The Philippine Historical Association
Historical Bulletin Volume LVII 2023 (ISSN: 0116-3655)
Si Dante L. Ambrosio at ang Kasaysayan ng Etnoastronomiyang Pilipino, 1992-2010 (Dante L. Ambrosio and the History of Philippine Ethnoastronomy, 1992-2010)
By Emmanuel Jayson V. Bolata (Original text in Tagalog can be read here. Other bulletins are available on Philippine Social Science Council, though vol 57 is not listed.)
(Translated by K.S. Villoso, read more about her)
Abstract
(Original text in English)
This paper traces the development of research interests and contributions of the historian Dante L. Ambrosio (1951-2011) in historicizing Philippine ethnoastronomy. Called the "father of Philippine ethnoastronomy," Ambrosio became popular because of his historical research on ethnoastronomy, best represented by the book Balatik: Etnoastronomiya: Kalangitan sa Kabihasnang Pilipino (Balatik: Ethnoastronomy: Sky in Philippine Civilization, 2010). Here he showed the trove of perceptions, beliefs, knowledge, and customs of the indigenous Filipinos regarding the skies, which they also used for their economic and cultural activities. This paper narrates the genesis of his interest in astronomy, from 1965 when he witnessed the passing of Comet Ikeya-Seki, to his efforts to know the indigenous stars in 1982 as a student of history at the University of the Philippines Diliman, to his preliminary research on ethnoastronomy in 1992 as part of the doctorate program, his fieldwork in Tawi-Tawi from 1995 to 2000, and the writing of his dissertation titled "Balatik: Kalangitan bilang isang Saligan ng Kabihasnang Pilipino, 1582-Kasalukuyan" (Balatik: Sky as a Foundation of Philippine Civilization, 1582-Present, 2003). This paper also asserts that although there is a large difference between the subject of his master's thesis, which is about the militant workers' movement, and the subject of his dissertation, we can still observe continuities and a fusion of approaches and ideas in his two major works-especially with what he was forwarding as a historiographical concept, "kapaligiran" (environment).
(The following is translated from Tagalog, read the translation below)
