Skip to main content

The Charmed Circle: Mobility, Identity and Memory around Mount Mayon (Philippines) and Gunung Awu (Indonesia) Volcanoes

Human Ecology volume 49, pages 147–158 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Volcanoes are surrounded by villages, towns, and polities that are constantly shifting location to benefit from the rich soils generated in the aftermath of eruptions, while, at the same time, avoiding the worst of their destructive potential. We explore the attraction of volcanoes in a Southeast Asian context through a comparative examination of the communities surrounding Mount Mayon in the Bicol peninsula of the Philippines and Gunung Awu on the island of Sangihe Besar in Indonesia. These volcanoes influence the location of settlements, forms of community identity, and the expression of cultural memories. We argue that risk awareness programmes that disregard the extent to which a volcano is embedded within the physical and mental fabric of a society and fail to connect to local historical cultural memory are likely to have little lasting effect on reducing people’s vulnerability.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. Since 1900, nearly 5 million people have been affected by volcanic events and over 91,000 people have died (Doocy et al. 2013). At a minimum, more than 500 million people currently live within the potential exposure range of the 550+ active volcanoes that have erupted within the last 10,000 years (Small and Naumann 2001).

  2. The island of Sangihe Besar is shaped in a figure-eight with Gunung Awu at the centre of the northern ‘circle’. The island is approximately 45 km in length and has a diameter of 15 km at its widest. Recent publications suggest a higher overall casualty figure for Awu of 11,048 persons on the assumption there was an eruption in 1822 causing around 3000 fatalities (Christian et al. 2020: 19). The Dutch official A.J. van Delden who visited the island in 1825, however, makes no mention of an eruption in 1822 (Delden 1825).

  3. The sense of identity represented by Mayon has even taken on national form in that the volcano is depicted on the reverse side of the current ₱100 note.

  4. This number may have been inflated by Fr. Aragoneses as it suggests 20% of the local population died in the eruption (Aragoneses 1815).

  5. Fieldwork for the research on Awu was carried out with the aid of Dr. Ariel Lopez from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Nono Stevano Agustinus Sumampouw from Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Manado, and Hendra Birahm from Naha.

  6. Baru and lama are Indonesian words and are now used on official maps but the Sangirese words for old and new, tebe and buhu, are also used locally.

  7. Information provided by the inhabitants and village chief of Kendahe, January 2018.

  8. Two versions of the story of the giant Bankeng (Bio pa ansuang, areng-e I Bake) are reproduced and translated. For the most recent recorded version see Mangamba et al. (1995: 217–219).

  9. Francois Valentijn also records a copy (1726).

  10. Although Lopez does not attribute conversion to these disasters, the missionaries themselves did make the link (Valeton 1897: 1–55).

  11. This detailed file includes letters from Kendahe written by one of his ancestors during the period of disaster relief in 1856.

  12. Private communication, resident of Santo Domingo, Albay, 13 January 2021.

References

  • Aebersold W.E. (1957). “Bekem Makaampo / Het verhaal van Makaampo.” BKI, 113, 2: 122-167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adriani, Nicolaus. 1894. Sangireesche Teksten. Met Vertaling En Aantekeningen. Den Haag: Nijhoff.

  • Agrawal, Arun. 1995. “Dismantling the Divide between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge.” Development and Change 26: 413-39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ANRI. (1892). Reports and Correspondence on the Eruption of Gunung Awu 1892. Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia Algemene Secretarie, Grote Bundel Besluit 1891-1942. Inv nr. 107.

  • ANRI. (1856). Stukken Omtrent de Uitbarsting van de Vuurberg op de Sangie Eilanden, 1856. Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia Manado, 126/2.

  • AOM. (1814). La Erupción del Mayón en 1814 y el Traslado de Algunos Pueblos de la Iraya. Archives of the Manila Observatory Box 13, file 2/4.

