via Business Mirror, 31 August 2023: Exploring the Manunggul Jar and Balangay boat, the article unravels how Filipino maritime culture interlinks with ancestral beliefs and modern challenges.
Early Filipinos believed that a man is composed of a body, a life force called ginhawa, and a kaluluwa (soul), which explains why the design of the cover of the Manunggul Jar featured three faces—the soul, the boatman, and the boat itself.
The kaluluwa, after death, can return to earth to exist in nature and guide their descendants. Filipino ancestors respected nature, as they believe that even things from nature have souls and lives of their own.
Source: Manunggul Jar as the ‘ship-of-the-dead’ | Atty. Dennis Gorecho
