The exhibition Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of Sulu is presented as a general survey and study of the culture of the Sulu archipelago. The objective is to give in a nutshell or in one short visit a ready understanding of the power and strength that the Sulu archipelago and the sultanate had at a time when Sulu was entrepot to the international trade activities between Europe and China.
Central to this power was maritime trade and the meeting of the Europeans that produced exchanges of weaponry and armaments, international diplomacies and treaties, plus the control of the sea routes and territory through intermarriages. Power and status was also reflected in the social rituals as seen in the beauty, refinement, and intricacy of their marriage ceremonies.
Yuchengco Museum is fortunate to work with a noted Sulu expert scholar, Dr. Abraham Sakili, professor at the Art Studies Department of the University of the Philippines, who gave the museum team the necessary scholarly framework on which to lean on.
