On Some Next Level *ish...

So, apparently out of the 20 or so shoutouts I did during my Baybayin.com interview, my shoutout to Urduja and whoever wrote Bahala Meditations caught wind on the internets and thus began the conversations with Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor, who dropped some knowledge on me about the ancient Filipinos writing Ambahan poetry in Baybayin, and performing it like a spoken word slam. Check:

Hi David,

Thanks for the link to Tiksikan! I had not heard of that sort of Filipino signifying poetry before. Very cool.

Ambahan competitions as far as understand it differ in a couple of ways. Tiksikan is a set of quatrains, but Ambahan are seven line poems. Tiksikan are extemporaneous, where as the Ambahan competitions usually start with poets reciting poems they have read while traveling the countryside (the poems are written on live bamboo). The winner of a competition is usually the one who knows the most ambahan poems of anyone else. That's about all I know, though. Like I said, I've never actually seen a competition, just read about them. :)

I've posted your two vids to the Babaylan Files blog: http://babaylanfiles.blogspot.com/2009/05/bathala-project.html

If you live near Sonoma, perhaps you can join us at the conference next year. :)

Cheers! Bec

Conference? I clicked the link, which led me to a repost of my Baybayin.com interview vids, which led me to the Center for Baybaylan Studies. This is on some serious next-level spiritual/cultural awakening type... a bit dawnting due to their high intensity and passion for self discovery, but very interesting and quite inspiring. Check the vid:



Followed up was an email talking about a Baybaylan 2010 conference. And quote...

Hi David! Kamusta na? My fellow Babaylan sisters emailed us about a YouTube Bathala Project video by you that talked about the magikal connection of Baybayin & Bathala. I contacted Perla to watch it and get back to me. I was speechless for awhile after watching it. Me & Perla were at awe because finally our work in relating to our Filipino Spirituality has finally reached the hip-hop generation. This is just the start ot the Bathala/Baybayin/Babaylan movement!

We are presently organizing the next Babaylan Conference 2010. The first Babaylan Conference was last June 2005 in New York City, which Perla, I and our other Babaylan sisters organized. Please visit our website. There are Babaylan files that are posted and will be continued to be updated till the Babaylan Conference on April 17-18, 2010 at Sonoma, CA. We are looking forward to connect with our other Kababayans in your community.

CENTER OF BABAYLAN STUDIES
www.babaylan.net

bathala nawa
mary ann ubaldo
www.urduja.com

Quite excited about it! 2010! That's wassup...

Been doing mostly corporate identity and organizational design lately, and though I'll show it soon, I'll also get back to the Baybayin stylin soon too. Stay up!

~cyph

On Some Next Level *ish...