Babaylan & Baybayin: Gender Diversity in Precolonial Philippines

Babaylan and Baybayin 2017

What was the sacred role that two spirit people had in Ancient Philippines?

This question and others were the focal point of a recent knowledge building, cultural activity that I, and ultimately 30 other people, embarked upon around our own precolonial history to discover what Leny Mendoza Strobel calls our “sariling dwende.” (Strobel, 2010)

On June 16 2019, in collaboration with Beacon Arts, Julz Ignacio, Derek Dizon, and Elaine EJ Agoot and myself, Seattle saw what could have been its first Babaylan & Baybayin event, focusing on precolonial Philippines.  The creation of B & B or #operationsarilingdwende as it came to be known, was a huge opportunity for young queer folkx with ties to the Philippines to come together to learn more about Philippine culture and to get in touch with our indigenous selves.  Guests from the Northwest Two Spirit Society – Hiram CalfLooking, Robin Magnan, Alma dela Luna – were so supportive of my efforts and stood in solidarity with us.  We stand in solidarity with them as two spirit soldiers fighting in the same struggle. We honored the Duwamish, and the other tribes that call the Pacific Northwest home.

It was an amazing experience.  What started out as a simple question at a Starbucks one April morning over coffee with friends Hiram CalfLooking (Blackfeet) and Robin Magnan (Metis French Canadian) became a spiritual and enriching journey towards delicious indio-geniusness.  The impending demolition of an empty warehouse on 15^th Ave S. and Beacon Ave S. provided an opportunity to seize a space in which to hold this event.  The warehouse was the perfect backdrop to #operationsarilingdwende.

Victoria Gardner the author in front of the sampayan.

This is Julz Ignacio and Derek Dizon teaching the baybayin lesson.

I am writing this blog entry to provide some sort of record of the knowledge component of the Babaylan and Baybayin 2017 exhibit.  I've included the sources at the end of this page, and any key points that are not attributed to archival sources are all from Carolyn Brewer's 2004 book, "Shamanism, Catholicism, and Gender Relations in Colonial Philippines."

This Kapwa painting is 4' x 8' tall.  It is my interpretation of the asog as described in Brewer's book.  Flowers in their long hair, braided and resined; and tattoos all over their faces and bodies

As I said my purpose in this journey was to learn more about the existence of LGBTQ/Gender diverse people in ancient Philippines.  First of all let me say that there is not a whole lot of evidence and research material to pour over.  Much of the precolonial records of my people were burned, erased from historical writings. Nevertheless I found a few sources helpful to the work.  Carolyn Brewer’s 2004 publication of her 2001 dissertation “Holy Confrontation” (now out of print) was eye opening to say the least.  Brewer is an Australian woman who brilliantly gave Spanish colonizers’ writings a feminist lens in her exploration of gender performance in Precolonial Philippines (Brewer, 2004).  In her work, she collaborated with Filipino archivists – men and women – who retrieved historical documents for her, translated them to English and guided her to the critical points in the writings where religion (Catholicism/Christianization/Hispanization) collided with indigenous animist beliefs.

The sampayan served as the metaphorical tool we used to hang our dirty laundry.

Even though I had personally learned about and been affected by Spain’s colonization of the Philippines from 500 years ago, much of this information was new even to me.  I attended the University of the Philippines but did not hear about or learn about gender relations from way back when.  Finding Brewer’s 2004 book, Shamanism, Catholicism, & Gender Relations in PreColonial Philippines was crucial as a general review and overview.  Her reinterpretation of the missionaries’ writings, looking specifically for archival records that exposed the conflict and hegemony that arose between animistic Philippines and Catholicism were crucial to this journey.  Meeting Elaine EJ Agoot brought me new books, new resources to dig into – Leny Mendoza Strobel’s 2010 book Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous, as well as Grace Nono’s 2013 dissertation, Song of the Babaylan were seminal sources in focusing in on the babaylan and animist lens.

