A look at the curves of the baybayin symbol of O-U shows that it looks a lot like the roman numeral “3”. What’s really fun to see is that our baybayin of O-U is very similar to the sanskrit symbol variations for O, AU, U, UH, UU, OO: There’s a likely that our baybayin symbol for O-U is related to these sanskrit versions and may have originated from Sanskrit writing. The baybayin symbol of O-U is also found in...
Read MoreThis guy makes me think about Filipinos today who look to ancient Philippine symbolism in baybayin and tattoos for inspiration. Saki Mafundikwa urges African graphic designers to draw on ancient writing symbolism of Africa for fresh inspiration. It’s summed up in his favorite Ghanaian glyph, Sankofa, which means “return and get it” — or “learn from the past.” Tagalog proverb, “Ang hindi marunong lumingon...
Read More
Binhing Banal: The Mandala and Traditional Philippine Sacred Seed, by John Paul “Lakan” Olivares 890BC Manunggul Jar from Palawan The word Mandala has been universally accepted to describe sacred symbols and patterns, often emanating from a central point or circle. In fact the word Mandala is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “circle”. In the Hindu / Buddhist traditions the mandala takes the form of the Yantra,...
Read More
Paul Kekai Manansala shares in his blog and book, Quest for the Dragon and Bird Clan that sacred clay jars, made to hold tea, had several markings on them that distinguished them as hailing from the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines. In Japan, the clay pots from the Philippines were called Rusun-yaki and highly valued. One of the markings was the baybayin of LA. Manansala writes that the LA baybayin...
Read More
It is not uncommon for letters, pictographs and symbols to have deep hidden meanings—even magical power, for cultures around the world have rich histories and stories connected to symbols, letters and written words. Other countries and cultures too have symbols and writing systems that were multi-dimensional, that is, their writing systems in application could not only be read as words and every day messages or chronicles, but...
Read MoreIt is not uncommon for letters, pictographs and symbols to have deep hidden meanings—even magical power, for cultures around the world have rich histories and stories connected to symbols, letters and written words. Other countries and cultures too have symbols and writing systems that were multi-dimensional, that is, their writing systems in application could not only be read as words and every day messages or chronicles, but...
Read More