  • Aragoneses, Francisco. 1815. Suceso Espantoso Acaecido en la Erupcion del Volcan de Albay en la Isla de Luzon, una de las Llamadas Filipinas. Madrid: Imprenta de Nuñez.

  • Bankoff, Greg. 2020. “Under the Volcano: Mount Mayon and Co-Volcanic Societies in the Philippines.” Environment and History 26 (1): 7-29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, Fikret, Johan Colding, and Carl Folke. 2000. “Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge As Adaptive Management.” Traditional Ecological Knowledge 10: 1251-62

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouvet de la Maisonneuve, Caroline, Lauriane Chardot, Fidel Costa, Susanna Jenkins, and Benoit Taisne. (2018). Eruption at Mayon Volcano, Luzon Island, Philippines. Earth Observatory of Singapore News website, 19 January. Accessed January 27, 2021. https://earthobservatory.sg/news/eruption-mayon-volcano-luzon-island-philippines.

  • Christian, Yoppie, Desmiwati, and Ario Damar. 2020. “The Blessed Land: Internalisation of past Disaster into Culture by Sangihe’s Coastal Community.” International Journal Disaster Management 3 (1): 12-28.

  • Coronas, José. (1898). The Eruption of Mayon Volcano June 25, 26, Year 1897. Manila. Manuscript held by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology Library, MO90.

  • Cronin, Shane J., David R. Gaylord, Douglas Charley, Brent V. Alloway, Sandrine Wallez, and Job W. Esau. 2004. “Participatory Methods of Incorporating Scientific with Traditional Knowledge for Volcanic Hazard Management on Ambae Island, Vanuatu.” Bulletin of Volcanology 66: 652-68.:

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darenoh, Naroh. (2012). Tariang lombotari buhu/Sejarah Kamung Tariangbaru. Typescript, kept at Government Office Tariang Baru

  • van Delden, Arnoldus Johannes. (1844). De Sangir-eilanden in 1825. Indisch Magazijn 1 (4-6) 356-83 and 1 (7-9): 1-32

    Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, Katherine. 2010. “Doing Social Volcanology: Exploring Volcanic Culture in Indonesia.” Area 42 (1): 117-26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doocy, Shannon, Amy Daniels, Shayna Dooling, and Yuri Gorokhovich. 2013. The Human Impact of Volcanoes: A Historical Review of Events 1900-2009 and Systematic Literature Review. PLoS Currents 5 (16 April). https://doi.org/10.1371/currents.dis.841859091a706efebf8a30f4ed7a1901:

  • Douglas, Mary and Aaron Wildavsky. 1982. Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technological and Environmental Dangers. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espinas, Merito B. c1996. Ibalong: The Bikol Folk Epic-Fragment: English and Bikol Translation, Views and Comments. Naga: University of Sto. Tomas Publishing House.

  • Gaerlan, Kristina. 2008. Building Resilient Communities: Good Practices in Disaster Risk Management in the Philippines. Quezon City: Oxfam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaillard, Jean-Christophe and Jessica Mercer. 2012. “From Knowledge to Action: Bridging Gaps in Disaster Risk Reduction.” Progress in Human Geography 37: 93-114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henley, David. 2005. Fertility, Food and Fever: Population, Economy and Environment in North and Central Sulawesi, 1600-1930. Leiden: KITLV press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilhorst, Dorothea. 2004. “Complexity and Diversity: Unlocking Social Domains of Disaster Response”. In Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters, Development and People, edited by Greg Bankoff, Georg Frerks and Dorothea Hilhorst, 52-66. London and Sterling: Earthscan.

  • Hoffman, Susanna M. and Antony Oliver-Smith. 1999. Anthropology and the Angry Earth: An Overview. In The Angry Earth: Disaster in Anthropological Perspectives, edited by Anthony Oliver-Smith and Susanna Hoffman, 1-16. New York and London: Routledge.