Another point to remember is that even though indigenous Pilipino people (who, for the purposes of this blog, I will refer to as Tao) were highly literate, not much writing has been preserved.  Therefore, these key points are garnered from the archival writings of white men and some colonial Philippine male scholars who operated within the framework of complete heteronormativity, submission to the gender binary, sexism, racism, Catholicism, and repressed sexuality. As a queer Pilipinx, I made effort to give it an indigenous queer lens.  Here’s some of what I learned….

The search for queer Philippines could not happen without a discussion of the babaylan in what Martin Prechtel refers to as their role as the “healers of the tears and holes in the net of life.”  The babaylan role was a sacred, protected space for gender diverse Tao.  It wasn’t the only space, though, and in fact gender diverse tao were living and working as ordinary people in precolonial Philippines, according to the writings of Spanish colonizers. 

Derek Dizon's display of original artwork

Here are some of the excerpts from the exhibit.  I tried to include the root sources when possible. 

What is a babaylan?

A Babaylan is a contemporary word used to describe Tao who were/are gifted intermediaries to other worlds and performed or still performing birth, death, healing, rites of passage, and other ceremonies for the people.  They were and continue to be our healers, shamans, philosophers, wisdom-keepers, culture bearers, and spiritual leaders. (Nono 2013) In ancient times, they can be male, female or gender queer but must bring their feminine energy during ceremony.   The Tagalogs call them Katalona and the Visayas called them Baylan.  Babaylan is said to be derived from a combination of the Tagalog word for “babae” and “Baylan.”  (Brewer 2004) Each region has a local word for babaylan.  Today babaylan live and work in Metromanila, in Luzon, Visayas, and in Mindanao (Nono, 2013)

“Culture bearers are persons who truly identify with their ancestral heritage…while every babaylan is a culture bearer, not all culture bearers are babaylan…Babaylan undergo rigorous training and an unshakeable commitment to serve…babaylan live to heal and to empower others.” – Katrina de Guia, in Babaylan 2010 (Strobel, ed.)

“The Babaylan appears as a woman and as a man.  The woman babaylan, she tends her masculinity in order to stabilize her overbearing compassion with life.  As man babaylan, he honors the great mother goddess and develops his feminine side to balance his manliness.  That is why, in the pre-Spanish era, the Babaylan women lived alone at the fringe of their villages, their huts surrounded by the skulls of speared enemies, while the Babaylan men donned malongs, and adorned their long flowing hair with fragrant flowers.  Such (people) celebrated being alive – being at home in the world and being human.” (Katrin de Guia, (2010) “An Ancient Reed of Wholeness – the Babaylan,” in Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous, Center for Babaylan Studies Santa Rosa, CA p. 69-70)

In tagalog Katalonan incorporates the root word “talon” which means "forest" in ancient tagalog.  Another linguist Malcolm Mintz theorized it could also mean “tulong” or help.  Katulong would be an assistant or helper. (Brewer 2004)

Katalonan were respected. Types of katalonan  – mangagauay, manyislat, mancocolam, hocloban, silagan, magtatanggal and osuang; also pangatahojan (soothsayer), and bayoguin (men whose nature inclined toward that of a woman). – Plasencia B& R Relation of the Worship of the Tagalog.

"Babaylan in precontact society was similar to warriors (physical realm), who fought in the spiritual realm and they complemented each other." - Marion Pastor Roces (1995)  ‘Indigenous Weaving and Reserve Dying’ Lecture to the Carl Jung Society Ateneo de Manila University, 15 July

An important point must be made that babaylan still exist today.  Some may have gone “underground” but many of them are still here. They are very active in many communities and function in the same revered and honored roles that their predecessors occupied. Grace Nono’s dissertation (Song of the Babaylan) documenting the voices of babaylan today (known by their many indigenous names) is proof of their resilience, relevance and power.  Babaylan today survive because of their courage, their strength and their faith.  Nono’s book - Song of the Babaylan - is a wonderful way to get to know some of them,  read their words, and listen to their sacred songs (Nono, 2013.) 

