The Discovery that Reveals the Past

“… the remains of Balangay boat was been found accidentally when treasure hunters
accidentally dug up a wooden shape boat remains objects…”
Researched by
Ilongo, Luigi John B.
luigijohnbalquinilongo@gmail.com
Robles, John Rodolfo A.
Nhojselbor@gmail.com
Published 8:26 PM, May 07, 2019

Preservation Vat. The planks of the boat are subjected to chemical preservation by means of immersion of
PolyEthylene Glycol solution for the specified number of days. File photo taken from National Museum
Balangay Shrine by Luigi John B. Ilongo/Central Mindanao University

The term Balangay was first mentioned in the account of Pigaffeta, and it is also known
as the oldest watercraft found in the Philippines. Since then it’s remains have been found in
Butuan City where currently the Balangay Shrine museum is located. During our visit the
excavated site has been closed to public for taking pictures, the excavated site has been
cemented for preservation purpose in order to preserve the shape of Balangay boat formed in
the ground from where it is dug up.
 The Balanghai Shrine is about 5 kilometers from Butuan City proper. The shrine was
established to ensure the proper protection and preservation of the balanghai boats also known
as Butuan Boats, declared National Cultural Treasure on March 9, 1987 by then President
Corazon C. Aquino. Felix A. Luna, a resident in the area, made the establishment of the shrine
possible with his donation of land in 1979... The Butuan boat is a cultural heritage that
establishes Butuan’s maritime activities long before the Chinese and other Asian countries sailed
the high seas. Butuan was declared an archaeological site by Executive Order No. 252 and is
protected against any form of intrusion,
illegal excavation or vandalism (“Balanghai
Shrine”, n.d.).
According to the tour guide in-charge
of the museum during our visit in the shrine,
the remains of Balangay boat was been
found accidentally when treasure hunters
accidentally dug up a wooden shape boat
remains objects which they turned over
immediately to the city for custody, the said
boat remains were been declared as part of
Butuan’s long hidden history and currently
under custody of local government of Butuan.
The discovery of these artefacts proves that the Filipinos before colonial eras were not
indolents as the Spanish try to conclude since they arrived in our country (for which also Rizal
try to argue that indolence is not an inherent trait rather it is an effect of other conditions
imposed upon Filipinos during that time), what these boats’ remains to unlock is that our
ancestors were engaged with international trading of goods. The interesting is that there was a
“Kingdom of Butuan”, the presence of a kingdom demands the trades it offers to other
kingdoms, in this sense the need of transportation like Balangay boat is highly considered based
on archeological findings in the excavated site. Gold has always figured in Philippine history.
Since ancient times, the Philippines have been an active producer of this and other precious me-
tals. In that respect, Butuan owes its existence largely to gold mined at the headwaters of Agu-
san River in the Diwata mountain range. Then as now, it was known as a major source of this
metal during the 11th century. Today, nearly 70% of the Central Bank of the Philip-pines’ pre-
hispanic gold collection comes from Butuan and its neighboring areas. It has grown into one of
the most important gold collections in Asia. The economic influence of this ancient settlement
is undeniable. It was a centre where local merchants bartered gold for foreign goods. But other
goods recovered from archeological excavations in Butuan – ceramics, glass beads, bronze
vessels and utensils; also highlight the extent
and sophistication of Butuan culture, trade
and contact with other kingdoms of the time
in China, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam,
and other Asian countries. During that
period, the Kingdom of Butuan was a large
settlement and a flourishing port with an
established civil structure exercising
governance over residents that included
traders, craftsmen, and others who would
have had religious and cultural activities as
well. This explains why it emerged as an
urbanized port centre and an entrepôt during the first millennium (Quirino, 2010).
Evidence from written records reveal that the kingdom was in contact with the Song
dynasty of China (960 and 1279 AD) and that from the 10th up to the 13th century AD,
diplomatic and trade missions from Butuan were being received at the Imperial Court. The
Chinese annal Song Shih records the first appearance of a Butuan diplomatic mission at the
Chinese Imperial Court on March 17, 1001 AD. It describes Butuan (P’u-tuan) as a Hindu country
with a Buddhist Monarchy by the sea that had regular economic intercourse with Champa – a
Cambodian kingdom, and intermittent contact with Imperial China under a rajah named Kiling
(989-1009 AD). In the year 1003 A.D., Rajah Kiling sent two of his emissaries – Liyihan and
Jiaminan, to the Sung Court of China. But it was eight years later in 1011 AD that his successor
Rajah Sri Bata Shaja (pronounced Xi-li-ba-da-sha-zhi) sent a flamboyant ambassador – Likan-
hsieh, who shocked the Chinese Emperor by presenting a memorial engraved on a gold tablet,
camphor, Moluccan cloves, and a South Sea slave at the eve of an important cere-monial state
sacrifice. This display of wealth sparked interests from China over the king-dom and Liyu-xie
obtained recognition from China equal to the status of Champa as Chi-na’s tributary (Quirino,
2010).
What is interesting to find out is that the tour guide in-charged told us that since the
discovery of these boats’ remains, remains of other parts of the boat were being studied by
Marine Engineers, the study that has been conducted resulted to the discovery that our
ancestors were engineers too! Because the boats’ size, its thickness, the proportionality of its
materials, and the concept how it is made bring us to conclude that the builders of this boat has
the same knowledge we have today. Balangay boat since their time were used to carry things
 that as heavy as cars
(estimately) today, imagine a
boat (not a barge) can
carry(estimately) a car!
However, in addition to the
discovery of Balangay boats, on
2013 researchers found additional
shipwreck that help to reconstruct
the belief that there were much
bigger boats aside to those first
found. The picture tells us about
reconstructing the shipwreck of the
afore said “Mother boat”.

