BINALOT: Indigenous Informant in European Travel Accounts to Mindanao in the Late 17th to 18th CE
Channel: School of Archaeology UP Diliman
Date: 17/10/2020

The BINALOT TALKS (Online Edition) is derived from the Binalot Talks hosted by the Archaeological Studies Program, held every Wednesday at lunchtimes. These informal lectures have various topics ranging from math, to business, to culture. For more information, check out http://asp.upd.edu.ph/binalot.html

Archaeological Studies Program, UP Diliman || 7 October 2020

Dr Anna Melinda "Pooching" Testa-de Ocampo is an Asst. Prof. at the Department of English and Comparative Literatures, CAL, UP Diliman. Her extensive analysis of travelers' accounts gives us some insights on the role of the local people who helped these travelers in interpreting their surroundings.

**ABSTRACT FROM THE SPEAKER:** When we read the British travel accounts on Mindanao in the 17th and 18th centuries, a reader would be impressed with the amount of local information and navigation details,  and the maps included. Unfortunately, the indigenous informant is usually overlooked, without whose help, the traveler might not have been able to navigate the strange islands and seas. 

In this talk, I will discuss the participation of the Mindanao indigenous intermediary who helped the British traveler:
- Raja Laut and Prince Jeoly with William Dampier
- Bahatol and Alexander Dalrymple
- and Fakymolana with Thomas Forrest

00:00 - Lecture
40:23 - Question and Answer