Bayanikhan

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: The National Museum of the Philippines, Manila (Philippines).

Bayanihan is an ancient Filipino tradition of mutual assistance between members of the same community. This picture is a demonstration of the national spirit of the inhabitants of the island, when the needy will always receive help, despite the enormous difficulties. The artist’s attention is focused on several men who carry a bamboo house on their shoulders to a safer place. Their faces are concentrated, and their heads droop with fatigue. Perhaps they are oppressed not only by physical but also by moral burden, a kind of “common burden” that each of us has to bear.