GENDER ROLES IN PRECOLONIAL PHILIPPINES (BEFORE MARCH 16, 1521)
The earliest woman identified character in ancient history is Princess Urduja aka Debuxah, aka Debuka, from the Ibaloi tribe of Pangasinan (Batuta & Mackintosh-Smith 2002).  According to Ibn Batutta, a Muslim explorer in the 1300s, she ruled on the Island of Tawalisi (Pangasinan); in her kingdom, the women and men rode horses, fought in wars together, and knew how to use bows and arrows with skill; Urduja became the governor of her kingdom through the lineage of her Father, a King Kalukari who gifted her the kingdom as a reward, having returned from battle with the head of the enemy king on her spear.  Batutta apparently told Urduja about India and how beautiful it was.  Urduja told him that she had been there and it would be very nice if she could explore it for her kingdom!  Ibn Batuta & Mackintosh-Smith 2002 The Travels of Batuttah, London: Picador from Tera Maxwell (2010) "Babaylan Urduja, Imperial Memories and the Filipina Diaspora" in Leny Mendoza Strobel's Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous, Ateneo de Davao, University Research & Publications Office

While there has been no physical evidence found to date of Urduja, the writings of Batutta and the oral stories of her tribe remain as the only records of her existence.  Urduja is the granddaughter of Udayan, considered to be a powerful warrior.  According to Ibaloi elders, they have always had a representation of Debuxah in their tribe –  a woman of solid lineage, of great strength, wisdom and power.  Urduja ruled in a Muslim kingdom.  Maxwell viewed her as a Babaylan in the Muslim realm (Maxwell, 2010). The fact that Pangasinan was animist at the time of contact, belies another history that needs to be told – the battle between the Muslim and Animist traditions on the island of Luzon.  

Equal Roles

Ancient Philippines had "gender symmetry" – men and women were equally capable of performing and aspiring to the same things. The only exception was that of the babaylan – only women and men - who, for all intents and purposes, might be described in today”s language as gender diverse, and who in the Visayas at least, were referred to as “asog” or “bayoc” - were allowed to serve in this role as spiritual leader, liaison to the spirits, healer, judge, and problem solver.  Otherwise, men and women held equal roles in maintaining the village and keeping it in balance. – C. Brewer, 2004

Gender Diverse Tao

“Old women or indigenous men dressed as women performed the maganitos, and many of these men ordinarily acted like prudes, and are so effeminate, that one who does not know them would believe they are women.” (Manila Manuscript, p. 394)

"In clothing and behavior, male babaylan also known as asog or bayog or bayoc, dressed and behaved as women, with a feminine hairstyle that they braided and grew long, like that of a woman, filled with a kind of resin or turpentine. "(Chirino, B&R, vol. 12, p. 212. & Alcina, Historia de las isles e Indios de Bisayas, Vol. 1, Book 3)

"The Asog considered themselves more like women than men in their manner of living, or going about, or even in their occupations. Some of them applied themselves to (women’s) tasks, like weaving and cultivating, etc. In dress, they wear some Lambon as they are called here.  This is a kind of long skirt down to the feet, so that they were recognized even by their dress.” (Alcina, Historia de las isles e Indios de Bisayas, Vol. 1, Book 3)

Alcina wrote of an unnamed subject in his book: He was so effeminate that in every way, he seemed more like a woman than a man…his dress was even over the legs with a wide bahaque which resembled, under the lambon, the old time petticoats. All the things that the women did, he performed, such as weaving blankets, embroidering, and sewing clothes, making pots.  He danced like they did, never like a man whose dance was different. In all, he appeared more a woman than a man.  He would never allow himself to be touched nor would he bathe in front of others.” (Alcina, Historia de las isles e Indios de Bisayas, Vol. 1, Book 3)

Some male shamans had wives as well and continued having sex with other men.

