THE SEAT OF POWER

Ramses II seated on a cubical throne.

        A chair, in the simplest definition, is a piece of furniture with a raised platform used to sit on. Later added in the description is the backrest, the armrests and the three or four legs. Based on these accounts, the earliest historical proof of the existence of such a furniture dates back to ancient Egypt and Greece (c. 2500 B.C.–2000 B.C.), and to the earliest dynasties in China (c. 2100 B.C.–1100 B.C.). Its invention predates its own name. The word “chair” as derived from the Old French chaiere, which means “seat” or “throne,” was conceived during the 12th century.

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An ancient Chinese stone stool.

        Before the “true” chair was introduced to mankind, people used to sit on the ground or to whatever piece of solid matter – a rock or fallen tree trunk – they could rest their buttocks, which at the beginning didn’t have a name but later was simply known as a “stool.”

        The word “stool” came from the Old English stol, meaning a “seat for one person, which in turn was derived from the Proto-German stola, meaning “seat.” Interestingly, the Old English cynestol was originally used to mean “royal seat” or “throne.”

        Consequently man invented all sorts of improvements to make him more comfortable while sitting. A man has a back so his seat should also have a backrest; arms so it should have armrests; limbs so it should have legs, and so on.

        By the 12th century, when the word “chair” was adopted into the English language through the Old French chaiere, meaning “throne,” the word stool was relegated to mean “small seat without arms or backs.” By the 1530s, it declined further into “bowel movement.”

        The advent of civilization which is also the advent of governance or the power to rule made the “chair” a symbol of authority and privilege. The mere resting place of man’s buttocks – the salumpuwit in the Tagalog vernacular – became the seat of his power. It maybe urban legend, but there’s a saying, “From where the Viking farts, there wields his power.”

Cleopatra sitting
on her elaborated throne.

        The Old French Chaiere evolved into the Modern French chaire, and now not only means “throne” but also “pulpit” as it is equated with the Latin cathedra, meaning “easy chair” (principally used by women), but was derived from ecclesia cathedralis, which translated to “church of a bishop’s seat.”

        In ancient Egypt, chairs appear to have been of eloquent richness and splendor. Fashioned of ebony and ivory, or of carved and gilded wood, they were covered with expensive materials, magnificent patterns and supported upon representations of the legs of great beasts or the figures of captives. Generally speaking, the higher ranked an individual was, the taller and more splendid was the chair he sat on and the greater the honor given to him. In most household, only the head of the family sits on a chair.

Emperor Taizu sitting on his cushioned and gilded throne.

A more elaborate throne during the later Chinese dynasty era.

        Indeed, as the simple chair was reinvented, it became a “throne” onto which emperors, kings, pharaohs, chieftains, popes, governors and all people in authority wield their power. It also became the symbol of nobility and the privilege of the royalties. Later, however, as social and communal revolutions change the face of the world, so did the utility of the chair becomes public concession.

The Throne of Maximian.

        By the 16th century, the chair became as common as the books people read while seated on its comfort, and by the 18th century, more or less all of earth’s inhabitants have seen and used a chair or two. It became a furniture for convenience.

        Almost all nationalities have a similar history as to how their own version of the chair came to be and how it evolved. Perhaps this can be explained by a mixture of sociology and anatomy. Humans of whatever race or nationality are basically gregarious in nature. They love to mingle and talk, and they always enjoy sitting together while they do this. On the other hand, human anatomy is well suited for sitting. Have you ever wonder why the largest muscle – Gluteus maximus – in the human body is located on his buttocks?

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Amarna Period tablet showing Akhenaten and Nefertiti sitting on a leisure stool.

        The chair is a simple invention known since antiquity, although for many centuries it was an emblem of state and dignity rather than an article of ordinary use. In fact, it was not until the 16th century that it became common anywhere. Until then the chest, the stool and the bench were the ordinary seats of everyday life, and “the number of chairs which have survived from an earlier date is exceedingly limited; most examples are of ecclesiastical or seigniorial origin.”

From the Parthenon frieze: Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis sitting

on a square stool with cylindrical legs.

The Seat of Dagobert.

Although it is not known exactly who invented the first chair and where in the world it was first made. Looking back to ancient times, we can see remnants and relics all over the world: The leisure stools of Akhenaten (c. 1361 B.C.-1334 B.C.) and Nefertiti (c. 1370 B.C.-1330 B.C.) depicted in an Amarna Period tablet (14th century B.C.); the statues of Ramses II (c. 1303 B.C.-1213 B.C.) near the Luxor Temple in Egypt depicting the pharaoh sitting on a cubelike throne without armrest (13th century B.C.); the Parthenon Frieze sculpted under the supervision of Phidias (c. 480 B.C.-430 B.C.), where Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis were shown sitting on square seats with rounded legs (5th century B.C.); the Throne of Maximian (499-556) in the Cathedral of Ravenna made of carved wood and ivory portraying figures of Catholic saints and scenes (A.D. 550); the Seat of Dagobert in Louve, France, made by Eligius of Aquitaine (588-660) of cast bronze and partially gilt, and supported by four legs chiseled in the form of leopard’s head on each corner of the seat and terminating as the animal’s foot (A.D. 630); the court portrait of Taizu (927-976), founder and first emperor of the Song Dynasty, sitting on a wide cushion throne with the added footrest (A.D. 960).

