BABAYLAN Book Philippine Launch

BABAYLAN : FILIPINOS AND THE CALL OF THE INDIGENOUS will have its Philippine launch at the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista in Quiapo on November 29, 2010, at 1 pm.

It was first made available to the public during the First International Babaylan Conference held last April 17 – 18, 2010 at the Sonoma State University in the United States. This book has been years in the making and is the first of its kind to integrate research about prima...ry Babaylans in the Philippines; research about Kapwa psychology and the babaylan tradition; and narratives of decolonization and indigenization by Filipinos in the diaspora.

Conceived and edited by Prof. Elenita Mendoza Strobel, this book includes many voices who have been researching and writing about the Babaylan tradition like Sister Mary John Mananzan, Katrin de Guia, Agnes Miclat Cacayan, Girlie Villariba and Teresita Obusan from the Philippines. Among the writers from the diaspora are Ceres Pioquinto, Tera Maxwell, Venus Herbito, Eileen Tabios, Michelle Bautista, Maiana Minahal, Karen Villanueva, Trisha Agbulos Cabeje, Marjorie Light and Charito Basa.

This Babaylan book is described as an offering of insight and wisdom gleaned from the writers’ engagement with the Babaylan tradition. It is a meditation on the question of how to heal from the psychic and epistemic violence of colonial encounters through the embodiment of the spirit of the Babaylan. It celebrates the many spaces where Filipinos are creating works of Beauty inspired by their reconnection to their indigenous roots. It is a container for transnational conversations that have been going on for decades between Filipinos in the homeland and the diaspora; the common theme of the conversations has always been about our need to feel whole (Kabuuan ng Loob) and the need to strengthen and deepen our indigenous roots as Filipinos. (It is interesting to note that the venue, Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, was host to a lecture series entitled In the Tradition of the Babaylan in February of 1999.)

BABAYLAN : FILIPINOS AND THE CALL OF THE INDIGENOUS is beautifully designed by Babaylan-inspired artist Perla Paredes Daly. The Babaylan mandala on the cover represents the artists’ vision of the Filipinos’ “inner gold”. Perla is also co-creator of the Center for Babaylan Studies, a non-profit organization based in the US dedicated to the dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP). Visit the website at www.babaylan.net.

Ateneo de Davao University Research and Publications Office is the publisher of the Babaylan book. To purchase the book contact:
Melotte de Castro
Mobile No. 0928 2539 445
Email: melotte25@gmail.com /melotte23@yahoo.com

For details on the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista book launch contact:

Tessie Obusan
Landline: 704 8955
Email: tesobusan@yahoo.com

Reimon Cosare
Mobile: 0927 5633 376
Email: reimoncos@yahoo.com

Minifred Gavino
Mobile: 0928 5545 824
Email: babaylan_pi@yahoo.com