Psalm Twenry A.

Tremedal Contemporary Arts from the

Regions
STEM 12 – Faraday

Activity: Ato Ini!

1. Balanghai
- Balanghai was the first prize-
winning entry in the first
competition held in 1996.
Leonardo drew inspiration from
our pre-colonial history: the boat
known as balanghai used by the
Malays who were among the
early settlers in the Philippines
and barangay, the local name for
the communities formed by these
settlers. Similarly, the artist also
reflected then on the notion of the
birth of a new community, a
newly established baranggay that is now Bonifacio Global City. Balanghai is a
stylized vinta or Moro boat with colorful and curvilinear sails representing the
sarimanok and okir elements from Mindanao. Designed as a kinetic sculpture,
each sail responds individually to different wind shifts but reacts communally in
an animated fashion. With its translucent sails, Balanghai represents the “vitality
and dynamism of Filipinos, our animated and cheerful nature”. It was completed
in 2001 and was moved to its present site in 2002.

2. Torogan House
- A visit to the Islamic City of
Marawi will not be complete
without visiting a traditional
Maranao House called Torogan.
The Torogan is the ancestral house
and the royal residence of the
upper-class Maranao. It is
commonly found in Marawi City
and other areas in Lanao del Sur
province. Within the sultanate, no
one can have a house bigger than the Torogan, which is the dwelling place of the
datu and his wives and children. Living in a traditional Torogan house signifies
rank, prestige, and wealth.