[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”http:\/\/bagongpinay.org\/bmandala\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/background-agedpaint-light-ss_87022_S-1.jpg” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”TITLE” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
BACKGROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro 1″ _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]The Babaylan Mandala<\/em> began as a healing tool for\u00a0a people<\/strong><\/p>\n Historical background<\/strong><\/p>\n I began the\u00a0Babaylan Mandala<\/em> to be a gift of healing upon\u00a0colonial, imperial wounding upon my ancestral\u00a0nation, the\u00a0Filipinos, islander people, whose land blessed them with abundant\u00a0gold and natural resources… Four hundred years ago, my ancestors were overcome by Spanish conquistadores<\/em>\u00a0who came under orders of King Philip II to Christianize the world, but also to conquer and\u00a0rule over\u00a0the natives, ship all\u00a0gold back on galleons, and make Spain\u00a0a rich, European and global\u00a0power. <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” padding_mobile=”on” column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax_method_1=”off” admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/bagongpinay.org\/bmandala\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/babaylanmandala-gold-patina\u00a9.jpg” align=”center” admin_label=”patina green mandala” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ max_width=”250px” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” animation=”off” sticky=”off”] [\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_toggle title=”It began with Filipino symbolism and meanings…” admin_label=”it began with” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]The creation of the\u00a0Babaylan Mandala<\/em> was\u00a0began\u00a0as\u00a0a\u00a0special message to Filipino people. The symbolism of the\u00a0Babaylan Mandalas<\/em>\u00a0began with baybayin<\/em>, ancient Philippine script symbols, and came together\u00a0to:<\/p>\n ating mga ninuno <\/em>= our ancestors 5 Elements … and more that you will see with your Inner Eye and Heart. Many years ago, after I became a mother, I went on a healing journey and with that I decided to bring healing into this world through whatever I could do. So I use my creativity to imbue healing into my works. How does one try to heal the trauma of historical events?<\/p>\n Art can be a very powerful tool.<\/p>\n Over 400 years ago, the coming of Westerner colonizers significantly\u00a0shaped the identity of Filipinos.<\/p>\n The archipelago of the Philippines is rich in gold and in pre-colonial times\u00a0my Inang Bayan<\/em> (motherland) of the Philippine Islands was known from as afar away as India as\u00a0Subarna Bhumi<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0“Land of the Gold.” Ancient\u00a0Chinese merchant traders called my motherland Ma-Yi<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ancient mariners and Chinese merchants from afar knew that the Philippine islands were rich in gold because people of all\u00a0social classes adorned themselves\u00a0with the precious metal. The maharlika<\/em> or noble class wore finely crafted, gold-smithed pieces and the alipin<\/em> or slave\u00a0class wore stringed nuggets and the simplest gold jewelry.<\/p>\n People came from far away to trade with my ancestors. My ancestors were adept seafarers and were related to the proud Polynesian\u00a0people. My ancestors\u00a0travelled by\u00a0boat to far-away lands, such as the Moluccas Islands<\/a>\u00a0and southern Austronesian islands.<\/p>\n With the historical arrival of Spanish conquistadors, the Philippine ancestral gold crafts and mined metal were\u00a0wrested away and loaded upon Spanish galleons to be delivered across the seas\u00a0to King Philip II so he could\u00a0make\u00a0Spain one of the most powerful\u00a0countries of Europe and the world. All imperial forces\u00a0conquer for gold or other natural resources.<\/p>\n As\u00a0foreigners brought\u00a0their religion, culture, movies, and commercial products to the Philippines\u00a0people, something was also lost and\u00a0replaced\u00a0within the Philippine people… Something not tangible…<\/p>\n The richness of Philippine ancestral indigenous culture became\u00a0frowned upon, lost, fragmented, and\u00a0many beautiful spiritual practices, values and beliefs were\u00a0forgotten and are still fading away. After the arrival of colonizers, Philippine identity and spirituality became infected with dysfunctional perceptions of the superiority of the conquerors’\u00a0race, religion\u00a0and\u00a0culture and with\u00a0innate feelings of inferiority for being “indio” or\u00a0indigenous. This is the innate, destructive tactic of any imperial invasion and rule\u00a0(Roman, British, Spanish, American, Japanese, etc).