Firefly360's Blog
A Collection of Published 360VR Articles and Personal JournalsArchive for Masawa hong Butuan
Return of Balangays to Butuan
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 2Mb each.
Battered by huge waves caused by the northeast monsoon, the 11-day journey of balangays Masawa hong Butuan and Sama Tawi-Tawi from Manila finally came to a close on January 31st as the boats docked at a swollen Agusan River in Brgy. Bading, Butuan City.
Under a state of calamity due to massive flooding from continuous rains, Butuanons nevertheless came out in full force to welcome the return of Butuan’s pride – balangay Masawa hong Butuan.
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Balangay Masawa hong Butuan Homebound
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 1.7Mb each.
Text By: Jorge B. Navarra – Butuan Global Forum
In the morning of January 21, 2011, “Balangay MASAWA HONG BUTUAN” arrived in Sangley Point after more than an hour of sailing in Manila Bay from CCP Harbour Square. The crew was privileged to have on board the following guest passengers: Laurice Guillen-Feleo, her daughter Ina Feleo, Bibsy Carballo, Behn Cervantes, Nestor Torre, his mother Isabel Urbina-Torre, Nestor’s niece Angeli and nephew John, Djanin Cruz and brother Bodie Cruz (children of Tirso Cruz III), and TV reporters from Manila and Hongkong.
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Balangays in Singapore
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 1.9Mb each.
After over a month since the balangays exited Philippine waters for the start of their Southeast Asia journey, I joined the crew in Batam Island, Indonesia once again and sailed to the tiny city state of Singapore.
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Balangays: Raiders of the Sulu Sea
Author’s Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 1.7Mb each.
Hundreds of years ago, the Filipino ancestors, part seafarers, traders and warriors, command much of the Sulu archipelago; from coastal areas of Zamboanga in the north, to Palawan in the west and North Borneo in the south. Control by the Sultan of Sulu, these warriors would often raid settlements and ships for slaves (hence the term “slave raiders”) on-board wooden crafts like the balangays. These majestic boats, described by Antonio Pigafetta, Ferdinand Magellan’s chronicler during the 16th century as sometimes having over 100 rowers, strike awe and fear into the hearts of their enemies.
Today, replicas of the balangay boats set sail again, not to raid and plunder, but to promote unity and understanding thru historically shared maritime bonds in Southeast Asia. The three wooden crafts: Diwata ng Lahi, Masawa hong Butuan, and the recently constructed Sama Tawi-Tawi undertake an adventure to retrace the migration paths of the ancient Filipino ancestors.
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Butuan’s Balangay
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It’s a little past 11AM as I waited impatiently in the cargo office of Cebu Pacific Air for my bag of photo equipment to be handed over while the new balangay is about to be launched any moment into the waters of Agusan River, a good 15 minutes away from the Bancaxi Airport. The anxiousness was building up within as the thought of traveling hundreds of kilometers for this one event and to miss it by a hairline will indeed be appalling!
The predicament begun as I set foot again in Butuan the day earlier; having arrived, minus my check-in baggage which they were only able to trace that afternoon, was sent to Tuguegarao instead! What’s more, it can only be shipped by the first flight the next day, ETA 1145.
So there I was, halfway through the launch program, ran to the airport and finally got my equipment at 1130; from thereon, we practically drove like crazy back to the launch site with barely 30 minutes to spare as the newly built 2nd balangay hit water at around 12 noon.
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