The baybayin of KA means connection. KA is two wavy lines laid parellel with a line joining the two of them at their center. To some ka represents two rivers (wavy lines) joined by a center line. To others, it represents to spirits(wavy lines) joined by a center line. So when you know what the syllable of KA does within Filipino words, that is, creates a relation or connection ((kapatid(sibling), kasintahan(loved-one),...
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Behind a Nation: Akbay, Bayan, Anak. Guest post by Jay Malvar 2003 was the last time I visited the Philippines. I still speak Tagalog, kumupas na (faded), but still speaking. A lot of people often say it was because we spoke it at home. But I can tell you right now, we spoke a lot of English. My siblings and I know that it is felt when we speak Tagalog: our link to home. When my family speaks to each...
Read MoreThe insights that baybayin symbolism can give us can be quite deep and mind-bending. This post is inspired by Diwata Olympia who wrote the words lakbay and bakla in baybayin symbols in a notebook and shared the page with me in 2011. Bakla is defined in Filipino as third-sex or effeminate man. In Philippine society, all types of bakla, gay men and women have been socially and economically accepted to various degrees. In some...
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