15.1 | The Babaylan of Pre-Colonial Philippines

HERstory: Southeast Asia

The last episode of Season 1 is about a group of people, usually women, called the Babaylan -- shamans endowed with powers to cure the sick, predict right times of planting and harvest, and invoke the souls of ancestors to guide the deceased to the afterlife. There are many people I'd like to acknowledge.

First, the patrons Raymond, Matt, Chito, Ashley, Shereen, Chanda, Yati, Kara, and Mando, as well as Fidellithy of the History of Colonisation podcast, the women of Tuktuk Box, and so many other friends and followers of the show.

Second, Talahib People’s Music, who graciously allowed the use of their song, Babaylan, composed by the late singer/songwriter Tony Palis. The song is available on Musika Publiko TV’s YouTube channel if you want to listen to it again after this episode.

Third, David, Doctoral student of Sociocultural Anthropology at the Arizona State University, for sharing his resources and providing feedback, including the gaps in the information, which we hope to address in subsequent interviews.

Fourth, composers Sancho & Morin, for letting the public use their composition, Indigenous Filipino Music | "Firelighting Ceremony." You'll hear it in several places throughout.

And fifth, you, reading this -- thank you for being here for the ups and downs, mistakes, corrections, and I hope, audible improvement. As we always say, there are so many more stories to tell and we’re just getting started. I will be taking a break from regular episodes until I'm ready to launch Season 2, the Colonial Period.

If you want to check out the webinars I mention in this episode, head over to NHCP's Museum of Philippine Social History on Facebook.

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For a copy of the show notes, a shout out at the end of the next episode, access to the resource library, regional current events updates, the occasional bonus episode, and your own Spotify scannable magnet of the podcast, join us on Patreon.