Asian Universities Digital Resource Network (AUDRN)-Local Knowledge

National Conference, Silliman University, 8-9 February 2019

Enrique G. ORACION, Ph.D.Director of Research

Professor of Sociology and Anthropology

SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY

Dumaguete City, Philippines

GHOST SHIP OF SIQUIJORHOW THE DIGITAL MEDIA EXPOSED

AND DIFFUSED A LOCAL STORY

INTRODUCTION

Oral tradition any information handed

down by word of mouth through generations

by elderly community members or parents

historical and cultural traditions

literature (epics, stories like waterlore)

norms (laws, mores)

Functions

entertainment

social control (warn, guide, praise)

Digital media “includes any format or device

used to convey content using digital signals” (https://learn.org/articles/What_is_Digital_Media.html)

When is one using digital media?

talking to cell phone

tinkering any social media like Facebook

reading article in Internet

watching television or YouTube show

Social media “… a place where uninterrupted

political messages can be communicated to the

public without the editorial obstacles of print

and broadcast media.” Steenkamp & Hyde-Clarke (2012, p. 6)

foster democratic deliberation (not always--

emotional sometimes)

egalitarian distribution of comments

symmetrical conversations among users (anti

versus pro)

Six popular types of social media:

Facebook

Qzone

Google+

Instagram

Twitter

Sina Weibohttp://seopressor.com/social-media-marketing/types-of-social-media/

How did digital media expose and diffuse an

oral tradition or local story?

In the case of Siquijor, is “ghost ship” true as

told by those who personally encountered

with the phenomenon or a real ship either as

regular passenger ship, cargo ship, illegal

fishing boat or of smugglers and Chinese

and Vietnamese as alleged?

Will the digital exposition of the ghost ship

story to be not true stop the belief of locals?

ISSUES IN FOCUS

METHODS

Got invitation for an interview as an anthropologist

by Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KPJS) program researcher

Refused the invitation being unfamiliar of the story

yet and referred him to my contact in Siquijor for help

Asked through Messenger some clarifications from

researchers of Siquijor State College

Reviewed the story on YouTube and Facebook after

broadcasted on GMA Network in two parts and titled

“Ghost Ship of Siquijor”

Analyzed thematically the comments posted on KMJS

Facebook

EVENTS AS SHOWN ON TELEVISION

A fisher admittedly encountered a boat loaded

with engkanto (supernatural beings) while fishing

Two boats with lights visible from the shore

usually between 12 midnight to 2 AM navigating

in opposite directions

Named tayog tayog (tay-og means shake) because

the boats make shaking or loud sounds

The story is linked to Marianico (leader of

enchanted people) and Baluarte (enchanted city)

Dramatization

Why is the ghost ship story

not found in the book of Banguis-

Bantawig et al. (2016) entitled

Siquijor’s Mystical Wonders? (SSC)

Author: “ During the

conceptualization of that book that

said story was not the talk of the

town yet... and since it was a very

old story & nobody had reminded

& retold it to us, we failed to

include it.”

EXPOSITION

Resurfacing

the ghost shipKapuso Mo, Jessica

Soho (KMJS) staff

interviewed people in

Siquijor about the story

Broadcasted on TV and

posted on Facebook:

claims versus counter

claims

KMJS interviewed anthropologist for expert

opinion who highlighted its being cultural

than supernatural

KMJS invited paranormal expert to prove or

disprove the “supernaturality” of the

phenomenon who affirmed the baluarte: “it’s

their place or city”

Investigated further by

examining vessel

schedules from nearby

ports in Tagbilaran,

Dumaguete, Cebu and

Mindanao (Iligan)

Checked with PAGASA

about the climatological

explanation behind the

phenomenon

DIFFUSION

KMJS had made global a local story

dramatized the story for visual impact

broadcasted on GMA Television

Network on its scheduled program

uploaded on YouTube

posted on Facebook

viewed and commented by netizens

REVELATION

Not ghost

ships,

these are

passenger

ships

CONSEQUENCES

enhanced the label of Siquijor as an enchanted

island along with its witchcraft and sorcery

drew in more local tourists for “ghost ship

hunting”

increased place identity among locals who

believed on supernatural beings

bashing or cyber bullying through harsh FB

comments and memes of the invited psychic,

coast guard officer and locals

IMPLICATIONS

the ghost ship story has survived the time,

been orally transmitted that entertained locals

across generations without question

the long held story is no longer confined to

Siquijor after outsiders diffused it

the digital media exposed the story in great

speed and earned instantaneous responses

and comments from netizens (KMJS Facebook

Part 1=81K likes and 83K shares, Part 2= 74K likes

and 42K shares as of February 9, 2019)

the imagery in the story is reinforced by the

regularity of navigating ships in a designated

area of the sea which also produced that loud or

imagined sounds as narrated

through KMJS exposition, navigational technology

had finally uncovered the truth—these are

passenger ships—supported by map and direct

voice communication of moving ships within the

designated waters at particular time

but how about in the past when the story started?

so, the locals who believed in the story stood

firm with the enchanted ship imagery despite

the empirical evidence which they considered

to be different

the ship or boat motif in the Siquijor story is

not unique but a common phenomenon in

Filipino waterlore

the “golden ship’ in the stories of Don Antoy

in Siaton, Maria Cacao in Argao and those in

Romblon and Guimaras

Digital media is double-edged

killing oral tradition because it is correcting folk

stories (considered “fake’ by some) that were

accepted as true for generations

preserving oral tradition like folk lore or stories,

either true or not, and providing platform for

critical acceptance of local knowledge

Ethical concern: should digital media not correct

local knowledge found detrimental to life for

being incorrect like those related to health?

REFERENCES

Banguis-Bantawig, R. 2016. Siquijor’s mystical wonders. Quezon

City: Central Book Supply.

Halpern, D. & Gibbs, G. (2013). Social media as a catalyst for

online deliberation: Exploring the affordances of Facebook

and YouTube for political expression, Computers in human

behavior 29: 1159-1168.

Steenkamp, M., Hyde-Clarke, N. (2012). The use of Facebook for

political commentary in South Africa. Telemat. Informat.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2012.10.0

All photos are taken from the video uploaded on

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) Facebook

ENDTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING

enriquegoracion@su.edu.ph