The Baybayin: Musings on a Forgotten History by John Paul ‘Lakan’ Olivares on Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 9:48pm. Originally posted at Facebook notes.Olivares is researching and preparing his thesis on baybayin. 2012 Mandala ng Awit ng Panday The Baybayin: Musings on a Forgotten History In recent times, there has been a growing interest among Filipinos in the use of the Baybayin. The name Baybayin presently used as a...
Read MoreBahay Nakpil, Home of Filipinosby Perla Paredes Daly It was baybayin that led me to visit Bahay Nakpil on a trip to Manila. Bahay Nakpil flyer forBaybayin. In the summer of 2002, Ann Ubaldo, artisan of Urduja jewelry, introduced me to the meanings and shapes of baybayin, and at the same time, the writings of the Filipino Spirituality Movement. She also tried to connect me with her mentor, Tess Obusan, author of...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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Part 1 of 3: Buwaya In Our Dreams, Baybayin, Weavings, Tattoos and more! Images courtesy of Baybayin.com and PinoyTravelBlog I found out only in the past couple of years, that the crocodile is a significant symbol to indigenous Filipinos and to our ancestors. Then I met a baybayin artist who sees, among other things, the shape of the buwaya in one of the baybayin symbols! Because of a series of crocodile revelations that have...
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