Bayog (from Visayas region) married other men and slept with them…and had carnal knowledge. (Manila Manuscript p. 430 and Bolinao Manuscript, ff 7b, 8b, 10a-14a, 17a-18a)

"Sexuality of gender crossing and effeminate men such as bayoc and babaylan were culturally unremarked.  But we don't know how they view their own sexuality because they have been silenced and difficult to understand how they see themselves…" - Johnson, beauty and power, p. 33; J. Neil Garcia (1996) Philippine Gay Culture: The last 30 years, QC UP Press 

Other names:  Bayog (Luzon) Asog (visayan) Aka bayog, bayoguin, bayoc, asog, anitero

One constant characteristic of male shamans is that he dress in women's clothes for ritual purposes – sex/gender ambiguity led to spiritual potency. (Bolinao manuscript)

Sexual Relations

Sex was a natural function that was enjoyed by Tao.   Virginity was NOT important to ancient Tao. Women had autonomy and choice as far as their sexual activity was concerned.  (Plasencia, in B&R)

Anal sex was commonly practiced in Ancient Philippines among men and women.  It was introduced by the Chinese in the 1200s.  (Archbishop Santibanez to Philip II, Manila, 24 June 1598, cited in Costa, The Jesuits in the Philippines, 1581 – 1768, p. 207)

Virginity was not a value for ancient Tao.  They did not have a word for “virginity.” (Morga, Historical Events of the Philippine Islands, trans Rizal, pp. 288-89)

There is evidence of sex between and among men and women (homosexuality and heterosexuality). Both men and women could have multiple spouses (polygamy and polyandry). - Brewer, 2004

From a young age, young Tao males and females intermingled with each other very frequently and with scant self-restraint.” – Morga, Historical Events of the Philippine Islands, trans. Rizal, pp. 288-89)

Ancient Tao had open relationships with others both in and out of marriage especially among Visayans and Tagalogs. Except for Cagayanon people, the husband is not offended if a woman takes another lover during marriage.  Divorce is fair and easy to obtain. (Plasencia in B& R)

Women were not stigmatized for adultery.  Her lover paid a fine as monetary compensation if a child is born.  They could continue the relationship for a year – Pigafetta in Brewer C 2001

Slavery 

If you are not able to pay a debt, you became a slave to the person you owed money to.  If you die before you paid your debt, your children took on your debt. Slavery was meant to dissuade people from borrowing money they could not pay back. (Fennella Cannell1999, Power & Intimacy om the Christian Philippines. Q.C., Ateneo de Manila Press, p. 10)

Tagalog research explained that “slaves” were made by debt and this spread up or down between social class.  The way out of slavery was to pay the debt, and if the person dies before the debt is paid, the children took it on.    Thus borrowers became slaves (Plasencia in B & R)

Spirituality

Creation story – “first man and first woman came from a knot in a (bamboo) cane that burst off from the plant” –both man and woman created simultaneously, quite different from the Adam and Eve story – Chirino, Relacion de las Islas Filipinas, trans Echevarria, p. 60

Common spiritual practices were animism, Islam (Mindanao and other areas), and Hinduism (Brewer, 2004)

Shamans were primarily women identified including men who identified as women in and out of ritual and brought forward their female energy (bayog or asog).  - Brewer 2004

Tao worshipped sky, animals, insects, birds, trees – called anitos or gods symbolized by imahens or idols; other tools such as clay pots were widely used for gifting and ceremony (Pigafetta in B& R)

In villages where Islam was predominantly practiced – husband could kill his wife and her lover for adultery and if one of them escapes, there would be open war between families until the adulterer is dead; By the time the Spaniards came, Islam had grown in Mindanao. 

