Be amazed in the Beauty and Uniqueness that await you inside…
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| The Facade, Totem Pole and Monument of Mr. and Mrs. Juanito Fontelera |
Located
at 127 Dao St. Marikina Heights, Marikina City, The Book Museum Cum Ethnology
Center is owned by Atty. Dominador Buhain (also co-owner of Rex Publications).
It is composed of three buildings that contain his unique collections of
indigenous items as he visited different places in the Philippines and books
from all over the seven continents. It was established on March 13, 2013. Amazing!
Right?
In the first level is his collections of Cordillera artifacts like tools, jewelries, native dresses, even their coffins and sorceries stuff. Cordillera has a rich culture and you would realize that they have maintained their own culture for a very long time. I felt very naïve and amazed when I saw that everything has carvings of “BULOL”--their gods. Yes, they are pagan so they believe that there are different kinds of gods like sun god, rice god, goddess of infant, harvest etc. I also learned that every design on their things indicates the social status of the owner. And I even saw the picture and replica of the infamous “headhunter” of Cordillera. He collected heads of people and these heads signify the authority and pride of the headhunter.
The second building is for his collections of artifacts from Mindanao. Their culture is more elegant and sophisticated. I can say that they are rich because their place has a lot of gold. They have also caste system but it’s different from that of Cordillera. Their ruler is called Datu, his daughter is princess and son is prince. Most of them are Muslims, thus their god is Allah. Their things were not carved yet have elegant designs of shapes and colors.
You can cite the differences between the Cordillera and Mindanao cultures right away because of their designs and what usually their things made of. Cordillera preferred stuffs made of wood and stones with exquisite carvings of their gods and guardians on them while everything in Mindanao coated with gold and they preferred more vibrant, more colorful things like their dresses, their jewelries, etc. with a touch of oriental designs, maybe because they were influenced much by the oriental countries like Korea, Japan and China.
Let’s go to the third building which is the book museum. Inside, you can see the different kinds of books, magazines, even comics; brochure, calendar etc. came from 217 countries from all of the continents he visited. The museum also contains rare items of smallest book (purchased at the Gutenberg Museum, 2012), very first edition books, smallest tablet with Chinese poem, smallest wood carving of crucifix, smallest carved last supper and smallest prayer book. Most of these items came from Germany. And you need to see right to a magnifying glass to view the writings and details on them. It’s amazing that I got a chance to see them, to see how great of what Atty. Buhain possess stuff like these. I even saw his collection of miniature books.
In the first level is his collections of Cordillera artifacts like tools, jewelries, native dresses, even their coffins and sorceries stuff. Cordillera has a rich culture and you would realize that they have maintained their own culture for a very long time. I felt very naïve and amazed when I saw that everything has carvings of “BULOL”--their gods. Yes, they are pagan so they believe that there are different kinds of gods like sun god, rice god, goddess of infant, harvest etc. I also learned that every design on their things indicates the social status of the owner. And I even saw the picture and replica of the infamous “headhunter” of Cordillera. He collected heads of people and these heads signify the authority and pride of the headhunter.
The second building is for his collections of artifacts from Mindanao. Their culture is more elegant and sophisticated. I can say that they are rich because their place has a lot of gold. They have also caste system but it’s different from that of Cordillera. Their ruler is called Datu, his daughter is princess and son is prince. Most of them are Muslims, thus their god is Allah. Their things were not carved yet have elegant designs of shapes and colors.
You can cite the differences between the Cordillera and Mindanao cultures right away because of their designs and what usually their things made of. Cordillera preferred stuffs made of wood and stones with exquisite carvings of their gods and guardians on them while everything in Mindanao coated with gold and they preferred more vibrant, more colorful things like their dresses, their jewelries, etc. with a touch of oriental designs, maybe because they were influenced much by the oriental countries like Korea, Japan and China.
Let’s go to the third building which is the book museum. Inside, you can see the different kinds of books, magazines, even comics; brochure, calendar etc. came from 217 countries from all of the continents he visited. The museum also contains rare items of smallest book (purchased at the Gutenberg Museum, 2012), very first edition books, smallest tablet with Chinese poem, smallest wood carving of crucifix, smallest carved last supper and smallest prayer book. Most of these items came from Germany. And you need to see right to a magnifying glass to view the writings and details on them. It’s amazing that I got a chance to see them, to see how great of what Atty. Buhain possess stuff like these. I even saw his collection of miniature books.
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| Miniatures Books |
Atty. Buhain also has
a collection of Rizal’s books. He even got his compilation of La Solidaridad,
and even his stories that I don’t even knew they existed. But he has a few
copies of them and I hope next time I can read them. He also collected books
about Marcos; how to become rich like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill; and
Children’s Story Books.
It’s
a wonderful feeling that I visited this museum because it also inspired me to
travel and especially to collect books. I recommend you guys to try to visit
here because it’s worth it. I even got a picture of me beside the replica of
the giant right foot of Atty. Buhain. In fact, you can see a lot of feet inside
of the museum because as a traveller, he believes that a foot (feet) is a
representation of mobility and progress.
A minimum entry amount is one hundred pesos per individual and not lower than eighty pesos if you come in groups. The reading materials may be viewed only inside the museum and should not be taken outside the premises.
Come and visit the Book Museum Cum Ethnology!
A minimum entry amount is one hundred pesos per individual and not lower than eighty pesos if you come in groups. The reading materials may be viewed only inside the museum and should not be taken outside the premises.
Come and visit the Book Museum Cum Ethnology!
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