Strong And Beautiful

The story Strong And Beautiful is a Filipino creation myth about the origins of the Philippine islands and the first Filipinos. In the story, the first man was named Malakas (Strong) and the first woman was named Maganda (Beautiful). Together, the two beings emerged from a single bamboo. It can be said that the culture of the Filipino people embodies both strength and beauty in their resilience during times of hardship, and their immersion in a variety of art forms inspired by the natural beauty of their country.

Through the years, many Filipinos have endeavored to begin a new life in Canada. They have continued to share the richness of their cultural heritage within a unique multicultural country. They have carried with them valuable pieces that allow them to stay connected to their ancestors such as traditional clothing, jewelry made of gold and pearls, and items made of shell, handwoven palm leaves, rattan, and bamboo.

In 2018, the Canadian government proclaimed that the entire month of June as Filipino Heritage Month. It is with a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving that the Filipino Canadian community presents an English translation of one of their most cherished folktales, and a collection of cultural treasures from the Philippines.

Culture Days
September 20-October 25, 2019
Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District in partnership with Kamloops Museum & Archives, British Columbia, Canada

Our Culture Days storytelling event featured "Strong and Beautiful | Malakas at Maganda", an ancient Tagalog creation myth about the origin of the Philippine islands and its people.

Philippine culture is known for its legendary beauty and strength. The resilience and strong sense of community of Filipinos were evident in the face of the recent eruption of Taal Volcano on January 12, 2020.

Cash donations for the vicitims of Taal Volcano are being accepted by the Philippine Red Cross. https://redcross.org.ph/

It's a wrap! Our Filipino Canadian heritage display was so well-received it enjoyed an extended stay at the museum. Now all our treasures are home safe for the holidays and we're excited to see where they'll take us next.

Our heartfelt thanks to all the amazing people who helped make our Culture Days event a success, and all the wonderful museum guests who celebrated Filipino heritage with us this weekend.

Thank you all for being part of such a momentous event. Most especially, we would like to acknowledge and give honour to the Secwepemc, the ancestral people upon whose traditional and unceded land Kamloops Museum and Archives is located. The Secwepemc maintain a spiritual and practical relationship to the land, water, air, plants, animals and all things needed for life on earth.

Indigenous Filipinos also maintain a close relationship to the earth. The story “Strong and Beautiful | Malakas at Maganda” is one of the most cherished stories about the origin of the Philippine islands and its people. The sky, sea, wind, animals, and plants all come to life in a magical creation story where chaos gives way to peace, freedom, and empowerment.

"Strong and Beautiful: Cultural treasures from the Philippines" is still on display at Kamloops Museum including a painting by Filipino Canadian artist Charlie Dondoyano Frenal.

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives Storytelling and Filipino Bamboo Dancing Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture

Watch our shadow puppet show on Saturday and get your own copy of "Strong and Beautiful | Malakas at Maganda" in English and Filipino (Tagalog).

The story "Strong and Beautiful | Malakas at Maganda" is one of the most cherished stories about the origin of the Philippine islands and its people. The sky, sea, wind, animals and plants all come to life in a magical creation story where chaos gives way to peace, freedom, and empowerment.

Celebrate Filipino culture on Culture Days!
Saturday, September 28, 2019
10 am - 12 pm
Kamloops Museum
207 Seymour Street

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives Storytelling and Filipino Bamboo Dancing Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture

Mat weaving is an ancient art. Make paperweave bookmarks inspired by the Filipino woven mat "banig" during our Culture Days event.

Saturday, September 28, 2019
10 am to 12 pm
Kamloops Museum
207 Seymour Street

The "banig" is a handwoven mat that measures around 2 x 3 meters traditionally used in the Philippines for sleeping or sitting. It is usually made from a special reed grass that grows along rice fields.

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District

The South Sea Pearl is the national gem of the Philippines. Indigenous Badjao divers can descend as deep as 30 meters (100 feet) in search of these treasures. Come see the pearl jewelry on display, and create your own pearl bead bracelet to celebrate Culture Days!

Saturday, September 28, 2019
10 am - 12 pm
Kamloops Museum
207 Seymour Street

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District

Our Culture Days event will feature traditional Filipino clothing, including the Filipino butterfly sleeve "terno". Join us on Saturday, September 28, from 10 am - 12 pm for storytelling, crafts, and bamboo dancing at the Kamloops Museum.

The style and symbolism of the "terno" has evolved from the Spanish and American colonial period of the Philippines to the present. During the 1910s to the 1940s when the Philippines was under United States rule, wearing butterfly sleeves was a highly visible rejection of American interference, and allowed Filipino women to define modern womanhood in their own way.

Source: Laura R. Prieto (2014). Bibles, Baseball and Butterfly Sleeves: Filipina Women and American Protestant Missions, 1900–1930. In Hyaeweol Choi & Margaret Jolly (Eds.) Divine Domesticity: Christian paradoxes in Asia and the Pacific. ANU Press The Australian National University.

Filipino Canadian clothing line VINTA Gallery continues to redefine the "terno" in North America. Learn more about them on CBC Arts: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1091469379938/

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District CBC Arts VINTA Gallery

Our storytelling peacock chair is a cultural treasure from the Philippines. Made of woven rattan, the throne-like peacock chair has been used by portrait photographers for its regal and tropical granduer since the 1920's.

It is a little known fact that the peacock chair was originally designed and manufactured by inmates in Bilibid, the largest prison in Manila.

Source: Emily A. Morris. (2012). The development and effects of the twentieth century wicker revival. The Smithsonian Associates and Corcoran College of Arts and Design.

Smithsonian Magazine Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture Kamloops Museum & Archives City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District

The traditional Filipino Bamboo Dance "Tinikling" involves skipping between two clashing bamboo poles. Dancers are quick on their feet much like native "tikling" birds which are able to escape bamboo traps set by rice farmers.

Learn the basics of this fun upbeat dance during our Culture Days event on Saturday, September 28 from 10 am - 12 pm at the Kamloops Museum.

Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District Kamloops Museum & Archives

Game of Thrones fans will recognize the background music for our shadow puppet storytelling. Ethnic music ensemble, Kontra-GaPi of the University of the Philippines did a fantastic cover of the GOT theme which goes perfectly with the epic drama of the Filipino creation myth “Strong and Beautiful | Malakas at Maganda”.

Watch it here: https://youtu.be/3wY1hb9TrvU

Kontra-GaPi Kamloops Museum & Archives City of Kamloops - Parks, Recreation & Culture Filipino Canadian Association of Kamloops and District Culture Days | Fête de la culture BC Culture Days | Fête de la culture