BukSU names its Bukidnon Studies Center museum as the Datu Bagangbangan Museum

MALAYBALAY CITY (BukidnonNews.Net/02 July 2022) Bukidnon State University named its Bukidnon Studies Center (BSC) museum as the Datu Bagangbangan Museum, right after a community ritual conducted on June 30, 2022 in the main campus of Bukidnon State University.

Through the ritual, the university named the BSC gallery as Kaayaran Gallery and its library, Katata-u Library.

Bae Inatlawan Adelina Docenos of the Bukidnon Daraghuyan of Dalwangan, Malaybalay City and Datu Makapukaw Adolino Saway of the Talaandig tribe led the ritual, which BukSU officials and members of the heirs of Datu Bagangbangan Lorenzo Dinlayan Sr attended.  

Dr. Oscar B. Cabañelez, the BukSU President, said he is thankful that the university has given honor to one of the respected leaders in Bukidnon, Datu Bagangbangan (Lorenzo S. Dinlayan, Sr.)

In 1984, Datu Bagangbangan received a bachelor’s degree Honoris Causa from the then Bukidnon State College.

In behalf of the Dinlayan clan, Hon. Lorenzo L. Dinlayan, Jr. thanked BukSU for giving such honor to Datu Bagangbangan. He shared stories how Datu Bagangbangan led the people of Bukidnon, specifically the indigenous people, as a datu and as an elected official.

The Bukidnon Studies Center, in a statement, said the purpose of assigning names to these sections is to emphasize its roles as the facilitating, promoting and teaching arm of instruction, research and extension of the university.

Kaayaran Gallery is the accommodating facility to foster partnership with the indigenous cultural communities and other stakeholders of the university. Kaayaran is associated with socio-economic production and prosperity where goods, ideas and services presented through cultural art exhibitions, souvenir shop, book launching and lecture series. This section of BSC helps facilitate the collaborative community projects between the university and the indigenous peoples of Bukidnon.

Datu Bagangbangan Museum is the promotional facility to preserve the customary ways of Bukidnon tribes’ excerpt from the Bungkatel ha Bulawan. Bagangbangan is the patugam-a (given name as a datu) of the late Lorenzo S. Dinlayan, Sr., a known leader who was able to converge the traditional and legal types of leadership as he rendered public service as a traditional datu and an elected official at the same time. His leadership was anchored from the Bungkatel ha Bulawan – that serves as the core value of the moral identity and integrity of the Bukidnons. The anthropological data found in this museum promotes the culture of Bukidnon, particularly its customary ways and moral standard.

Katata-u Library is the teaching facility to enhance Bukidnon Cultural Studies, an institutionalized subject in college curriculum of the university. Katata-u means knowledge; thus, it helps provide learning materials and experiential learning in exploring Bukidnon culture. A collection of books, magazines, researches and digital learning materials is available in this library for researchers who have interest in Bukidnon studies. The online learning materials available in the social media account of BSC and the weekly radio program via DXBU 104.5 FM are extension of its teaching facility. The university’s Board of Regents approved the establishment of the Bukidnon Studies Center in 2017. The university held a community ritual before the museum opened to the public on that same year. It is located in the main campus of Bukidnon State University.  (OP-IPS with a report from Ms. Loreta Sol L. Dinlayan/Bukidnon Studies Center)