The Babaylan Mandala II.I, is a red version of the mandala fine art print series and is on the cover I created for Leny Mendoza Strobel’s new anthology “Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous.”
14 essays by 14 authors are shared in this book: Sr. Mary John Mananzan, Teresita Obusan, Katrin DeGuia, Karen M. Villanueva, Venedel Herbito, Maina Minahal, Michelle Bautista, Tera Maxwell and more.
The golden mandala has baybayin and other symbols of life, the elements, cosmos and more. Even the numbers of rings and symbols have meanings. The baybayin helped this mandala come alive for me as I created it and has given this artwork deep meaning for me as a Filipino. I believe in the beauty of the Filipino people, and that as we decolonize we reclaim our inner gold.
This book will be launched at the First International Babaylan Conference, April 17-18, 2010. visit www.babaylan.net for more information. Hope to meet you all there!