Photo Credit – pinoy-culture.com

Continuing on the blog from last week, I hope you are not getting a nightmare looking at these photos. If you do, I apologize.

Who is Apo Anno?

Apo Anno, a tribal leader in the Benguet province, was a descendant of a 12^th century Kankanaey hunter who lived to a ripe old age of 250 years old. Kankanaey is another tribe of Benguet and according to legends, Apo Anno was the half mortal son of a goddess. Apo Anno’s mummified body is now a declared national treasure of the Philippines and part of the Filipino history and culture.

Upon his death, his body was mummified by the Kankanaeys and his mummified body was dressed in his tribal chief attire before he was placed in a wooden coffin. He was heavily tattooed, the mark of a hunter and warrior. He was covered with dried flesh, brownish…

Acme 470 clicker used during 1944 D-Day landings as a means of communicating with allied troops
Photo – Evening Standard

In approaching the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, perhaps there is history, unbeknownst to many, on safeguards instilled for British and American paratroopers prior to 165,000 American, British and Canadian forces landing at Normandy, June 6, 1944 – along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coast.

This particular defense was secretly crafted and classified by the British and also used by American forces.  “I had my pistol in one hand, my ‘cricket’ in the other… I crept along the hedgerow looking for a gate. Just as I found it, I heard a stir on the other side. I drew my pistol and got all set. Then I heard the click. That was the most pleasant sound I ever heard in the entire war.” ~ General Maxwell D. Taylor, Commander of…

Kabayan Mummies – Photo Credit – en.wikipedia.org

Kabayan is one of the oldest towns in Benguet, situated in a wide valley surrounded by mountains in Northern Luzon. It was recognized as the center of Ibaloi culture.

Out of several tribes in this area, the Ibaloi tribe was the only people to practice mummification as a way of preserving their dead hence the mummies were called Ibaloi mummies or Kabayan mummies. They can be found in a network of mostly protected caves that are  part of the Cordillera mountain range. They are either on the cliffside near the entrance to man-made caves or inside caves scattered around the villages.

Well-preserved human mummies were initially found in Timbak Cave, Bangao Cave, Tenongchol cave, Naapay and Opdas. However, when the mummies were rediscovered in the early 1900s, many were stolen and later on even the ‘smiling mummy’ disappeared. It was known to have…

In the Philippines, there is an abundance of flowers during the month of May. The first of May is an important day throughout the Philippines as it heralds a merry month of fiestas, flowers, dainty maidens in pretty gown, and the twin processions of the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan.

Filipinos celebrate a tradition known as Flores de Mayo by a daily offering of flowers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, throughout the month of May which climaxes on May 31 with a glittering procession of sagalas at a Santacruzan procession.

The Santacruzan is a Spanish legacy that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by Reyna Elena or Queen Helena of Constantinople, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. According to legend, Constantine the Great was converted to the Christian faith through the vision of a flaming cross in heaven, which is said to have led him…

Vigan Historic District – Photo Credit: aroundguides.com

Vigan, the provincial capital of Ilocos Sur in Luzon northwest region on the Mestizo River, was built by the Spaniards in 1572, their third oldest settlement on the islands after Cebu and Intramuros. Unlike Intramuros, it was never fortified. It has some of the Philippine’s best remaining Spanish colonial architecture.

Before the Spanish arrived, trade with Chinese merchants was well established and over the centuries numerous Chinese settled in Vigan, intermarried, and became wealthy. Many of the big Spanish colonial houses in Vigan were built by Chinese mestizos. The conquistador Don Juan de Salcedo, the 22-year-old grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, (the former governor-general and founder of Manila) explored the area in 1572 convincing the Ilocanos that a Spanish garrison might be useful against the headhunting neighbors they had earlier displaced. He was made lieutenant governor of the entire Ilocos region and…

Shelter Island is a town and an island in Suffolk County at the eastern end of Long Island, NY between the North Fork and the South Fork. Shelter Island is around 8,000 acres. Vast tracts , nearly one-third of the island, are protected wetlands, a nature preserve marshland. In 1980, The Nature Conservancy purchased the Mashomack Peninsula’s 2039 acres as open space to be preserved in a wild state. The Mashomack Preserve, as it is called now, has four nature and bird-watching trails. Shelter Island has great beaches, golf courses, marinas and homes ranging from modest cottages to the grandest of mansions. There is a renovated manor house, scene of social events in the summer, and a variety of environmental programs for adults and children.

At the time of European encounter, it was occupied by the Manhanset tribe, an Algonquian-speaking people related to the Pequot and other Algonquians of New…