The Igorot house and granary was displayed during the 1996 British Museum exhibition on rice culture in the Philippines. Photo courtesy of Averil Pooten Watan

27 June 2019 LONDON—After more than 20 years, the journey of Igorot house and granary from the Philippines to the United Kingdom and back to the Philippines has officially come full circle after its symbolic turnover from the Horniman Museum to the Philippines through the Philippine Embassy and the Pooten family.

“The Embassy has taken it as a serious duty to promote Philippine culture in this country not only for the benefit of the British and other nationalities living here, but for the benefit of second and third generation Filipinos born and raised in the UK who know very little about their rich cultural heritage,” said Consul General Senen T. Mangalile, who represented the Embassy during the ceremony.

Consul General Mangalile emphasized the Embassy’s efforts to collaborate with the Filipino community in promoting Philippine culture in the UK and in cultivating a deep understanding and appreciation of the tapestry of cultures that exist in the archipelago of more than 7,100 islands.

“When I was a little boy, growing up in the Philippines, I read storybooks in our school library. The Episcopalian missionaries, who were our teachers at the time, handed these books to the library. These books had images of faraway lands, the statue of Liberty in the United States of America, the pyramids of Egypt, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace in the U.K. One of these images that I will never forget – was the picture of the Rosetta Stone, which I read was held in the British Museum,” said Richard Pooten, former president of Igorot UK and current custodian of the house and granary. “So for me, a migrant from the Philippines, to have been a part of an exhibit that was showcased in the British Museum amongst the backdrop of humanity’s greatest finds was a huge honour and a great privilege. I am so proud to have been a part of that history and to be here thanking the museum, and the Philippine Embassy for their coordination and consideration selecting our Cordillera culture to be featured as an exhibit.”

Following his speech, Pooten delivered an oggayam—an Igorot prayer—as an expression of gratitude to all those who made the British Museum exhibition a reality and for the safe journey of the Igorot house and granary back to the Philippines.

Nick Merriman, the Executive Director of the Horniman Museum together with Sarah Miller, the museum’s Head of Archives, also turned over to the Pooten family photographs and a set of VHS tapes that were displayed during the exhibit.

A Brief History of the Igorot House and Granary

According to Pooten, the Igorot house and granary was originally built solely as a granary in the 1920s by a certain Timmikpaw Bantullay, who was known as an influential figure in the Cordilleras. Bantullay was a mumbaki or Ifugao spiritual leader. The house and granary was one of several built by Bantullay, which was handed down to succeeding generations in his family.

In World War II, the house and granary was used as a home for American soldier who had fled Japanese captivity in Bataan. After the war, it was converted into a house with a fireplace and a rear shelf.

“As you can see, the Igorot granary has both a colourful and rich history,” said Pooten, “It was of functional and practical use, but was also significant in that it served as a conduit shelter for soldiers during the Second World War”

The Journey of the Igorot House and Granary

The Igorot house and granary was the pièce de résistance of the 1996 Philippine Embassy and British Museum exhibition on Philippine rice culture called, ‘Stairways to the Sky: Rice and Life in the Philippines.’ It was considered a fine example of Philippine indigenous architecture and provided a valuable glimpse of an important part of daily life in the Philippines’ Cordillera region.

The exhibition was formally opened by the Duke of Gloucester on 25 April 1996 and its run was extended for one more year as it drew crowds of diplomats, Filipinos, scholars, and culture enthusiasts from all over the United Kingdom.

Following the conclusion of the exhibit, the Igorot house and granary was changed hands from the British Museum to the Horniman Museum because of the lack of archival space to properly store the piece. It was then kept in storage until 2003 when Ambassador Edgardo B. Espiritu thought of featuring the piece at the grounds of the Philippine Embassy in Kensington Gardens for people to view and appreciate. However, when the Philippine Embassy moved its chancery to Suffolk Street in 2007, the lack of an ample space to feature the granary led to the decision to turn it over to the family of Richard Pooten, who then served as the President of Igorot UK.

In order to protect the Igorot house and granary from the ravages of the fickle British weather, the Pooten family decided to finally bring the Igorot house and granary home where it currently stands as a key feature in the family’s resort in the Cordilleras. END

Consul General Senen T. Mangalile and former Igorot UK president Richard Pooten receive a box of photographs and VHS tapes from Horniman Museum’s Head of Archives, Sarah Miller. The photographs and VHS tapes are among the materials that were featured during the British Museum exhibition. Photo courtesy of Stacy Garcia

Richard Pooten and his children and grandchildren take pride in being the current custodians of the Igorot house and granary. Photo courtesy of Stacy Garcia