Plaited rattan belt for "Mutya" rocks
Text
Plaited rattan belt with opening for holding two mutya ("belly rocks") and worn around the waist. A carved wooden peg operates as a fastener when secured to the length of twisted cord attached to the other end of the belt.
Share this
Media
Images
Map Pitt Rivers Museum
Metadata
Date
Before 1945
(Date collected 1939-1945)
(Date collected 1939-1945)
Identifier
2023.28.1
Origin
Mangyan
Materials
Material Rattan Fibre Plant, Process Plaited, Material Wood Plant, Process Carved, Material String Plant, Process Twisted
Physical Dimensions
Length: max 390 mm of string, Length: max 160 mm, Width: max 150 mm, Height: max 90 mm
Provenance
Maker Unknown Maker
Field collector Edward Shearman Ross
PRM source Sandra Miller Ross
PRM source Edward Shearman Ross
Field collector Edward Shearman Ross
PRM source Sandra Miller Ross
PRM source Edward Shearman Ross
Acquisition Date
Donated: 12/09/2021
Short description
Edward Shearman Ross PhD was a Commanding Officer and entomologist of an Army Malaria Survey Unit on Mindoro during World War II. He made frequent trips into the mountains and jungle to collect mosquitos, Embioptera and other insects, and make tropical disease surveys. He befriended indigenous Mangyan hunter-gatherer families of Indonesian descent, trading rice, salt, and red cloth, and receiving bows and arrows, baskets, pink bananas, small ornaments, and these Belly Rocks. Belly Rocks are heavy, shiny, round, black stones called mutya. Found swirling in rock holes at the base of waterfalls and in rapids, they must be "caught alive". It takes great skill to catch these stones while they are whirling. The successful person may practice the art of healing, blowing over them through a clenched fist. It is believed a spirit lives in the stones and the person that possesses a stone has the power of that spirit literally in their hands. They are referred to as Belly Rocks because of the protrusion which looks like a belly button. Lucky owners wear their Belly Rocks in a rattan belt around their waist. These particular rocks were likely collected about 100 years ago. Information provided by the donors, Drs Edward and Sandra Ross.
Related Object
https://philippinestudies.uk/mapping/admin/items/show/30529
Display status
Not on display
References
"Mangyan Memories" in Pacific Discovery: California Academy of Sciences, Volume 21, Number 5.. Edward Shearman Ross, Main author
1968. Page: 181. Page illustrated:. Catalogue number: Notes:
1968. Page: 181. Page illustrated:. Catalogue number: Notes:
Official Website
Collection
Cite this Page
“Plaited rattan belt for "Mutya" rocks,” Mapping Philippine Material Culture, accessed April 29, 2024, https://philippinestudies.uk/mapping/items/show/30528.
Related Exhibits
Geolocation
Sensitive Content
Mapping Philippine Material Culture collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards Filipino and Filipino diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Mapping Philippine Material Culture’s views. Mapping Philippine Material Culture maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.
Facebook Twitter