The peg nails that Dr. Bolunia refer to as big

as soda cans.

The afore said “Mother boat”

has peg nails (tree nails) as the size of
soda cans. Building a boat with nails as
big as soda cans? It will be a surprise if
those nails would be used on small
boats however, it will not be a
surprised if it will be used on big ones.
This idea is coming from a common
thinking, that in using materials in
building a thing one should use a proportional material in proportion to the size to be build.
Aside from the tree nails mentioned, the individual planks that were being used in
building the said boat are broad as man’s chest that two times wider than the rest of other
Balangays found in the site. So it is the same with peg nails of the boat, to be consistent to
declare this boat to be large than those found on 70s one should proved it on basis on its
materials being used that these materials are proportionate on its size if one holds the rule of
proportion. “. . . the individual planks alone are each as broad as a man’s chest – roughly twice
the width of those used in other balangays on the site. The planks are so large that they can no
longer be duplicated, because there are no more trees today big enough to make boards that
size, [emphasis of mine] according to Dr. Bolunia.”(Dimacali, 2013). Planks are so large that they
can no longer be duplicated, because there are no more trees today big enough to make boards
that size”? Sounds strange and interesting, right? Recognizing such statement to be true is to
believe that a civilization existed during the time of that boats, and these boats were the means
of sustaining that certain generation in terms of transportation and sea routes trades.
Dr. Mary Jane Louise A. Bolunia discovered a treenail in the excavated site. “She holds up
her hand and curls her fingers into a circle, as if grasping a soda can. “That’s just one of the
treenails used in its construction,” Bolunia says. An aptly descriptive term, a "treenail" is a
wooden peg or dowel used in place of iron nails in boatbuilding. So with "nails" that size, exactly
how big is this boat? [emphasis of mine] Bolunia produces a piece of onionskin paper with a
carefully-inked map of the archeological site. On the upper corner is a roughly pea pod-shaped
boat wreck, about 15 meters long, one of eight similarly-sized balangays discovered at the site
since the 1970's. But right next to it, discovered only in 2012, are what seem to be the remains
of a ninth balangay so wide that it could easily fit the smaller craft into itself twice over – and
that's just the part that's been excavated so far. Although the boat has yet to be fully excavated,
it's estimated to be at least 25 meters long. Aside from the treenails, the individual planks alone
are each as broad as a man's chest – roughly twice the width of those used in other balangays
on the site. The planks are so large that they can no longer be duplicated, because there are no
more trees today big enough to make boards that size, according to Bolunia… (Filipinos') ability
to construct or build big boats is not something new... Even before the Chinese came to the
Philippines, the Filipinos went to China through the Butuanons," Bolunia underscored.
(Dimacali, 2013).
In any case, the "mother boat" and the smaller balangays in Butuan were definitely made
for exploring the high seas, according to Dr. Bolunia. She says their overall shape and
construction are suited to navigating deep ocean waters more than shallow rivers. The presence
of a quarter rudder and sails would also indicate a sea-going vessel, although these have yet to
be found, Dr. Bolunia says. "That's especially true for a boat this size," she says of the giant
balangay. Even today, the Sama-Badjao of Sulu still practice boatbuilding techniques that are
strikingly similar to those used in constructing the Butuan boats. In 2010, replica balangays built
by Sama-Badjao craftsmen and manned by Filipino adventurers completed a 14,000-km journey
across Southeast Asia, proving the seaworthiness of the original balangays and the traditional
woodcraft used to construct them.(Dimacali, 2013).
The findings are striking in the sense that it uncover the hidden past about our ancestors
economic society, the concept of boat building was not foreign to our ancestors, also the