Literacy

“All indigenous people were able to write very well…able to fluently and easily express what they wished…all the natives, men and women, wrote in this language and there were very few who did not write well and correctly…”-Morga,  Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, Trans. Cummins, p. 269

Indigenous language did NOT have GENDERED pronouns, nor suffixes to denote gender.  Tao regarded indigenous men and women equally - there were no words for she, he, him, her, his.

Rites of Passage

In Cagayan, 8 year old boys were taught headhunting activities.

Common sexual practices included anal sex and the use of penile implants. There were rites of passage for girls’ first menstruation and the insertion of the sagra for boys.  

Other Common Practices in Precolonial Philippines (unless otherwise stated, from Brewer 2004)

Tao had a deep understanding of and connection to nature.  They ate what they farmed and only grew what they needed. E.J.R. David (2011). Filipino-/American Postcolonial Psychology: Oppression, Colonial Mentality, and Decolonization. AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN

Mothers named their children.

The principalia (upper class) native woman could make a permanent slave out of a man who disrespected her or walked in front of her when she was bathing in the river

Among several tribes, red clothing was reserved only for chiefs and a red putong (headgear) signified that they had killed someone in battle. -Agoncillo, (1974) Introduction to Filipino History. Quezon City Philippines, Garotech Publishing

Tao had a basic unit of government called barangay or village, comprised of about 60 families. Each barangay had a Datu or Rajah who led with a council of elders. Constantino, Renato (1975) The Philippines: A Past Revisited Vol 1. PreSpanish-1941, Quezon City, Philippines. Tala. 

Sanduguan - Blood compact is a practice where chiefs or representatives of barangays will each place a drop of their blood in a cup that all will drink from to seal their partnership. Agoncillo, 1974

Tattoos – both men and women carried tattoos on their bodies; having facial and arm tattoos meant you were beautiful; the more tattoos, the better; for some tribes, tattoos reflected how many wars or enemies they have killed. It is said the Spaniards named the people “Pintados” because of the tattoos that covered their bodies (Brewer, 2004)

Birth Ritual

The midwives in performing their functions would pray to the first midwives of the world – whom they do not know – “oh first midwife, by your good will, now grant me the favor such that through my help this creature may be born.” After the baby is born, a pig that the pregnant woman cared for and fed the best food available would be sacrificed to the anito in a ceremony attended by parents and neighborhood.  Everybody including the baby was anointed with the fresh pig’s blood which was then cooked and eaten– Manila Manuscript

Ceremony: Blessing of the Pig

"They begin by sounding the great drums (tamburi), then they bring three large dishes, two are filled with caked or rice and cooked millet rolled up in leaves, and roast fish; in the third are Cambay clothes, and two strips of palm cloth. A cloth of Cambay is spread out on the ground.  Then two Baylan come, each of whom has in her hand a reed trumpet.  They step upon the cloth and make obeisance to the Sun; they then clothe themselves in the abovementioned cloths. The first…dances and sounds her trumpet, and invokes the Sun.  The second Baylan takes one of the strips of palm cloth, and dances, and also sounds her trumpet; thus they dance and sound their trumpets for a short space of time, saying several things to the sun…."

"The first Baylan…takes the other strip of cloth, and both together sounding their trumpets, dance for a long time around the pig which is bound on the ground.  The first one always speaks in a low tone to the sun, and the second answers her. "

"The second Baylan then presents a cup of wine to the first, who, whilst they both continue their address to the sun, brings the cup four or five times near their mouth as though going to drink, and meanwhile sprinkles the wine on the heart of the pig.  She then gives up the cup, and receives a lance that she brandishes, whilst still dancing and reciting, and four or five times directs the lance at the pig’s heart.  At last with a sudden and well-aimed blow she pierces it through and through.  She withdraws the lance from the wound, which is then closed and dressed with herbs. "

"During the ceremony, a torch is always burning, and the Baylan who pierced the pig takes and puts the torch out with her mouth, the other Baylan dips the end of her trumpet in the pig’s blood, and with it marks the forehead of her husband and of her companion, and then of the rest of the people…"

