INDONESIA

INDONESIA.

Musical instruments.
Borneo (Kalimantan) Map and sape.
Eighth stamp in a set of 16, issued on 01.02.1967.
Face value: 4 Indonesian rupiah.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 25 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 569.
- Scott No. 712.
- StampWorld No. 611.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1147.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 505.
- Zonnebloem No. 570.

Borneo (Indonesian: Kalimantan) is the third largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic center of maritime Southeast Asia, relative to the main Indonesian islands, it lies north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. The island is politically divided between three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north and Indonesia in the south.

The Indonesian portion occupies 73% of the island, it is officially called Kalimantan and is administratively divided into five provinces: Kalimantan Barat, Kalimantan Tengah, Kalimantan Selatan, Kalimantan Timur and Kalimantan Utara. Its population, in 2019, was 16,379,977 inhabitants. It has coasts on the Java and Celebes Seas and on the Macassar Strait, which separates Borneo from Sulawesi.

The sape (sapeh or hape) is a traditional lute of the communities who live on the banks of the rivers of East Kalimantan. Sapes are carved from a single bole of wood, and many modern instruments reaching over a metre in length. Initially the sape was a fairly limited instrument with two strings and only three frets. Its use was restricted to a form of ritualistic music to induce trance. Gradually the sape became a social instrument to accompany dances or as a form of entertainment. Today, three, four or five-string instruments are used, with a range of more than three octaves.

NORTH BORNEO

NORTH BORNEO (now in Malaysia).

Definitive stamps.
Mount Kinabalu and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
First stamp in a set of 15, issued on 01.10.1954.
Face value: 1 cent of Malaya and British Borneo dollar.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 34 x 28 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 294.
- Scott No. 261.
- StampWorld No. 309.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 372.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 296.

North Borneo was a British protectorate located in the northern part of the island of Borneo. The territory of North Borneo was originally established by concessions from the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu in 1877 and 1878 to a German-born representative of Austria-Hungary, the businessman and diplomat Gustav Overbeck. The Madrid Protocol, signed in 1885 by the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain to recognize the Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago, established the definitive border of Spanish influence in the area. To avoid further claims from other European powers, in 1888 North Borneo became a British protectorate. During World War II, Japan occupied the entire island of Borneo, and after the surrender of its troops, on August 15, 1945, the direction of northern Borneo was taken by the British Military Administration and officially became a colony of the United Kingdom, until September 16, 1963, when the Federation of Malaysia proclaimed independence, which incorporated the territory.

Mount Kinabalu (in Malay, Gunung Kinabalu) is located in the Kinabalu National Park (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000) in the state of Sabah, which occupies the northern part of Borneo. It has a height of 4,095 m (13,435 ft) above sea level and is the highest mountain in Insulindia. It was climbed for the first time in March 1851 by the Englishman Hugh Low, who gave its name to its summit.

-
Thanks to Dragan Buškulić for his contribution.

PHILIPPINES

PHILIPPINES / PILIPINAS.

Golden Jubilee Philippine Pharmaceutical Associaton, 1920-1970.
Stylized map of Philippines.
Stamps issued on 16.11.1970.
Face values: 10 and 50 sentimos of Philippine peso.

Catalogues
- Michel Nos. 942-943.
- StampWorld Nos. 944-945.
- Yvert et Tellier Nos. 794-795.

The current Philippine Pharmacists Association, Inc. was founded on 29 August 1920 as Philippine Pharmaceutical Association. The first president was Rafael Carreon. In 1957 the PPhA became an active member of the Fédération Internationale Pharmaceutique (FIP), and in 1964 led the founding of the Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations (FAPA).