18/09/2026
Noong 1917, pagkatapos ng malaking baha sa Wawa River, may Manobo woman na nakahukay ng kumikinang na estatwa sa putikan ng Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.
Ito ang Golden Tara — 5.5 inches tall, 2 kilos, 21-karat solid gold, mula 9th-13th century. Hindu-Buddhist goddess na sinasamba bago pa dumating ang Kastila. Isa sa pinakamahalagang archaeological discovery sa Pinas.
BAKIT NASA CHICAGO?
Pagkahukay, Eventually, a local collector named Baklagon acquired the statue from the elders, but financial disputes led the Agusan Coconut Company to seize it.
Dahil purong ginto, muntik na itong tunawin para ibenta lang!
Fearing that the image might be melted down for its value in gold, Mrs. Wood enlisted the help of Cole and Shaler Matthews.
She enlisted the help of Fay-Cooper Cole, the curator of Chicago Field Museum's Southeast Asian department... Their efforts paid off when the image was finally acquired for the museum in 1922 for ₱4,000.00.
On 1920, The Golden tara has been a big item in the manila exposition and it was sold to the americans for only 4 000 pesos and was legally acquired at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago in 1922.
Pero hanggang ngayon, ang tanong ng mga taga-Agusan: Dapat na ba ibalik sa Pilipinas ang diyosa natin?
Sa tingin mo — ibalik sa Pinas o mas safe sa Chicago? 👇 Comment mo!