Name: Chin Marie M.

Manayon Date: May 17, 2022

Section: GEC 106 – Uu5 Score:

Reaction: A Period of Philippine Art History

Upon viewing the lecture about the art in the Ethnic period, I found myself
amazed at the rich existence of art that ancient Filipinos were able to create before the
arrival of Spaniards. Not only are their works superb but it also reflects the innate
creativity and originality intertwined in being a Filipino. Such arts also prove that
Filipinos are naturally resourceful and smart even without the influence of other foreign
cultures. Moreover, I also noticed that it was during the ethnic period that Filipinos were
able to create the most variety of art forms that are remarkable and still worthy to be
appreciated even up to this day. This just shows how much colonization have changed
our identity as Filipinos from the pre-colonial times up to the present times.
Specifically, I learned that the ancient Filipinos make art not only for their daily
activities but as well as for religious rituals, marriages and sacred ceremonies. The
martial arts and weaponry in the ancient times have survived the changes throughout
centuries such as the arnis/kali/eskrima that are still practiced and even taught in
schools at present. The best thing about the ethnic period that I appreciated is all about
the Philippine Scripts because I discovered that there were actually different writing
systems in our country that I have never known to exist before. I was only familiar to the
Baybayin but not to the other writing systems that I have learned in the lecture that were
practiced in the different parts of the Philippines. I have in my heart the desire to learn
about such beautiful writing systems that are not much appreciated in the present
generation. Yes, there are a lot of easier ways to communicate but they are
incomparable to the satisfaction in learning the intricate figures and elements found in
the writing systems. Those were only two of the many art forms that were created
during the ethnic period, but they are the ones that left the greatest impression in my
heart.