"That done, the Baylan took off their robes and ate what was in the two dishes, inviting only the women to join them…Only the Baylan are able to consecrate the boar in this manner, and this animal is never eaten unless it is killed in this manner". – Pigafetta, Primo Viaggio, in B&R vol 33, pp. 167-171

DEATH RITUAL

The first and last concern of ancient Tao in cases of sickness was to offer sacrifice to the Anito.  These were offered with dancing to the sound of a bell…in the most furious part of the dance and the bell ringing, when the katalona or baylan was exerting most force, all at once she stopped at the death of the sick person.  After the death there followed new music, dirges and lamentations, which were also sung, accompanied by weeping…to the sound of this sad music, they washed the body of the dead person, perfuming them with the gum of the storax tree and other aromatics…and clothing them in the best garments which the dead person possessed; then after having kept and mourned over them for three days, they were buried.”-Chirino, Relation of the Philippine Islands, in B&R, vol. 13, p. 130

Anitos mentioned in the Bolinao Manuscript (Tagalog region) (Brewer, 2004)

Akasiabat (Abat) – responsible for relieving body pains

Akasidauan (Dauan) – responsible for relieving body pains

Apolaqui (Ganciam) – for calming the turbulent waters of the seas

Akasimbayen (Bayen) – responsible for relieving knee pains

Ambing – relieving illness and aching bodies

Apolaqui – responsible for relieving body pains

Poon – meaning root or beginning; came forth at the beginning of the world; this Anito was responsible for showers and the rain, and invoked during times of drought, and a ritual of thanksgiving was offered after the harvest; Poon was the most powerful in the whole animist tradition in Bolinao, and belonged to Bonga, an octogenarian Babaylan who inherited it from her ancestors.

Idiyanale – responsible for agriculture

Balangaw – god of rainbows

Lalahon or Lakampati – goddess of harvest

Lakapati –responsible for crops and animals

Maguayen – responsible for the sea

Mayari – goddess of the moon and of women

Agni – god of fire

Anitun Tabu – god of wind and rain

Apolake – god of sun and war

Dian Masalanta – god of love, pregnancy and childbirth

Bathala or Bathalang Maykapal – created the universe and humanity

Sidapa – god of death

HEGEMONY AND COLONIZATION:     Baylan = bruja = bruha

After March 16 1521

Magellan arrived in Samar (Cebu) during beginning of Holy week on March 16, 1521; Within a week of his arrival, he had claimed to have baptized 800 Tao, celebrating mass on Easter Sunday with fencing and artillery fire.  One village was burned because it would not obey.  Anitos were burned in what was described as “eternal fire in hell.”  They installed an artificial King Humabon as their point of contact, diminishing and marginalizing the babaylan as well as the traditional rulers of the village.  Magellan looked for aspects of culture that were uncertain and inserted Christian values like the 10 commandments, Adam and Eve, and immortality into the Christian propaganda.

Magellan told Humabon that his men could not have sex with Tao because they (Tao) were pagans (not because the Spaniards were married men with wives back home.)

Mactan – a village that did not submit or obey even superficially; resisted until 230 men died including 15 tao

After Magellan was killed by Lapu Lapu on April 27 1521, the Spaniards burned the ship Conception in Bohol; Victoria and Trinidad returned to Spain and Legaspi returned on April 27 1565 with more reinforcement and more missionaries. 

Brewer claims that Westerners (priests writers anthropoligists) judged indigenous women against their own repressed sexual behavior.

HEGEMONIC TOOLS

From this reading of Brewer, and her reading of the accounts of the invaders, one can conclude that the Spaniards used the following hegemonic tools to convert the Philippines from Animism to Christianity/Catholicism.

Christianity/Catholicism was identified with force and violence.  Under Magellan, those who did not surrender or agree to be baptized were killed, beheaded, shot, or burned alive. 

