploration of museums as living archives rather than static institutions. Within heritage campuses like De La Salle University, history is not confined to display cases. It exists in the architecture, the landscape, and the curatorial silence that invites reflection. These spaces allow culture to be experienced as something layered, active, and evolving.

Through this series, Art Camp Philippines continues its mission to reanimate cultural memory—connecting narrative, context, metaphor, irony, and even satire to reclaim what has been overlooked or misunderstood. 

(L-R) Mary Ann Jiménez Salvador, Museum Director and Dr. Jeffrey Alfaro Lubang, lead curator of the current Anting-Anting Exhibition.

To walk through a museum is not simply to look back. It is to recognize what endures, 

what protects, and what continues to shape our identity.

This is only the beginning of our journey.









 

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