Mystical Lamanok – Part V

We are on our Mystical Lamanok Tour and so far, we have seen amazing things from historic wall paintings till spiritual altars.

Another highlight of the island tour is this massive giant clam that is just above sea level. It proves that the island has been lifted by natural forces and lays higher than it did before. This would also explain why the coastline of the island has all these overhangs above the water line.

But the island had multiple purposes. One part of the island was used as a cemetery and in the burial cave archeologists found wooden dug-out coffins. Our guide told us that in the Philippine prehistory, jar burial was practiced. A jar, made from clay, was used for primary and secondary burial and here, in Bohol, is where archeologists found burial jars inside wooden dug-out coffins.

Some of the wooden coffins are still there, but most of the findings, such are intact clay jars, are now presented in the Philippines National Museum where they belong. The contents of the jars were nothing more than bone fragments, but many jars were destroyed by several treasure hunters in the hope to find something more valuable. Straight away I start to feel that knot in my stomach again. It is so sad to think about how much has been destroyed for the reason of greedy hands.
All that is visible now are small pieces of jars and the bone fragments that are now put together in a decorated box for display.

We walked back to the beginning where our tour has started and found the small peddle boats waiting for us. We came to an end of our tour over this mystical island and were ready to go back to the ‘normal’ world. We left a little disappointed because we didn’t experience any ‘above natural’ activities but we were happy to discover a new place in Anda.  Lamanok island is something you must experience when you pay a visit to Anda. Whether you go for the old history the island has, or the old folklore stories with their spiritual rituals or just for the beautiful nature that is all around the island, Lamanok Island has something to offer for every kind of traveler!