Angono Petroglyphs

8:05 AM | Labels: Angono, Antipolo, Philippines, Travels

Crescent Moon Cafe Culinary Experience
Angono Petroglyphs
Art Houses: Nemiranda and Blanco Museums
Balaw Balaw Restaurant: An Extraordinary Fare

Now this teambuilding activity is really more like an art tour. Did you know that Angono is called the Arts Capital of the Philippines? It's really not surprising, after seeing the number of National Artists the region has produced. Almost every corner we turned boasted some sort of sculpture or painting.

Information on the Petroglyhs from the mini-museum

Therefore, there was no better place to be the home of the oldest work of art in the Philippines, the Angono Petroglyphs. These are 127 human and animal figures carved onto the surface of a rock that dates back to 3000 BC.

From Crescent Moon Cafe, we travelled to Fiesta Resort and Casino in Binangonan, since this was the site of the petroglyphs. See the map below.

Map to the Angono Petroglyphs. Click to enlarge.

Before actually going to the petroglyphs, we passed through a short, unlit tunnel and took a five-minute walk to the mini-museum. There was an entrance fee of I think Php 20 or Php 30 per person. I can't really remember. A guide accompanied us to the viewing deck.

The figures

I could make out a turtle, some frogs, and a group of people gathered in a circle for some sort of celebration. It was unfortunate that erosion has caused some of the figures to be less discernible.

I learned that this site was discovered by Carlos V. Francisco, popularly known as Botong Francisco and (surprise) a National Artist of Visual Arts. Didn't I mention already that this place had a lot of National artists?

Anyway, I also learned that before there was an organized effort to preserve the site, local superstition believed that the place had power, and albularyos (folk healers or medicine men), held their rites here, thereby contributing to some of the vandalism.

Today, the Department of Tourism and the National Museum are trying to preserve this heritage site, and it is listed as one of the Cultural Treasures of the Philippines.