Across the street from San Agustin Church in Intramuros is Casa Manila. This is a replica of a 19th-century house with antique furniture. And this is a typical three-storey house of a rich Filipino during the Spanish period.
Adobe stones made the first and second floors. The main and third floor is made of wood. The large windows are made of capiz shells. The windows have built-in blinds and sliding panels below. This design evolved to withstand strong earthquakes and cope with the climate.
The first floor was open during those times. It served as cages for pigs, chicken and other animals. Here, shops occupy the first floor of Casa Manila. You may be lucky to find some antiques or souvenirs at the shops.
Upon entry, one is treated like a royalty. Why? Because red carpet lines the stairs and some portions of the floor. I realized later that the carpet protects the wooden floor from thousands of feet walking on it every week.
The floor also caught my attention. It was brightly polished. And I asked myself if it was waxed using halved coconut husks. People used to scrub floors with husks. But with modern equipment and electricity, who needs husks today?
The second floor is where the owner of the house held office. Visitors waited in a place before admitted to the office. Unmarried siblings of the patriarch lived in the rooms here - a proof that extended Filipino families rooted from early times.
The third and main floor has more space. It is filled with antique furniture and decorations. These came from other houses as "donations" when Casa Manila was built. In the middle of the living room stands a clock much bigger than those of my grandparents'!
The bedrooms here have more space, too. The beds, known as Ah Tay, are a style from a known Chinese bed maker. And the master's bedroom has large cabinets and dressers! Whatever lacking in the rooms from today's setting is true also.
Beside the rooms is a family chapel. And Casa Manila was able to replicate this as well with religious images and cabinets. Praying the Angelus and the rosary here every evening was a must in most families during those times.
The dining room has a large table for 18. Above the dining table are two fans called punkah, operated by pulling a string attached to each fan. I think I’ve seen these fans in a movie somewhere.
Beside the dining room is the kitchen with wood fired stoves and oven. There is also an ice box, the precursor of the fridge. This is really something when ice was imported from the US.
Another worth noting is the different flat iron. The flat iron worked by putting burning charcoal inside. And it must have been really hot ironing clothes with that open equipment!
Adjacent to the kitchen are the bathroom and toilet. Two bathtub-like porcelains are in the bathroom. Two adjacent toilet bowls enabled two persons doing the call of nature at a time. And remember the animals on the first floor?
Casa Manila shows the lifestyle of the period. And we do not see any original house in Intramuros today because World War II leveled it to the ground. This faithful reconstruction gives us a glimpse of how rich Filipinos lived in early times.
Share your comments about this page here! I and others readers will thank you for sharing.
The best way to get updated is to subscribe to my blog here. Don't be left behind when I reveal secrets as I discover them. Be the first to know. Subscribe to my RSS feed now without giving your email address. What is RSS?
