At first, I thought it was a statue of a saint because I have never seen any photos of a statue of some dead Filipino standing on top of a city hall in the Philippines.
That honor is usually reserved for a saint, though I'd always see Jose Rizal, the country's premiere national hero, standing in the middle of a town plaza on a pedestal. But his pedestal is usually the only elevated structure you'd see him on.
You'd never see him on top of a building where he probably would prefer as his view would cover most of a town's geography and that no politicians or city official would be able to climb that high to bother him with overpriced dead flowers every December 30th.
(Whose statue is that standing
on top of the city hall?)
But there was a more reliable way to find out because as they say when you want your question answered, 'seek and ye shall find'. And seek I did. 😀
During our walk from the riverside to our hotel, we decided to drop by the Iloilo City Hall. Although it was past 5PM when offices were closing, I walked up to the guards of the building to ask. And one accommodated my snooping! He brought us to a room in the building which held the answer!
Although it was already closed for the day, he opened the museum on the ground floor of the city hall that showcases the city's heritage, culture, and...the statue!
(Plaza Libertad with the San Jose
de Placer church on top)
(Her statue stands inside the museum
inside the Iloilo City Hall)
'Lin-ay' is a Hiligaynon word that refers to a young, unmarried lady that embodies the admirable virtues of a Filipina.
Hiligaynon is the language spoken in Iloilo Province and the neighboring Guimaras and Negros Island, while Ilonggo refers to the people, language, and culture of the Iloilo Province. So, Hiligaynon can be referred to as Ilonggo if you're referring to Hiligaynon spoken in the Iloilo Province.
Therefore, 'lin-ay' is an Ilonggo lass. An Ilongga lady.
And I finally knew that that statue is 'Lin-ay sang Iloilo', the Lass of Iloilo, made of bronze. She is seen wearing a 'patadyong' and carrying plants on her right arm and a gardening tool on the right, which made me think she's left-handed. While working, you'd always use your dominant hand to hold your implements, right?
The last time I saw exquisite samples of 'patadyong' was when I visited the beautiful Camiña Balay nga Bato in the Arevalo District of Iloilo City (read blog here).
Lin-ay's head is covered by piece of cloth to shield her from the sun, probably because she wasn't carrying any sunblock, and her wrap-around patadyong-slash-long skirt seemed too thick for the Iloilo weather, which made me think she might be hiding something (or someone) down there. Her boyfriend, perhaps?😝
Her neck is unusually long for a native Filipina, which emphasizes the big necklace hanging around it.
Although I would infer that the presence of the big necklace hints of the 'manangyad', the long gold necklace that, along with the golden salakot, was presented by the ten migrant datu of Borneo in 1200's led by Datu Puti to the local aetas of Panay so that they could live on the lowlands of Panay Island.
And I'm thinking she is wearing a huge necklace as she went farming to show off to other Ilongga friends her latest acquisition. Or maybe, she just wanted to remain glamorous as she dirtied her manicure and pedicure while tilling the rice fields.
A creation of an Ilonggo sculpture named Edward Defensor, the statue weighs 1.7 tons and stands at 18 feet. According to the description about Lin-ay Sang Iloilo written next to the replica at the museum, the four sides of the pedestal represented the four major assets of Iloilo, namely, "rice farming, sugarcane farming, fishing, and education".
Hmm.😕
With all due respect to the sculptor, I disagree with
the 'major assets' he wrote down. In my opinion, Iloilo's major assets are really the following:
Yes, it's always the people!👪
Major assets are not the plants nor the fresh fish that end up at the Iloilo Central Market, where I bought my local snacks when I was there, by the way.
Since I trace my ancestry to this province, I proudly count myself in. Ha-ha-ha! If not, at least my distant great-great grandfather General Martin Teofilo Delgado definitely could (read blog here). He was, after all, Iloilo's revolutionary leader during the Spanish period and the provincial governor during the American years.
Since the pre-hispanic period, it has been the Ilonggos that toiled, cultivated, developed, and enriched the land!
Iloilo's main treasures are all its citizens and inhabitants. From teachers and students to merchants, professionals, religious organizations, transport workers, artists and historians, agricultural workers and fishermen, senior citizens, moms and pops, and not to forget, those who bake my favorite Balasan bingka by the Jaro Cathedral (read blog here), those who prepare batchoy at La Paz public market, and those who create the yummy barquillos and biscochos!
Again, it's the people who make up Iloilo!😊
2. Iloilo's rich heritage and culture!
Even before the Barter of Panay in 1200s, Marikudo and Maniwangtiwang lorded over Panay Island and the lands that are now part of Iloilo Province. And from Datu Paiburong, who governed Irong-irong, to the time of Spanish governors and American colonizers, and through the Japanese occcupation and up to the present-day Iloilo, we all should celebrate the very rich history, heritage, culture.
Thankfully, Iloilo holds the very popular and fun Dinagyang Festival every January (read blog here) to celebrate and remind us of this rich history.
We shouldn't forget that part of it all is Iloilo's culinary heritage that includes batchoy, biscocho, and pancit molo! I don't think 'butterscotch' counts. 😛
(Lin-ay sang Iloilo standing next to the lyrics of Iloilo City Hymn. I wonder how it goes?)
Now, this is where you throw the plants and fish in.
It might have been politically nice to hear that there's an economic symbolism added to the sculpture because, well, this was commissioned by the sitting mayor then. But the agriculture and marine aspects of the province take a backseat to its people and their history. I also wondered whether, regardless of its height, its base should have four sides and that the sculptor just squeezed in four things he could think of as 'major assets'.
4. Geographical location
Ever since I was a kid, I have admired Iloilo City's seaside port. It was so convenient! When your ferry boat docks, you're actually already in the city center!
Iloilo has mountains, plains, beaches, and seas, and is situated right in the middle of the Philippines. This might have been the main reason why Spanish and American colonizers were keen on developing it ahead of the other settlements in the Visayan area. It was just accessible and rich in natural resources!
(Looking at the statue's photo presumably
taken when it was atop the building,
I thought the garden tool on Lin-ay's
left hand was missing)
So, there. Thanks to the security guard who opened the museum for us even though it was past 5PM, I now know who she is.
But even more important, 'Lin-ay' and her fellow Ilonggos should know that they, and not plants and fish, are the most important treasures of Iloilo. 😀
(I can't see Lin-ay's farm implement, or
was it just the lighting and angle?)
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