they were very thorough in their pillaging, the British
Thursday 20 Mar 2003
Father Gallende was a kindly, old Italian priest who could speak fluent Tagalog and thickly accented English. He was the pastor of San Agustin Church, the oldest church in Manila, and one of the few buildings that survived the Japanese occupation in WWII. He's also in my aunt's book club, so when I decided that I wanted to visit San Agustin, it was a sort of foregone conclusion that he'd be my tour guide. Not that I asked, mind you, not that I was totally ok with seeing everything on my own without bothering anyone and it was fine really, but, well, it wasn't a choice that I could make. All I said was that I was planning on checking out the church, and my aunt was already on the phone, calling Father Gallende and saying that he was going to meet up with us in front, just call this number when we got near the church.
He met us in the front courtyard, while I was distracted, looking at a set of Chinese lions that graced the front entrance.
"You don't see too many of those in front of a Christian church, do you, young man?"
"No, I was just wondering ..."
"The Spanish came up with the idea of building this church four hundred years ago, but the people who actually built it were Chinese. So, you'll see little things here and there, like lions in the front courtyard, statues of European saints with oriental cheekbones, and the little raised step in front of a door, meant to keep Chinese spirits from entering a building. Come, I'll show you."
And he led me through this ancient church, sharing knowledge with an intimacy that couldn't be matched by any tour guide. We looked up at an old altar, decorated with wooden statues of saints and he said, "All of the statues are supposed to be ivory, but when the British sacked Manila in the 17th century, all of the ivory statues were taken. They were very thorough in their pillaging, the British. It was said that they didn't even leave a nail for the monks to hang their caps."
"Perhaps some of it might be in the British Museum."
"Oh, the British Museum, the great collection of empire. I went to visit their archives about ten years ago, and I found a songbook bearing the stamp of this church -- dating back to the 17th century. I showed them my credentials and you know what they said? They offered to give me a copy on microfilm. Great thieves, the British. Come, let me show you other things."
Father Gallende was a kindly, old Italian priest who could speak fluent Tagalog and thickly accented English. He was the pastor of San Agustin Church, the oldest church in Manila, and one of the few buildings that survived the Japanese occupation in WWII. He's also in my aunt's book club, so when I decided that I wanted to visit San Agustin, it was a sort of foregone conclusion that he'd be my tour guide. Not that I asked, mind you, not that I was totally ok with seeing everything on my own without bothering anyone and it was fine really, but, well, it wasn't a choice that I could make. All I said was that I was planning on checking out the church, and my aunt was already on the phone, calling Father Gallende and saying that he was going to meet up with us in front, just call this number when we got near the church.
He met us in the front courtyard, while I was distracted, looking at a set of Chinese lions that graced the front entrance.
"You don't see too many of those in front of a Christian church, do you, young man?"
"No, I was just wondering ..."
"The Spanish came up with the idea of building this church four hundred years ago, but the people who actually built it were Chinese. So, you'll see little things here and there, like lions in the front courtyard, statues of European saints with oriental cheekbones, and the little raised step in front of a door, meant to keep Chinese spirits from entering a building. Come, I'll show you."
And he led me through this ancient church, sharing knowledge with an intimacy that couldn't be matched by any tour guide. We looked up at an old altar, decorated with wooden statues of saints and he said, "All of the statues are supposed to be ivory, but when the British sacked Manila in the 17th century, all of the ivory statues were taken. They were very thorough in their pillaging, the British. It was said that they didn't even leave a nail for the monks to hang their caps."
"Perhaps some of it might be in the British Museum."
"Oh, the British Museum, the great collection of empire. I went to visit their archives about ten years ago, and I found a songbook bearing the stamp of this church -- dating back to the 17th century. I showed them my credentials and you know what they said? They offered to give me a copy on microfilm. Great thieves, the British. Come, let me show you other things."