<\/p>\n The Babaylan Mandala<\/em> is a call to remember Philippine\u00a0indigenous beauty. It is also a call to the\u00a0children of Earth to remember their ancestors and their own indigenous connection to Earth\/Gaia.<\/p>\n It is time to dismantle centuries-old illusions that humans are separate, divided and are subject to hierarchies of privilege that justify exploitation, pain and suffering in every corner of the Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Filipinos, native people and all humans around the world who have experienced historical imperialism and displacement, patriarchal programming, can experience\u00a0pagbabalikloob, <\/em>a return to their deepest inner divine self, a shedding of false beliefs that support institutions that love power and money and devalue\u00a0human lives in so many ways.<\/p>\n People\u00a0can\u00a0awaken, raise their consciousness and stand strong in their identity, history, heritage and the center of their being (kalooban<\/em>), a sacred inner place, where they can find their inner light, and reclaim their inner gold.<\/p>\n The Babaylan Mandalas<\/em> and all their symbols,\u00a0including\u00a0the 5 elements and baybayin<\/em> scripts, represent the reclaiming of the Filipinos’ Inner Gold… It represents any person’s reclaiming of their true self.<\/p>\n See these links to discover more info on the Philippines pre-colonial golden heritage:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”Historical trivia challenge…” admin_label=”historia trivia challenge” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]So see if you can find any historical references on…<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_toggle][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_toggle title=”GLOSSARY” admin_label=”GLOSSARY” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]damdam <\/strong><\/em>– empathy, inner perception of others’ emotions. Also see Pakikiramdam<\/em>.<\/p>\n diwa<\/em> <\/strong>– concept, idea, spirit, soul (sanskrit derivative from diva<\/em>)<\/p>\n babaylan<\/em> <\/strong>– Philippine indigenous communities recognize a woman (or man) as a Babaylan, someone who has the ability to mediate with the spirit world, has her own spirit guides, and is given gifts of healing, foretelling, and insight. She may also have knowledge of healing therapies such as hilot <\/em>(bonesetter, acupressure),\u00a0arbularyo <\/em>(herbalist), and as a psycho-spiritual counselor. The babaylan<\/em>\u00a0is a ritualist, a chanter, diviner. She has the gift of traveling to the spirit world or non-ordinary states of reality in order to mediate with the spirits. Babaylans are called by other names in the other languages of Philippine indigenous communities: Mombaki<\/em>, Dawac<\/em>, Balyan<\/em> or Balian<\/em>, Katalonan<\/em>, Ma-Aram<\/em>, Mangngallag<\/em>, Mambunong<\/em>.<\/p>\n In contemporary contexts, whether in urban Philippines or in Filipino diasporic communities, the Babaylan name is used by those who are inspired by the spirit in which the primary Babaylans<\/em> carried out their work: the spirit of revolution against colonization, their belief in Sacred Wholeness, their love of mother country, the desire to serve their communities in achieving justice and peace.<\/p>\n If we were to take a non-Filipino word to describe the various healers\/spiritual practitioners, a “shaman” would be the closest. Some of our members, in their writings for a Western\/Westernized audience, sometimes interchange shaman, “shaman-priest,” or “priestess” but our members also strive to use the local term when referring to a specific person, region, or ethnolinguistic group. Otherwise, it IS indeed a challenge to use English terms to describe or explain our Philippine traditions.<\/p>\n bahala Na<\/em> <\/strong>– Filipino attitude, in which, he\/she is determined to do his\/her best and in the face of uncertainty takes courage and thus action. The common Filipino phrase “bahala na” essentially means “I will do my best and trust God to take care of the outcome.”<\/p>\n hiya<\/em> <\/strong>– sense of propriety<\/p>\n hiyang<\/em> <\/strong>– appropriateness<\/p>\n kapwa<\/em> <\/strong>– shared identity; self in other; inner Self\/Spirit\/Self. In Sikolohiyan Pilipino <\/em>(Philippine Psychology), kapwa<\/em> has two categories, ibang tao<\/em> (other people) and hindi\u00a0ibang tao<\/em> (not other people);\u00a0togetherness;\u00a0unity of the one-of-us-and-the-other similar to “namaste” or acknowledgement of soul essences\u00a0that are divinely connected. Also see Pakikipagkapwa<\/em>.