Keywords
kabanwahang lunan, cultural heritage, museum, memory, emotions
Abstract
At the dawn of the 21st century, one notable feature in the flow of diplomatic and cultural relations among nations is the assertion and participation in cultural repatriation, restitution, and/or rematriation through international adjudication and civil litigation, or the recovery of national heritage and/or artifacts that were illicitly taken by foreign Western powers from their former colonies. Evidence of widespread illicit appropriation is typically found in prominent and “renowned” museums worldwide. This study aims to employ Filipino conceptualizations of national heritage to understand the relationship between the Philippines and foreign countries. As part of its methodology, the author draws on a “local context” approach (kontekstong kabanwahan), reflecting personal visits to museums in Europe, with a particular focus on the Musée du Louvre (MDL) in Paris, France, and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, United States of America, as distinctive case studies and examples of these connections. These museums house artifacts that originate from the Philippines. The study introduces three factors that constitute the understanding of national heritage: space, memory, and emotion. In its straightforward aim, the research centers on presenting several cases of illicit appropriation of Philippine artifacts abroad, as well as their eventual recovery and/ or restitution through what the study terms the “diplomacy of emotion,” although ideally, these national treasures should be remembered and honored by Filipinos within their own country. The research is heuristic in nature, as it is preliminary and prescriptive, proposing that the Philippines should undertake a comprehensive effort to reclaim its national heritage currently held overseas.
Recommended Citation
Tuganon, Axle Christien
(2026)
"Lunan, Gunita, Emosyon: Isang Deskriptibong Pag-aaral ukol sa mga Pilipinong Pamanang Bayan na Kinanlong ng Kabanwahang Lunan ng Musée du Louvre at American Museum of Natural History,"
Social Sciences and Development Review: Vol. 18:
No.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholar.pup.edu.ph/ssdr/vol18/iss1/4
