More than just adornment, the Tamborin necklace carries centuries of Filipino history, craftsmanship and quiet defiance.
Mula sa rosaryo noon hanggang sa pagiging pamana ngayon, bawat disenyo ay patunay ng galing, pananampalataya at kulturang Pilipino.
Alamin ang kasaysayan at halaga ng Tamborin jewelry sa #DigiDokyu.
Mula sa rosaryo noon hanggang sa pagiging pamana ngayon, bawat disenyo ay patunay ng galing, pananampalataya at kulturang Pilipino.
Alamin ang kasaysayan at halaga ng Tamborin jewelry sa #DigiDokyu.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00It looks like a rosary from afar, but it's actually made of ginto.
00:08This is the quintessence of the Filipino version of Maria Clara.
00:13But this adornment is not just an old adornment.
00:19Each piece of this adornment is also a testament to the history of the Filipinos.
00:30Even if you look at it from a distance,
00:45you can see the ancient items in the house of the collector and designer Maria Angelica Santos Bermejo,
00:52also known as Gigi.
00:55She has been collecting for 39 years.
00:58She was a child when her mother gave her this adornment as a gift.
01:01The adornment is important.
01:03Remember gold?
01:05Even before pre-colonial Philippines, gold already had value.
01:10It was a medium of exchange.
01:12So aside from being an adornment, it was used as a currency.
01:17Gigi had an interest in heirloom jewelry.
01:21Adornments that were worn during the time of the Spaniards.
01:26And her favorite item in her collection is the tambourine.
01:33The tambourine derives from the word tambur,
01:36a frame used in needlework to guide the sewing instruments through the looping and twirling of thread-like wire.
01:47This is the very first kind of tambourine bead from the 1700s.
01:55And then it became more and more intricate.
02:17This is my first tambourine.
02:20Look at how beautiful and long it is.
02:23So this is about over a hundred years old.
02:261900s to 1920s.
02:28So it's over a century old.
02:31This is an original piece.
02:33The color is very consistent.
02:35From the reliquary to the butterfly,
02:39and even all of its beads.
02:42When you make the reliquary or the butterfly,
02:46you're going to see the filigree design or jewelry technique.
02:51The wires are very flowy and they're very romantic in style.
02:59Very intricate.
03:02The wires are very flowy and they're very romantic in style.
03:10Very intricate. Very detailed.
03:13That's what tambourine jewelry is all about.
03:18The design of the tambourine was inspired by the Catholic prayer for Mary,
03:23the mother of Jesus, the Rosary.
03:26They started as prayer beads.
03:28They started as rosaries.
03:30So it started from faith and in the end it turned into adornment.
03:35The Spaniards tried to make us very submissive
03:39by introducing to us the Mama Mary,
03:42who's very meek and kind, all the saints who are good.
03:46So the Spaniards didn't want us to elaborate.
03:50How did the Filipinos circumvent that?
03:53Using the tambourine as a medium to express themselves.
03:59So you notice that the tambourine is very intricate.
04:04The tambourine is very elaborate.
04:07It shows the quiet defiance of the Filipino.
04:13Look at this.
04:15It's beautiful.
04:16These are the different ways of designing the pieces of tambourine parts
04:25that we receive loose.
04:28Because sometimes it comes to us that it's already loose.
04:31Maybe it's already split in the ears.
04:34So like this one are different kinds of relicario.
04:39See?
04:40I just put them together.
04:43Then this one, this is what I call kilabot.
04:48It has a kilabot design.
04:50Goosebumps.
04:52This is a modern way of interpreting the tambourine.
04:57These are all 1800 tambourines.
05:00Now this is a very special alfajor piece.
05:03Look at how fine it is.
05:05Most of the 18-carat gold tambourine pieces are very fine.
05:13J.G. has a story.
05:14When he was young, the Filipinos looked down on him.
05:19I find it funny because back then,
05:22we didn't pay attention to the locally made.
05:25Oh, that's Bakya.
05:27But now, my God, there is a resurgence.
05:31And well and good, because of this resurgence,
05:35you get to search yourself.
05:37Who am I?
05:39What are my roots?
05:41That's what Filipinos are asking.
05:44In Maycawayan, Bulacan,
05:46the production of heirloom jewelry like the tambourine is still alive.
05:51Maycawayan Jewelry Industry Association, Inc. was established in 1985
05:58to support the jewelry industry in the country.
06:02Actually, the jewelry making was brought here by the Chinese in Binondo.
06:09What happened was that they found a place where they can make jewelry
06:14that is not too much of a hassle by the BIR.
06:17At that time, Spanish time,
06:19they arrived here in Maycawayan, which was called Kawayan before,
06:24that the people, their livelihood was blacksmithing,
06:28making panday.
06:30So, they taught the people here how to make jewelry
06:37and this became the center of jewelry making in Maycawayan.
06:43It's long.
06:46But as time went by, the industry became weak.
06:51No, it's not like that.
06:54It needs to be stretched.
06:57They are trying to revive it and are helping to make Maycawayan the fine jewelry capital of the Philippines.
07:03It's a waste. The industry is a waste.
