Tessie Obusan developed a research method called Pamamaraang Ka illustrated here by baybayin: (Click for large view) Explore a Filipino approach that is also an act of decolonization. In the foreword of the 1994 Pamamaraan: Indigenous Knowledge and Evolving Research Paradigms the editors state that a growing number of Filipino scholars are deeply conscious of the richness of the Philippine culture and are frustrated that much of...
Read MoreReconnecting to indigenous ways and to our ancestral heritage can be done. What is tacit knowing, talinghaga, metaphorical sight and understanding? What is the balance of Masculine and Feminine Principle? What is pakikipagkapwa? What is the indigenous worldview? Let’s learn from each other and from centering ourselves and going to the Source. We can also learn from our local elders—talk to them. And we can learn and...
Read More“…symbols and metaphors speak for and to our deepest feelings, desires, and experiences–better than rational words can, because they address–as well as come from–the fertile unconscious or‘underworld’ realm of our psyche…“ Agnes Miclat-Cacayan Why are the metaphorical and deeper meanings of the baybayin symbols important to Filipinos’ healing from historical imperialism, colonial...
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We have to go back to prehistoric times to know how our culture developed to appreciate our cultural heritage as a people and rekindle the Filipino diwa (spirit) to guide us along the pathways of the 21st century. — Jocano To understand why Filipinos perceive meanings within baybayin symbols we need to understand too, that ancient Filipinos were animists, thus they believed everything has a spirit, everything has a soul and...
Read MoreA long time ago, I shared online The Bahala Meditations. For some this was helpful. For others, this was new age nonsense. Last year, I started a blog called Baybayin Alive. Recently, a person who wished to not be identified wrote: Anonymous said…Have you ever considered that the people you say have “westernised” “linear” thinking may in fact really reflect the way the people of the islands barely 500...
Read MoreHow would Filipino baybayin enthusiast “Bing” Veloso be able to connect with our ancestors in order to come about the deeper meanings of baybayin in Saysayin ng Baybayin? How would Guillermo Tolentino, Philippine National Artist and sculptor of monuments, make a connection with historic figures to yield his life-like sculptures? How would he connect with ancestors to uncover meanings of baybayin symbols? And how...
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