In this second-to-last chapter of our Babaylan: Filipinos & the Call of the Indigenous, we are met with recognizing the truth when people say, “less is more”. Perhaps via pakikiramdam (intuition), we knew this woman was an esteemed writer. Turns out she is an English professor at the University of Hawaii, and though she wrote only a 4 page memoir sharing her decolonizing journey, this chapter painted so much depth and expanded perceptions.

At the age of 11 years, Professor Minahal’s artistic inspiration was sparked & fueled into her adulthood, by a fictional mortal woman heroine Bolak Sonday, who dared to break past heteronormative standards and mainstream dualities. Despite being “Americanized” as a child, having parents who were inadvertent influencers to subscribe to the USA English-teacher-recommendations that her family must “lose their first language/accent” in obtaining jobs, it is refreshing to see such resiliency thrive.

Years later, Professor Minahal would become a queer artist to successfully combine poetry, dance, and music in her ‘before their words’ performance. In her piece, she narrates a poem accompanied by an erotically queer twist to the traditionally heterosexual muslim dance known as Singkil.

Professor Minahal’s boldness to interweave elements of traditional Filipino arts with her own imagination, is an inspiring legacy portraying how kapwa can attempt to heal and recover the aches of our lost culture in our own unique terms and expression, essentially - our own respective imaginations.

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(approximate timings):

1. Grounding Prayer & @ 2:03

2. Heart Check-in @ 4:06

3. Chapter Overview @ 6:08

4. Vocabulary Words @ 10:13

5. Quotes @ 24:26

6. Closing Prayer @ 46:43