<\/p>\n kapwatid\u00a0– <\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong>playful joining of the words kapwa<\/em> (self in other) and kapatid<\/em> (sibling)<\/p>\n kagandahang loob<\/em> <\/strong>– Shared nobility or shared humanity.<\/p>\n kalayaan<\/em> <\/strong>– freedom, liberty and independence. Emancipation. Being free from form of control in the form of violent action and words.<\/p>\n kasinag<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/em>– connected inter-personal divine-soul lights;\u00a0similar to “namaste” or acknowledgement of soul-lights that are divinely connected<\/p>\n katutubong kaalaman <\/em><\/strong>– indigenous knowledge<\/p>\n loob<\/em> <\/strong>– deepest, innermost Self<\/p>\n magkatao<\/em><\/strong> – people-centered orientation<\/p>\n mandala<\/strong><\/em> – means circle. Mandalas in the Tibetan and Buddhist traditions have spiritual and ritual significance and can represent many things\u2014the journey of a human from birth to enlightenment and the perfection of the cosmos. Mandalas have been used as a spiritual tool for aspirants towards enlightenment.<\/p>\n pagbabalikloob<\/em> <\/strong>– Return to Self, Return to Source. Decolonization process. Returning to Home.<\/p>\n pagkapilipino<\/em> <\/strong>– being Filipino<\/p>\n pakikibagay<\/em> <\/strong>– conformity<\/p>\n pakikipagkapwa<\/em> <\/strong>– togetherness; sacred interconnection of people and all of Creation. Also see Kapwa<\/em>.<\/p>\n pakikiramdam<\/em> <\/strong>– shared inner perceptions. Empathy. Heightened awareness and sensitivity of others emotions and thoughts. Also see Damdam<\/em>.<\/p>\n pakikisama<\/em> <\/strong>– Smooth Interpersonal Relationship\/s and maintenance thereof. Being united with another, a group, or a community.<\/p>\n panagtagbo<\/em><\/strong>– meeting together, collaboration<\/p>\n pakikitungo<\/em> <\/strong>– civility<\/p>\n pamathalaan<\/em> <\/strong>– communities<\/p>\n talinghaga<\/em> <\/strong>– a process of reflection, contemplation… it is thinking and seeing in metaphors, and it entails a matter of inner sight; a part of Filipino holistic thinking. De Guia writes in Kapwa (see CFBS books list<\/span><\/a>) <\/em>that its “a wholistic lifestyle that was anchored in prayer and devotion.” Talinghaga<\/em> is quite significant in trying to understand how Filipinos think naturally and how our westernized thinking may not include acknowledgement of the validity of such an ability; anyone can be quite capable of thinking intuitively and logically, and creating a balance between the two types of thinking.<\/p>\n utang ng\u00a0loob<\/em> <\/strong>– norm of reciprocity<\/p>\n Many of these\u00a0definitions are also found\u00a0at the\u00a0Center for Babaylan Studies<\/a><\/em>.\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Purpose” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]The\u00a0Babaylan Mandala<\/em>\u00a0is now\u00a0a tool for anyone\u00a0for…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/em>pakikipagkapwa = \u00a0<\/em>Sacred Interconnection
\npagbabalikloob <\/em>= return to inner, Divine\u00a0Source
\n<\/em>karangalan\u00a0<\/em>= dignity\u00a0
\n<\/em>kagitingan<\/em> = courage
\n<\/em>Inang Bayan <\/em>= Motherland
\n<\/em>Mutya = <\/em>Sacred Feminine
\nLalaki<\/em> = male
\nbinhi<\/em> = seeds
\nbunga<\/em> = blossoming and fruiting
\nbahala na = <\/em>harmonize with divine will
\n<\/em>Bathala = <\/em>Supreme Divinity
\ndiwa = <\/em>idea, concept, spirit, essence
\npaglilingkod sa kapwa<\/em> = Community Service<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n[\/et_pb_toggle][et_pb_toggle title=”It includes universal symbols…” admin_label=”universal symbols” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]The Babaylan Mandala<\/em> also incorporates symbols of:<\/p>\n
\n5 power roles of the Babaylan<\/em>
\nSacred Numbers
\nMasculine and Feminine Principles
\nDivine\u00a0Source
\nCosmos
\nUniversal Love<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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\n[\/et_pb_toggle][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”http:\/\/bagongpinay.org\/bmandala\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/background-agedpaint-light-ss_87022_S-1.jpg” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”off” custom_padding_tablet=”50px|0|50px|0″ transparent_background=”off” padding_mobile=”off”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.87″ text_text_color=”#000000″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” text_orientation=”center” module_alignment=”center” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n