We just once planned to tour the Negros Museum together with my cousin last few weeks ago when we were walking by the place. They were going back to the downtown to catch a ride home when passed by there. We asked the guards how much would be the entrance fees and was quite happy to know that it was affordable. They also have a lesser price for students and senior citizens.

It was also a great plan to learn more about the culture, art, and history of our place. Everyone seems to be busy in life these days that things like this has been ignored and aren't that much appreciated. I admit that I'm guilty with this, too. Things that can't help me from getting through my day doesn't bother me that much. Yet, when I took the entrance exam last month, I realized its importance. The past honed us to what we are today. We shouldn't forget how our ancestors fought for our freedom —the one which we now enjoy.

Though I'm not that confident with my answers, I still have given a lot of details that I have known from Google and Youtube. It still bothers me, though. It made me wonder if there are still a lot of things that I should known than what can the internet can give me. Now, let's see it here! Let me share how does my tour went by in that museum, and also we can have a tour together virtually.

Welcome to the Negros Museum!

It was unfortunate that my cousin can't go with me and I have to go here alone. Yet, still it was fun to discover new things that I haven't known before and look back to the past, feel it's presence, and visualize the past scenarios throught the artifacts and paintings that is reserved inside.

Before anything else, here was how the journey inside the museum started. After I paid at the entrance, I went to the first floor and have a look with each of the art displayed in every room. It was just amazing that they don't only kept things that are remnants of the past but also some painting and sculptures that talks about the history and culture of the Negros Island.

How to make a Bao? The pictures in this area shows the process of making the carabao sculpture in the entrance of the museum. They also includes here the people who are beyond the magnificent sculpture and the materials that were used to build it for strong foundations.

You can also refer to this article of Inquirer to know more.

In this room, they showcase the common livelihood found in Negros Island, mostly in the countryside part. The most common is sugarcane planting and harvest. Some paintings portrays the laborers, the common people living around the countryside and the sugar mills.

Negros Island is branded as the "Sugar Capital of the Philippines", and that explains a lot why the museum shows more of it than anything. I can't help but appreciate the laborers and the farmers more as I saw every paintings and artworks that portrays them. My family is one of those farmers and laborers of the said industry. I grow up in a place where that sugarcanes are mostly the one I see everyday and the one that is the main source of income of the people.

Here's a next room, it shows more of the the artist's mental dilemma. Showing a masterpiece portraying themselves in the State of Uncertainties, Resting Angel, and The Attack of the Undefeated Enemy.

State of Uncertainties by Edsie Sazon Valladarez

Resting Angel by Daryl Javier

The Attack of the Undefeated Enemy by Roedil "Joe" Geraldo

This is another room showcasing the past culture of the Negrense like the ritual healings and when neighbors have arguments turning into a fight.

This room speaks a lot about the culture and history of the Southern Negros back then. One portray shows the Moro Raids in Ilog City that also happened in Bacolod, which is the people living in the shoreline moved out and settled on the hillside. They created the first barangay, formerly known as "buklod" and now called Bacolod.

Other portrays show about how the people fish in the seas, hunt animals, and how they interact with their neighbors. There is also one portray that shows the burial practices and the old way of healing through the help of a Babaylan. Faith healing is still common in the countryside and the practice still goes on since there are still a lot of people who believes in it.

Some artifacts are also displayed beneath the portrays. Old jars that were used to store food and water and there are jars that are used to bury a dead body. Bows and arrows that are used for hunting animals in the wild, old and worn fishing boats, and the old tool used to mill rice, corns, or to smash boiled banana called "lusong" in a Hiligaynon dialect is also displayed. I smile whenever I see that, because I have experienced how to use that tool in the countryside.

There are more to see and learn from the museum but I already posted the other pictures in Hive. If you are interested to learn more, just read my "The Negrense Cultural and Historical Art Exhibit". I'm sure you can see more great pictures and visualize what the museum can offer to the tourists and residents who wants to more about the history of the Negros Island, not just this but also how talented are the Negrense Artists.

I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour here in my blog. Thanks for reading!

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