cooperative communication of countries that happen nowadays were experienced by the
kingdom of Butuan to foster a trading partnership with other countries and kingsdoms. These
findings and analysis support the fact that the history that Butuan holds were founded in a
prosperous and well ran government that rooted by the use of the means of Balangay boats to
cater the needs of economic sustainability.
 In support to the points stated above,
our visit in the Butuan National Museum gave
this article also the additional information
about the discovery of Butuan boats or
Balangays and the origin of Butuan. One of our
tour guides during our visit shown us the
Diorama of Butuan before of its realization to
present Butuan. He explained to us that the
Agusan river contributed the forming of a land
mass from the process called Accretion.
Approximately 2 million years ago, the
area of present-day Butuan City was entirely
covered by sea. The Agusan River that flowed
from the Diwata mountain range emptied
directly to Butuan Bay and had carried with the
sand, silt and clay. These formed a delta which
expanded and transform in the area from a
marine environment to a coastal plain.
Swamps, marshes, streams and estuary were formed. The growth of the delta divide the
direction of the flow of Agusan River and created a new river in the western part of Butuan City.
This is the Masao River that serves as the direct source of freshwater for the estuary. During the
9th and 10th century A.D. the estuary became an ideal and important sanctuary for seafarers.
Settlements existed along the estuary shorelines. However, this estuary slowly changed into a
swampy and marshy environment. Sand, silt and clay blanked the estuary with the floodwaters
of the Masao River. Time and floods created a widespread blanket of sand, silt and clay forming
a wide coastal plain in the entire Butuan City area. The present flood behavior of Agusan and
Masao Rivers indicate that they still reach the height sufficient enough to flood Butuan
City(Historic Butuan, n.d.).
Because of the flow of water from Agusan river that brought sand, silt, and clay the
present day Butuan were being formed. And in the course of time the growth of the delta
divided the direction of the flow of Agusan river and made a new one the Masao river. Which
as time goes by serves the ideal and important place for seafarers. This would link us to Balangay
boat’s history. The tour guide told us that other Butuanon historians believe that those seafarers
were the ancestors of the present day pure Butuanons. Knowing the geomorphic history of
Butuan help us to trace why, how, and when the Balangay boat being used restricted in their
history but now its’ remains are now being puzzled by historians to study more the discovery
that reveals the past!
 Therefore, the Balangay boat (or Balanghai) were involve in economic activities of our
ancestors especially those of Butuanons. The significance of its discovery offers us a fresh
perspective in discovering the relationship of the Kingdom of Butuan towards the other
kingdoms as its neighbors, the trading and economic talks to other kingdoms necessitate the
need of a well-developed transportation – Balangay boat – which built to explore farther seas
and transport a numerable passengers. Also, recognizing the geomorphic history of Butuan
which originated from the process of Accretion triggered by the flow of Agusan river and the
context of the place which is highly concentrated of waters and recognizing also that the
Kingdom of Butuan was situated aside of sea then the need of a default kind of transportation
is a must to cater the need of the kingdom in terms of trading and communicating with other
kingdoms towards economic interests.

References:
Balanghai Shrine. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/ASBMD/Balanghai.html
Quirino K. (2010). The Kingdom of Butuan. Retrieved from
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kingdom-of-butuan/
Demacali, T.J. (2013). Massive balangay ‘mother boat’ unearthed in Butuan. Retrieved
from https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/scitech/science/321334/massive-
balangay-mother-boat-unearthed-in-butuan/story/

Historic Butuan. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://mybutuan.blogspot.com/search/label/Historic%20Butuan%20City