Fiction. Asian American Studies. As the first international anthology of Filipina writers published in the United States, BABAYLAN reflects the complex history of a people whose roots have stretched to both sides of the globe. The voices represented in this collection offer a broad and varied perspective on the Filipina writer whose diasporic existence is a living, breathing bridge, not only between countries but also generations, as strong voices from the past fuel realities of the future. As a result, vibrant and original art, the trademark of Filipina writers perpetually emerges and evolves. With contributions from over 60 writers--both Filipina and Filipina American--BABAYLAN provides readers with a comprehensive view of a growing and vibrant transnational literary culture. Challenging. Innovative. Fierce and reflective. Somber and funny. No one word can capture the extraordinary range of this collection.

Babaylan Sing Back depicts the embodied voices of Native Philippine ritual specialists popularly known as babaylan. These ritual specialists are widely believed to have perished during colonial times, or to survive on the margins in the present-day. They are either persecuted as witches and purveyors of superstition, or valorized as symbols of gender equality and anticolonial resistance. Drawing on fieldwork in the Philippines and in the Philippine diaspora, Grace Nono's deep engagement with the song and speech of a number of living ritual specialists demonstrates Native historical agency in the 500th year anniversary of the contact between the people of the Philippine Islands and the European colonizers.

Literary Nonfiction. California Interest. Asian & Asian American Studies. Women's Studies. "Every word of WE ARE NO LONGER BABAYLAN brilliantly hooks with and hinges on magic, and the magic of possibility. Valmidiano frames the ancient, persistent pain that hammers and chisels Filipina American knowledge with ritual and unrest. She articulates screams and silences, exalting that in order to engage with the Filipina, female, and storied being is to see her in all of her palimpsests. Her prose about the mysteries of waiting, family in manifold forms, and Pinay friendship, features a heartfelt, phenomenal voice declaring, time and time again, women's bodies--of writing, of work, of ceremony--theirs to narrate and protect."--Janice Lobo Sapigao "When a powerful witch promises revenge before being fed to crocodiles and then, hundreds of years into the future, over decades of colonization and occupation, whispers into the ear of a rebellious girl, the ear of her descendant, a book like WE ARE NO LONGER BABAYLAN is born. Elsa Valmidiano uses language like a bolo cutting through hectares of land overgrown with amnesia and myopia. With this collection of critical and graceful stories, we readers are able to see again with such clarity and light. So much light that the shadows lengthen and then retreat again, a continuous ebb and flow of politicized, personal revelation and cultural examination. Many who read this book--from those of generations who remember demons intimately to the younger generations only now recalling their names--will see a kind of summoning of the Babaylan we 'used to be,' an invitation for her to once again stand by our side."--Trinidad Escobar

In this second edition of Coming Full Circle: The Process of Decolonization Among Post-1965 Filipino Americans, Professor EJR David writes a new FOREWORD and the author has a NEW INTRODUCTION. Coming Full Circle is about the healing of the Filipino colonized psyche through the recovery and re-imagination of Filipino identity and culture. It is about the emergence from the 'culture of silence' to critical consciousness that is able to develop new conceptualizations and frameworks about the Filipino American experience. Decolonization is a psychological process that enables the colonized to understand and overcome the depths of alienation and marginalization caused by the psychic and epistemic violence of colonization. Decolonization transforms the consciousness of the colonized through the reclamation of the Filipino cultural self and makes space for the recovery and healing of traumatic memory, and healing leading to different forms of activism. It is an open-ended process. It is a new way of seeing. As a way of healing, it is also a promise and a hope.

On the babaylan, a Visayan term identifying an indigenous Filipino religious leader, who functions as a healer, a shaman, a seer, and a community "miracle-worker" or a combination of any of those.

The first-ever comprehensive introduction to traditional Filipino healing practices—featuring rare photographs and insights into the roots and modern-day rituals of this ancient shamanic and spiritual belief system. “. . . brilliantly blends the art and science of the sacred teachings of Filipino traditional healing to help people find their path toward health and happiness.” —Deepak Chopra Way of the Ancient Healer provides an overview of the rich tradition of Filipino healing practices, discussing their origins, world influences, and role in daily life. Enhanced with over 200 photographs and illustrations, the book combines years of historical research with detailed descriptions of the spiritual belief system that forms the foundation of these practices. Giving readers a rare look at modern-day Filipino healing rituals, the book also includes personal examples from author Virgil Mayor Apostol’s own experiences with shamanic healing and dream interpretation. The book begins with an explanation of Apostol’s Filipino lineage and legacy as a healer. After a brief history of the Philippine archipelago, he describes the roots of traditional Filipino healing and spirituality, and discusses the Indian, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and American influences that have impacted the Filipino culture. He presents a thorough description of Filipino shamanic and spiritual practices that have developed from the concept that everything in nature contains a spirit (animism) and that living in the presence of spirits demands certain protocols and rituals for interacting with them. The book’s final chapter thoughtfully explores the spiritual tools used in Filipino healing–talismans, amulets, stones, and other natural symbols of power.

Diasporic Intimacies: Queer Filipinos and Canadian Imaginaries is the first edited volume of its kind, featuring the works of leading scholars, artists, and activists who reflect on the contributions of queer Filipinos to Canadian culture and society. Addressing a wide range of issues beyond the academy, the authors present a rich and under-studied archive of personal reflections, in-depth interviews, creative works, and scholarly essays. Their trandsdisciplinary approach highlights the need for queer, transgressive, and utopian practices that render visible histories of migration, empire building, settler colonialism, and globalization. Timely, urgent, and fascinating, Diasporic Intimacies offers an accessible entry point for readers who seek to pursue critically engaged community work, arts education, curatorial practice, and socially inflected research on sexuality, gender, and race in this ever-changing world.