Tags: Indigenous Culture, Museums
By Anna Valmero
NABUNTURAN, COMPOSTELA VALLEY – It may not be as large as the Star of Taiba of Saudi Arabia, certified by Guinness as world’s biggest gold ring, but the Solidarity Ring is nonetheless a source of pride for locals because it is recognized as the largest in the country.
During his second term since the province was declared independent in 1998, Governor Arturo Uy ordered the ring to be forged out of gold donations from local officials, miners, and private individuals from Compostela Valley’s 11 municipalities and the nearby former mother province of Davao del Norte and Tagum City.
Compostela Valley (or ComVal for short) has been known for the gold rush in the 1980s when a native struck gold in Mt. Diwalwal.
The province is truly a treasure trove of mining resources. The 1998 report of the Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences, Minerals News Service in Region XI found that Compostela Valley has approximately more than 36 million tons in gold deposits.
During the 2008 Bulawan (locally translated to “gold”) Festival, a thanksgiving for the province’s mineral and other natural bounties formerly called Anibin, Uy said that the two-toned gold ring “symbolizes the historical unity of his province following nine years of political divisiveness and intrigues that polarized Compostela Valley,” according to this PIA report.
The 18-carat Solidarity Ring, with a diameter of five inches and weighing as 1.3 kilos of gold has an estimated value of P1.5 million. It is placed inside a glass casing and even has its own guard at the provincial capitol.
The creative artists who fashioned it for two weeks are husband and wife team of Joel and Frellie Asis of GlitterWorks Jewellery at Gaisano Mall in Davao, according to blogger Jojie Alcantara. “It is unity made flesh,” she says, describing the ring.
Compostela Valley can be reached via Davao International Airport. The capital town of Nabunturan is a two-hour drive from Davao City. Photos courtesy of Dabawenya’s Den
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