07:06We have a lot of gold.
07:07And the Filipinos are good.
07:10They are good.
07:11You are not the same as other nationals.
07:14The Filipinos have their own art.
07:16In the mangas, I know in Ikacabet,
07:19the Filipinos have their own art.
07:25Cecilia Ramos is only 26 years old when she entered the jewelry business.
07:29Now, she is 75 and still in the industry.
07:34In the 80s, it was stronger.
07:36Of course, gold is cheaper.
07:39More people are making it.
07:41When I started, gold was only 500 pesos per gram.
07:45Do you know how much it is now?
07:47It's 5.5 per gram.
07:50Because of the increase in gold prices,
07:52the platterias are not getting new workers.
07:59That's why the workers are forced to look for other jobs.
08:07Platero is the name of the artisans who make jewelry.
08:12From 40 plateros,
08:14only 4 are still making jewelry in Cecilia's platteria.
08:19Labor is more expensive when it comes to tambourine
08:22compared to other jewelry.
08:24Because it cannot be made in days.
08:27And depending on the design,
08:29one week is the longest.
08:31It's simple.
08:33If it's not simple, it's two weeks.
08:35If the design is more difficult,
08:38you can see the alpahor,
08:41it was made in one month.
08:44Machines cannot do it.
08:46Only human hands can do it.
08:51The importance of making tambourine
08:54is our design.
08:57If only modern people can make it
09:00and no one can make tambourine,
09:02what else can the Philippines do?
09:05This is the tambourine.
09:15From the old tambourine,
09:17now it's a silver tambourine.
09:19This is what the plateros in Cecilia,
09:22like Mang Wiley, are passionate about.
09:24This is the piece of the tambourine.
09:28This is the tambourine.
09:30This is the tambourine.
09:33This is the wire,
09:35to burn it so it won't break.
09:42Acetone.
09:44Water.
09:48If I can do this,
09:50I can make a medal.
09:53The tambourine I'm making now
09:55is not enough because
09:57I used to make a lot of gold.
10:01The Filipinos are good at making
10:05abuses.
10:09The Filipinos are strong.
10:19Sometimes, making a tambourine
10:21can be a life-threatening task.
10:24Sometimes, the tambourine
10:26will suddenly break
10:29because it's too strong.
10:33Sometimes, it will bleed.
10:35Sometimes, the metal will leak.
10:38Sometimes, it will break.
10:43Mang Wiley's vision is blurred,
10:45so he wants to pass on
10:47his knowledge to the platero.
10:51I want to teach something,
10:54even if it's free.
10:59I don't want to die here in Alahas.
11:01I know how to make tambourines,
11:03so I want to pass on
11:05my knowledge to the platero.
11:08I want to pass on my knowledge to the platero.
11:17Gigi's niece, Sam,
11:19is not waiting for a special occasion
11:22to wear a tambourine.
11:24Tambourine jewelry is my aunt's favorite.
11:27When I first saw it,
11:29I was impressed by its craftsmanship.
11:31It's unique.
11:33Like I said, it was so reminiscent
11:36of what I'd seen only in photos,
11:39what I'd seen only in museums.
11:42Nothing that I'd ever seen worn
11:45proudly in modern day.
11:47That's where I was really surprised
11:50that it can be used everyday.
11:53We can return it.
11:55This is my first tambourine.
11:58Gigi wants to leave a book
12:00for future generations.
12:03She named it Alahas.
12:06Number one, it really aims
12:09by documenting history
12:12and our legacy, preserving our legacy.
12:16It aims to be able to educate
12:19both the Filipinos
12:21and the global audience
12:23towards the importance,
12:26the value, the significance,
12:29the symbolism of what
12:31Philippine heritage jewelry is.
12:33Hoping that by understanding
12:37what Philippine heritage is,
12:41the young generation
12:43will become our future stewards
12:46of heritage.
12:53Gigi was surprised by the interest
12:55in her book
12:57and the alahas that are here.
12:59She was invited by the
13:01Philippine Embassy in Japan
13:03to share the story of our heirloom jewelry.
13:06The woman and the jewelry
13:08is not far apart.
13:10You can't separate them.
13:12She has love at first sight.
13:14That's what's good about alahas.
13:16But not all alahas
13:18will attract your attention.
13:20You didn't understand it.
13:22You just want to get to know it.
13:25You want to understand it.
13:27I think that there's more to just
13:30adornment, it being an adornment.
13:33I think it is really being,
13:36finding meaning
13:38and finding purpose
13:40in what you're wearing.
13:42It's the soul in me already
13:45that is craving for something
13:47to hold on to.
13:49That is why I think
13:51Philippine heritage is good for you.
13:54It's good for you
13:56because
13:58it lets you express who you are.
14:01It lets you communicate
14:03the value
14:05of what you are wearing.
14:07More than just the financial value,
14:10it also shows
14:12the kind of person that you are.
14:15Sol, the more we embrace our heritage,
14:19the more we earn the right
14:22to be Filipino.
14:24Jewelry is empowering.
14:45You
14:48You
14:51You
14:54You
14:57You
15:00You
15:03You
15:06You