The Luklukan

The seated Bul-Ul,
Ifugao guardian spirits of rice crops.

        Some historians say that the first chair in the Philippines was brought by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 and he gave it to Rajah Humabon of Cebu as a token of friendship. This is more of a historical distortion. While it is true that most of the early natives of the archipelago, like their Asian neighbors, sit on the floor when they eat during those times, the maharlikas or royalties of the time, the datus, lakans and rajahs, also like their Asian neighbors, have a “seat of authority,” the ancient ancestors of the Filipino royalties have the luklukan from which they administer their reign upon their subjects. This is hundreds of years before Magellan was even born.

        We should also remember that the “true” chairs historically appeared much earlier in China, Egypt, Middle East and Asia Minor before the idea was brought to Europe, and particularly in Spain. Chinese and Middle Eastern influences in early Filipino furnitures were already existing before the Spaniards came to our shore.

        Looking at the word silya, we accept this as a Spanish heritage, from silla, the meaning of which can both represent “seat” or “chair.” The word, however, like bangko (also of Spanish origin, from banco, meaning “bench”), pertains in the local parlance more specifically to a stool or a seat without backrest and armrests and not to a “true” chair. The word upuan (from the rootword upo and the prefix an), on the other hand, is a synonymous Tagalog word already existing before the arrival of Magellan in the Philippines. The word, however, is a general term, synonymous with the English “seat” without any specific description as to backrest and armrests. Hench, a stool, a chair or a bench or sofa can be called upuan in Tagalog. Still another word is likmuan (from the rootword likmo, meaning “place of comfort or bliss”), which is more of a poetic assertion of a “blissful place” where one could rest comfortably. The best equivalent of the Filipino likmuan in English, with respect to a kind of seat, is probably the “loveseat.” Although likmuan is around three centuries older in etymology than the very recent English term, which probably appeared around the Victorian Era. Of course who can miss the very obvious salumpuwit – the “buttocks supporter” – which is of a fairly recent concoction.

Hara-Siri sitting on her throne
(fom Gregorio C. Coching's komiks novel of the same title
published in Tagalog Klasiks, May 6 - August 26, 1960).

        Going back to the word luklukan. When a datu is chosen to lead his tribe, he is said to be blessed by Kabunyian (Bathala or Laon in other dialects) or a diwata, through the intercession of the babaylan (priestess), and is seated in the luklukan, an elevated “chair” with backrest and armrests made of bamboo or hardwood gilt in gold and resting on top of two long sturdy poles. The luklukan is said to represent the kandungan or lap of a guiding diwata (or anito) in a sitting position with her hands and arms open above her thighs, hence the backrest and armrests (In old Tagalog, luklok and luklukan have an unmistakable affinity with kandong and kandungan). After the ceremony, the datu sits on the luklukan and it is raised and carried by his slaves around his balangay, banwa, ili or sakop to be praised by his people. Then the luklukan is finally rested on the porch of the datu’s balay until the time of his successor, who would choose to continue using it or burn it and ask that it be replaced.

        The word luklukan itself maybe older than the current etymology dating of 12th to 13th century. It came from the rootword luklok, which means “put in a blessed place” or “sit in a place of honor.” As such, the word iluklok translates to putting a person to a position of privilege or honor – “to consecrate” or “to enthrone.” This maybe akin to the Indo-Sanskrit duduk or dukduk, which means “throne” or “enthrone,” a word dating back to the Sri-Vijayan empire, which was the dominant power in south and southeast Asia around the 7th to the 11th century.

Even Chairs Evolved

An ancient Chinese high chair.

        Early chairs were made of carved wood, were covered with cloth or leather and much lower than today’s chairs, only less than a foot high. It was in China that the higher chair first appeared and, by the turn of the 13th century, a vast majority of Chinese houses had a modified stool or chair to seat upon.

        In Europe, owing in great measure to the Renaissance, the chair ceased to be a privilege of the ruling class, and became a standard item of furniture for anyone who could afford to buy it. Once the idea of privilege faded, the chair rapidly came into general use. Its design began to change every few years to reflect the fashions of the time.

        By the 1830s, American households usually have a chair provided for every family member to sit down to dinner. Factory-manufactured “fancy chairs” allowed families to purchase complete sets including the dining table. With the Industrial Revolution, chairs became much more available.

Examples of modern/fairly recent chair designs.

        New technology became the tool in the manufactured of the chairs of the 20th century. Chairs made of metals, plastics, laminated woods and polymers came into existence. Interior designers, architects and engineers continuously reinvent the aesthetics and ergonomics of the “buttocks supporter” taking into consideration not only the fashion, artistry and comfort of use, but also economy, durability and mechanical design.

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