  • Jagor, Feodor. 1875. Travels in the Philippines. London: Chapman and Hall,

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemmerling, Georg. L. 1923. De Vulkanen van de Sangi Archipel en van de Minahassa – Vulkan. Weltevreden: Landsdrukkerij.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutoyo, Sutrisno and Sigarlaki, A. 1982. Sejarah daerah Sulawesi Utara, Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanzano, Cristiano. 2013. “What Kind of Knowledge Is ‘Indigenous Knowledge’? Critical Insights from a Case Study in Burkina Faso.” Transcience 4 (2): 3-18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leupe, Pieter Arend. 1867. “Het journaal van Padtbrugge’s reis naar Noord Celebes en de Noordereilanden (16 aug-23 dec 1677).” BKI, 14: 105-340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez, Ariel. 2018. Conversion and colonialism. Islam and Christianity in North Sulawesi, c 1700 -1900. Unpublished Phd thesis, Leiden University.

  • Local Historian. 2018. January 17. Interview, Camalig, Albay province, Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Local Resident. 2018. January 20. Interview, Santo Domingo Albay province, Philippines.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mabbett, Ian W. 1983. “The Symbolism of Mount Meru.” History of Religions 23 (1): 64-83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallari, Francisco. 1986. “The Tragic Town in the Bicol Peninsula and the Failed Attempt to Transfer the Townsite before the Catastrophe of 1814.” Kinaadman 8: 19-34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mangamba, Nelman, Pasaribu Christina and Maryott, Kenneth R. (1995). The origins of Awu volcano. Manga wĕkeng asaḷʼu tau Sangihẹ̆: Cerita-cerita asal orang Sangir (Stories of the origins of the Sangir people).” Davao (Philippines): The Committee for the Promotion of the Sangir Language.

  • Mercer, Jessica, Ilan Kelman, Sandie Suchet-Pearson, and Kate Lloyd. 2009. “Integrating Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge Bases for Disaster Risk Reduction in Papua New Guinea.” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 91: 245-56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, Jessica, Ilan Kelman, Lorin Taranis, and Sandie Suchet-Pearson. 2010. “Framework for Integrating Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction.” Disasters 34: 214-239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NA. 1711. Extract Van HET Dagregister Gehouden Door den Resident AAN de Negorij Taboucan Sedert 10 tot 17 December 1711 en daar uijt Veroorsaakte Rampen. National Archives (The Hague) 1.04.02 (VOC), 8081.

  • Neall, Vince E. 2009. Volcanic Soils. In Land Use, Land Cover and Soil Sciences: Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, edited by Willy H. Verheye, 23-45. Oxford: EOLSS Publishers Co Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newhall, Christopher G. 1979. “Temporal Variation in the Lavas of Mayon Volcano, Philippines.” Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 6 (1-2): 61-83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newhall, Christopher G. and Raymundo S. Punongbayan, eds. 1996. Fire and Mud: Eruptions and Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newhall, Christopher G., Sarah E. Albano, Norio Matsumoto, and Teodorico Sandoval. 2001. “Roles of Groundwater in Volcanic Unrest.” Journal of the Geological Society of the Philippines 56 (3&4): 69-84.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Brien, James J. 1968. Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Bicol People. Naga City: Ateneo de Naga.

    Google Scholar 

  • PVMBG (Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi). 2011. Data Dasar Gunung Api Indonesia. Vol 2. Kementerian Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral. Second edition.

  • Redford, Robert. 1956. Peasant Society and Culture: An Anthropological Approach to Civilisation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riedel, Joh. Gerard Fried. 1867. De uitbarsting van de Awoeh-Taruna in 1856. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal Land en Volkenkunde, 11: 91-96.

