The Heritage Bridges the Present to the Past of Dumaguete
It is an astounding pleasure for me, Neapolle Fleur, to talk about my hometown. First of all, where is my hometown?
My hometown is Dumaguete City and it has been dubbed as the City of Gentle People and she is the capital of Negros Oriental. The city is bounded by municipalities in the north, south and west while the sea marginalizes her in the east. The Tañon Strait, the body of water in the east, creates a natural boarder between the surrounding provinces.
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| Map of Negros Oriental with the surrounding provinces. |
How do tourists or travellers reach Dumaguete City?
One of the easiest ways to reach Dumaguete City from Cebu province is through the sea. Each day, there is a ship that is bounded for Dumaguete City. You either go through Cebu City’s Pier 1 or a wharf in Oslob, Cebu which docks you to the neighboring town in the north –Sibulan, and from there travel to Dumaguete City. Once you reach Dumaguete City through her port area, you can immediately see Silliman University.
So what is the fuss about Silliman University?
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| The part of Silliman University, the Silliman Hall overlooking the sea. |
Silliman University is the oldest school in Negros Oriental, much older than the city’s Charter Day. A charter day is when a place is given a title of a city through the power of the law. The university was established in the year 1901 with the aid Dr. Horace Silliman. Silliman. Dr. Silliman was the one who funded the school that is why Silliman University was named after him. Silliman University is the first Protestant university in the Philippines and it is the first American private university in Asia. Its antiquity has attracted all walks of life and endows them to see its marvel. According a website, Negros Hub, Silliman University is declared as a national landmark by the National Historical Institute because of the events inside the campus during the 2nd World War. During this time, the Japanese occupied the school and turned it into a garrison.
The part of Silliman University that is across the sea is where the oldest building in the campus is standing. This is the Silliman Hall which was completed in the year 1903. It is not only the oldest building in the campus but it is also the oldest American building in the Philippines. Silliman Hall has gone under renovations since it’s located near the sea and the materials easily deteriorate but throughout the renovations, it has maintained the Stick Style type of architecture.
The Stick Style was an architecture style in America during the late-19th century. The infrastructures of this architectural style focus more on its ability to portray its materials which, in the case of the Silliman Hall, is wood. Stick Style infrastructures have tall proportions with steep roofs, its structure is quite complex and irregular in massing and silhouette and the materials usually used are clapboards with wood overlays that are arranged either horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
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| The first floor of the Silliman Hall, the Anthropology Museum. |
The Silliman Hall’s first floor has been transformed to the Anthropology Museum which was established in the year 1973. The aim of the museum is to uphold to Philippine culture and heritage to the modern people. There are different artifacts in the museum that have been dug up from Negros Oriental and in the mountain parts of Cotabato.
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| The frontal view of Katipunan Hall. |
To the northwest of Silliman Hall is the location of the well-talked Katipunan Hall. Katipunan Hall was a hospital and was then known as Silliman University Missionary Hospital. Although the place was built in the year 1915, to this day, the Katipunan Hall still retains its original structure. For example, the floor plan as to where the emergency room was to the morgue can still be figured out. What makes this building well-known throughout, not only in the campus but also to the ordinary citizens, is the eerie tales that surround the building. The Katipunan Hall being a former hospital is bound to have some out of this world phenomena happening. For example there are rumors about sightings of the deceased and spine chilling sounds. There were also floating rumors that the underground of Katipunan Hall was used as a torture chamber during World War II. During Silliman University’s Founders Day, a portion of the Katipunan Hall is used as a part of the most sought-out attraction in the campus – the Horror Chamber.
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| Inside Luce Auditorium. |
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| Outer view of Luce Auditorium. |
Moving deeper, there is the renowned Luce Auditorium. The Auditorium is said to be the biggest theater outside of Metro Manila with a seating capacity of approximately 1000. Luce Auditorium or Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium was completed in the year 1975 and according to Silliman University’s website, the university works to maintain and preserve the Luce Auditorium as a center for Culture and Arts in the Central Visayas region, and to continuously cultivate and promote the passion of theatre, music, dance, and other forms of art expression among the students of the university as well as the larger community. According a to a forum known as skyscraper city, Luce Auditorium has been declared by Tony Mabesa, one of Philippines foremost stage play directors as having one of the best acoustics amongst all theaters in the Philippines. Noted artists local and international have performed here.
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| Outer view of the Main Library |
Just across the Luce Auditorium is the Main Library of Silliman University. The Main Library has three floors and a growing collection of books. According to Negros Hub, it is the first library outside of Luzon to be awarded the Outstanding Library by the Philippine Association of Academic Libraries because of the ongoing collection of over 250,000 volumes and its ongoing computerization program. The library has old newspapers in its periodical section to the latest journal publications on its third floor. There was a time when I read the newspaper The Negros Chronicle, a newspaper still in print until today, dated back in the year 1960! The second floor, which is air-conditioned, houses books of all types – from novels to encyclopedias. The library also has access to the Internet through the Online Library in the first floor and the Wi-Fi connection. The first floor is also one of the most diverse part of the library since it has a photocopying center, the Sillimaniana section where various memorabilia of Silliman University is kept from 1901 to the present, the Filipiniana section contains books of famous Filipino authors during the Spanish period and there is also the Reserved section.
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| The view of the Belfry when walking from Silliman to the site. |
Walking outside Silliman University and going south, past the downtown area, you get to see the distinguished Belfry Tower of Dumaguete City. The Belfry was built in the year 1760s and 1870s to warn the citizen of the arriving pirates.
Since Dumaguete is a city by the seaside, the place was constantly onslaught by marauding pirates. The Belfry would toll whenever pirates where near the seashore so that the denizens could hide from the pirates.
Thus the name Dumaguete was derived from two Visayan words – daggit meaning “to snatch” and dumageut meaning “to swoop.” Right now, the Belfry is under the care of Dumaguete Cathedral and is tolled during important times like by six in the evening for the Angelus or when a prominent Dumagueteño, a resident of Dumaguete City, or Negrense, a resident of Negros Oriental, has perished.
Decades and centuries have passed the city known as Dumaguete and as the years pass, another page of her colorful history is imprinted. Right now, the city uses these heritage sites to attract tourists, both local and foreign, and boost her economy. However, this is not that there is all to it. The said heritages are also a passage of the present to the past – the heritages help the younger generation to know about the city’s story and be able to spread its history.
REFERENCES:
Dumaguete. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/Dumaguete
College and University Campuses in the Philippines - Compiled Threads (post no. 701). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=460631&page=36
Katipunan Hall/Mission Hall. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.dumagueteinfo.com/katipunan-hall.php
Luce Auditorium. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://beta.su.edu.ph/cac/luce.php
Silliman University. Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.negroshub.com/silliman-university/
Stick Style (architecture). Retrieved October 16, 2011, from http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=9250&term_type_id=3&term_type_text=things&letter=S
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