Celebrating Heritage Through Creativity: February Baybayin Meet-up

There is something deeply moving about a room filled with both familiar faces and new friends, all gathered to honor our collective roots. For our second Baybayin meet-up of the year, the energy felt particularly expressive, as we came together to celebrate National Arts Month (Pambansang Buwan ng Sining).

To honor the occasion, we leaned into the "crafty" side of our heritage with a hands-on session focused on the intersection of ancient script and modern artistry.

To start off, we reviewed the usual rules of Baybayin, the uses of kudlit, but most importantly the rule of “Kung Ano’ng Bigkas, Siya’ng baybay”, that’s because we focused more on name writing this session. 

Participants practiced writing the names of legends who shaped our cultural identity, including:

1. Fernando Amorsolo (Painting) ᜉᜒᜇ᜔ᜈᜈ᜔ᜇᜓ ᜀᜋᜓᜇ᜔ᜐᜓᜎᜓ (Pe-r-na-n-do A-mo-r-so-lo)

2. Juan Nakpil (Architecture) ᜑᜓᜏᜈ᜔ ᜈᜃ᜔ᜉᜒᜎ᜔ (Hu-wa-n Na-k-pi-l)

3. Guillermo Tolentino (Sculpture) ᜄᜒᜎᜒᜌᜒᜇ᜔ᜋᜓ ᜆᜓᜎᜒᜈ᜔ᜆᜒᜈᜓ (Gi-li-ye-r-mo To-le-n-ti-no)

4. Nick Joaquin (Literature) ᜈᜒᜃ᜔ ᜑᜓᜏᜃᜒᜈ᜔ (Ni-k Hu-wa-ki-n)

5. Alice Garcia Reyes (Dance) ᜀᜎᜒᜐ᜔ ᜄᜇ᜔ᜐᜒᜌ ᜇᜒᜌᜒᜐ᜔ (A-li-s Ga-r-si-ya Re-ye-s)

6. Ryan Cayabyab (Music) ᜇᜌᜈ᜔ ᜃᜌᜊ᜔ᜌᜊ᜔ (Ra-ya-n Ka-ya-b-ya-b)

7. Marilou Diaz Abaya (Film) ᜋᜇᜒᜎᜓ ᜇᜒᜌᜐ᜔ ᜀᜊᜌ (Ma-ri-lu Di-ya-s A-ba-ya)

8. Kidlat Tahimik (Film) ᜃᜒᜇ᜔ᜎᜆ᜔ ᜆᜑᜒᜋᜒᜃ᜔ (Ki-d-la-t Ta-hi-mi-k)

9. Larry Alcala (Visual Arts) ᜎᜇᜒ ᜀᜎ᜔ᜃᜎ (La-ri A-l-ka-la)

10. Abdulmari Imao (Visual Arts) ᜀᜊ᜔ᜇᜓᜎ᜔ᜋᜇᜒ ᜁᜋᜏ᜔ (A-b-du-l-ma-ri I-ma-w)

After drawing inspiration from the masters, it was time for our participants to let their own creative talents shine. Each person selected a Filipino word related to the arts—such as:

Teatro (Theater): ᜆᜒᜌᜆ᜔ᜇᜓ

Kaligrapo (Calligraphy): ᜃᜎᜒᜄ᜔ᜇᜉᜓ

Sayaw (Dance): ᜐᜌᜏ᜔

Musika (Music): ᜋᜓᜐᜒᜃ

Arkitektura (Architecture): ᜀᜇ᜔ᜃᜒᜆᜒᜃ᜔ᜆᜓᜇ

Panitikan (Literature): ᜉᜈᜒᜆᜒᜃᜈ᜔

Panulaan (Poetry): ᜉᜈᜓᜎᜀᜈ᜔

Potograpiya (Photography): ᜉᜓᜆᜓᜄ᜔ᜇᜉᜒᜌ

Maniniyot (Photographer): ᜋᜈᜒᜈᜒᜌᜓᜆ᜔

Pelikula (Film): ᜉᜒᜎᜒᜃᜓᜎ

After their paintings, they created a little souvenir for themselves. Each participant decorated

a little wooden keychain with any Baybayin character or word they wanted. Another opportunity for them to showcase their skill! 

This event was a resounding success, not just because of the beautiful work produced, but because of the community we continue to build. We are so grateful to everyone who spent their afternoon with us, keeping our culture alive through art.

--Angel

Head of Baybayin

-Jocelyn

Tagasanay