The Davao Museum introduces visitors to the rich cultural heritage of the diverse ethnic groups and tribes that inhabited the territory. The Davao Museum introduces visitors to the rich cultural heritage of the diverse ethnic groups and tribes that inhabited the territory of present-day Davao City during different historical periods. The museum is located 12 km from the city centre on Magellan Avenue, near the Davao International Airport. The museum building was once a courtroom, later a warehouse, and in 2008, Nanya Soling Duterte, one of the most influential women in the city and grandmother of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, ensured that the building be used as a repository for the city's heritage.
The first thing visitors to the museum see is a chronological tree of historical events that took place in and around Davao City. It starts from the first archaeological discoveries and the first aboriginal settlements up to the present day. On two floors of the museum there are household items, tools and handicrafts of numerous local tribes - Mandaya, B'laan, Tiboli, Manobo, Mansaka, Bagobo, etc. There are ten tribes in all, five of which are considered to be Muslim and the other five pagan. Here you can see traditional costumes, pottery, ancient martaban jugs, vases and other objects of of everyday life, as well as some jewellery. A small exhibition is dedicated to Datu Bago, a tribal leader who rebelled against the Spanish colonisers. And next to it is a wax figure of President Manuel Quezon signing the decree establishing Davao City in 1936. An important of the museum's collections are exhibits about World War II - you can even see a rusty American bomb.
On the first floor of the museum, a huge gallery of artwork displays drawings, pottery, sculptures, carved ornaments, musical instruments that date back more than a thousand years. The Davao Museum also contains archaeological artefacts found not only in the city but also in other parts of Mindanao. Also here, on the first floor, is the so-called Hall of Peace, a library and conference room lined with photos of international conferences and seminars.
Next to the museum there is a souvenir shop where you can buy handicrafts made by local Aboriginal people or clothes woven by Tiboli women from Manila hemp. These souvenirs are usually These souvenirs are usually embroidered with designs that tell the story of the tribe's traditional religious beliefs, its myths and legends.
