The babaylan carried identity not just in words but in gesture, song, and ritual. These were embodied truths, not textbooks. Indigenous memory was, and still is, a full-body practice

Abinales and Amoroso, in their 2005 work State and Society in the Philippines

Language fluency is activism. This is not about reclaiming purity, but embracing pluralism and contradiction. We reject colonial amnesia through language learning, even informally.

arcane

When the Spanish colonizers arrived, their Christianization project began by destroying the very foundation of our indigenous faith. They broke the Anitos. They silenced the chants. They erased every ritual that didn’t serve the cross. What was once sacred became feared. What was once power became persecution.

Colonizers didn’t understand that. In... See more

But neutrality is not always innocent.

They channeled energy from nature, the stars, the trees, the spirits that moved through the wind and water. It was animistic, yes, but also intuitive and ancient. Babaylans used their gifts to heal sickness, protect the pregnant, and ward off disease.

They aren’t dead. Just silenced.

Language and ritual aren’t missing pieces of identity. They are tools of agency. We shouldn’t just be fluent in grammar, but also in memory.

Teach each other. Love the language, the history, the culture.