  • Samuels, Annemarie. 2019. After the Tsunami. Disaster Narratives and the Remaking of Everyday Life in Aceh. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

  • Seminar Sejarah: Kendahe i’kekendage (2017) (A report of a seminar on the history of Kendahe). Printed copy was obtained at the government office in Kendahe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlehe, Judith. 1996. “Reinterpretations of Mystical Traditions: Explanations of a Volcanic Eruption in Java.” Anthropos 91: 391–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schrikker, Alicia. (2016). Disaster management and colonialism in the Indonesian archipelago, 1840-1920. Bankoff, Greg and Christensen, Joseph (EDS). Natural Hazards and Peoples in the Indian Ocean World. Bordering on danger. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 225-254

  • Shinoara, Hiroshi, Keiichi Fukui, Kohei Kazahaya, and Genji Saito. 2003. “Degassing Process of Miyakejima Volcano: Implications of Gas Emission Rate and Melt Inclusion Data.” Developments in Volcanology 5: 147-61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Small, Christopher and Terry Naumann. 2001. “Holocene Volcanism and the Global Distribution of Human Population.” Environmental Hazards 3 (3/4): 93-109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sillitoe, Paul. 1998. “The Development of Indigenous Knowledge: a New Applied Anthropology.” Current Anthropology 39: 223-52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steller K.G.F. and. Aebersold W.E 1959. Sangirees-Nederlands woordenboek. The Hague: Nijhoff.

  • Surono, Philippe Jousset, John Pallister, MarieBoichud, M. Fabrizia Buongiorno, Agus Budisantoso, Fidel Costa, Supriyati Andreastuti, Fred Prata, David Schneider, Lieven Clarisse, Hanik Humaida, Sri Sumarti, Christian Bignami, Julie Griswold, Simon Carn Clive Oppenheimer, and Franck Lavigneo. 2012. “The 2010 Explosive Eruption of Java’s Merapi Volcano - A ‘100 Year’ Event.” Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 241–242 (1): 121-35.

  • Tambiah, Stanley J. 2013. The Galactic Polity in Southeast Asia. Journal of Ethnographic Theory 3 (3): 503-534. First published 1973.

  • UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction). 2015. Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Accessed January 28, 2021. http://www.wcdrr.org/uploads/Sendai_Framework_for_Disaster_Risk_Reduction_2015-2030.pdf.

  • Valentijn, François. 1726 Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien […]. Dordrecht/Amsterdam: Joannes van Braam.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valeton, Josué Jean Philippe 1897. “Ernst Traugott Steller.” Lichtsralen op den akker der wereld 3

  • Vitaliano, Dorothy B. 1973 Legends of the Earth: Their Geological Origins. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren, James F. 1981. The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State. Singapore: Singapore University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whelley, Patrick L., Christopher G. Newhall, and Kyle E. Bradley. 2015. “The Frequency of Explosive Volcanic Eruptions in Southeast Asia.” Bulletin of Volcanology 77 (1): 1-11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Widiyanto, Nur. 2014. “The challenges of myth-based coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Kendahe, Sangihe island, North Sulawesi province.” Jurnal Etnohistori, 1: 28-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeeroof bij de Sangi-eilanden. Bataviaasch Nieuwblad, 4 September 1924.

Download references

Funding

Funding for this research was provided by an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant No. LP150100649.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines

    Greg Bankoff

  2. Mirisbiris Garden and Nature Center, USGS (retired), Santo Domingo, Albay, Philippines

    Chris Newhall

  3. Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

    Alicia Schrikker

Authors
  1. Greg Bankoff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chris Newhall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alicia Schrikker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Greg Bankoff, Chris Newhall and Alicia Schrikker. The first draft of each section of the manuscript was written by individual authors and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Greg Bankoff.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals

All data were collected in compliance with ethical standards.

Informed Consent

All interviews conducted with informed consent.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bankoff, G., Newhall, C. & Schrikker, A. The Charmed Circle: Mobility, Identity and Memory around Mount Mayon (Philippines) and Gunung Awu (Indonesia) Volcanoes. Hum Ecol 49, 147–158 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00225-0

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00225-0

Keywords

  • Social volcanology
  • Adaptation
  • Identity
  • Memory
  • Mount Mayon
  • Philippines
  • Gunung Awu
  • Sangihe Besar island
  • Indonesia
  • Southeast Asia