Spaniards used the male Tao as a tool of oppression and hegemony.  First, the men were told to take their rightful place as leaders in every way.  They had to turn in the babaylan and for some, this meant turning their wives and sisters in.  Young boys were rewarded for turning in anitos and instrumentos used by the village babaylan.  An Inquisition followed Legaspi’s return which resulted in the killing and ultimate decimation of the most powerful village babaylan, the loss of thousands of anitos and instrumentos, and undoing of ancestral memory. 

Women’s role in general were diminished upon contact, gradually marginalizing the carrying of weapons, requiring more clothing for women to cover legs and chest, and no tattoos.

  

The Spaniards introduced land ownership, in contradiction to indigenous values of worshiping the land, not owning it.  This began when Legaspi established its fort in Cebu and used a line of trees as a property line meant to separate Spaniards from indigenous people.

Remix – the Spaniards remixed many of the traditional songs and stories and re-told them with a Christian slant.  They replaced traditional characters with Virgin Mary for example.

Repressive Sexual Behavior – The Spaniards introduced the idea of virginity as a good thing, in contradiction to the indigenous values.  This included the elevation of the Virgin Mary as an ideal “good woman” and the imposition of chastity as a value in direct opposition to the babaylan and other women who were merely performing their gender and sexual roles as they have been taught for generations.

Babaylan & Baybayin 2017 References – Victoria Gardner, Ed.D.

Agoncillo, (1974) Introduction to Filipino History, Garotech Publishing, Quezon City Philippines

Alcina, Historia de las isles e Indios de Bisayas, Vol. 1, Book 3.

Anonymous.  Manila Manuscript

Virgil Mayor Apostol. Way of the Ancient Healer, Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Tradition. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley CA

Ibn Batuta & Mackintosh-Smith 2002 The Travels of Batuttah, London: Picador

Carolyn Brewer (2004). Shamanism, Catholicism, and Gender Relations in Colonial Philippines, 1521 – 1685. Ashgate Publishing Co., Hants, England

Fennella Cannell (1999), Power & Intimacy in the Christian Philippines. Ateneo de Manila Press, QC Philippines

Chirino, Relation of the Philippine Islands, in B&R, vol. 13, p. 130

Renato Constantino (1975) The Philippines: A Past Revisited Vol 1. PreSpanish-1941,Tala Publishing, Quezon City, Philippines.

E.J.R. David (2011). Filipino-/American Postcolonial Psychology: Oppression, Colonial Mentality, and Decolonization. AuthorHouse, Bloomington IN

Katrina de Guia (2011) “An Ancient Reed of Wholeness” Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous, Leny Mendoza Strobel, ed. Center for Babaylan Studies, Santa Rosa CA

Tara Maxwell, (2010) Babaylan Urduja, Imperial Memories, and the Filipina Diaspora in Leny Mendoza Strobel, ed. Babaylan; Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous. ,” Center for Babaylan Studies, Santa Rosa, CA

Leny Mendoza Strobel ed. (2010) “Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous,” Center for Babaylan Studies, Santa Rosa, CA

Morga, Historical Events of the Philippine Islands, trans Rizal, pp. 288-89

Grace Nono, (2013) Song of the Babaylan: Living Voices, Medicines, Spiritualities, of Philippine Ritualistic – Oralist – Healers, Carolina Bobby Malay, ed.  Institute of Spirituality in Asia

Antonio Pigafetta. Primo Viaggio Intono al Mondo (ca 1525) in The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898. 55 vols. Ed. Emma Blair Helen & James Robertson (1903-1909), Cleveland:  Arthur H. Clarke Co., Mandaluyong Rizal: Cachostter Manos (1973 ed.) (aka B & R)

Plasencia, in B & R

Hector Santos (1993) The Tagalog Script. Sushi Dog Graphics.Los Angeles CA.

www.baybayin.net