ANO / NGANU / ANU
ANG BÀBÀ BISAYA?
(What is BÀBÀ BISAYA?)
"Bàbà" in the Bisayan languages of the Philippines
means “mouth” or “opening.”
At Bàbà Bisaya, learning our ancestral tongues opens
a door to cultural roots!
Our closing in-person gathering for students in Lenapehoking (NYC) at Happy Creative Dig
from the Boxer Codex
Our closing in-person gathering for students in Lenapehoking (NYC) at Happy Creative Dig
For those with ancestral lineages & communal relations from Philippine Visayan islands (Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar & more), along with Mindanao, the Bisayan language tree links us in an inter-island network across oceans. Let's reconnect!
HILIGAYNON SUGBUANON (Cebuano) WARAY
The 7 VIRTUAL CLASSES consists of 2-HR LIVE SESSIONS led by teachers on Jitsi, a free & open-source video conferencing site that opens on browser or phone app, with PDF PAGES hosted on Google Drive/Presentations & CLASS CHAT on Discord/RESEARCH ARCHIVE on Are.na
Classes run over 9 WEEKS (with 2-week break to review HOMEWORK & develop GROUP PROJECT). Audio &/or Video CLASS RECORDINGS of each session are hosted on Dropbox. Each participant is assigned an additional 1-hr weekly CO-LEARNING POD to support IMMERSION INTEGRATION.
2022 CLASS SCHEDULE
(Sept 13 - Nov 8, 2022)
7 Classes from 7:30-9:30pm EST / 4:30-6:30pm PST / 7:30-9:30am PHT
*see exact calendar below
First Day (all classes together) - Tuesday, Sept 13
HILIGAYNON - Mondays starting Sept 19
SUGBUANON - Tuesdays starting Sept 20
WARAY - Wednesdays starting Sept 21
Last Day (all classes together) - Tuesday, Nov 8
* 2-week break from October 10-23, coordinate with pod
*If you are not available to join live because of time zone, you can still join classes by watching recordings on dropbox, keeping up with discussions on discord channel & joining the weekly co-learning pod, suited for your time zone (read more below).
STRUCTURE OF COURSE
The structure of 7-week BABA BISAYA language immersion follows the Bisayan myth of the 7 realms of the universe, as they correspond to 7 syllables, linked to ancient Vedic seed mantras & chakras.
Through these 7 layers of Bisayan island cosmoworlds, captured in script & speech, we learn different dimensions of language, as it is embedded in diversebut connected seas, soils, social & spiritual ecologies.
LECTURES & DISCUSSIONS
Classes includes badlit (Bisayan script) writing practice, weekly presentation, class discussion and supplementary materials like videos, music, films, readings. Beyond 2-hour classes, any homework or communal research is shared on private Discord & public Are.na channels.
CO-LEARNING POD
Each student will be assigned a weekly 1-hour learning pod (according to time zones), consisting of other students and a learning facilitator to support lesson practice & homework integration.
PARTICIPATIVE MEDIA
Immersion invites collaborative media making (zines, children's stories, or workbooks, etc.) within each learning pod. This supports future of language learning materials for Bisayan islanders reconnecting to roots.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
-
Decolonial, embodied ways of reconnecting to ancestral heritage
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Learn language as it emerges from ecologies of island peoples
-
Learn everyday communication & basic sentences in a Bisayan language
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Learn to read and write Badlit (precolonial Bisayan script)
-
Learn native Visayan kultura, geo-history, mythologies, cosmologies.
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Learn about contemporary Visayan visionaries, artists, organizers, etc.
-
Inspire collaborative learning to co-create cultural archive
Minimum offering for enrollment starts at $300 USD, with options to donate more & support! Payment details will be sent after registration.
Note: We will offer one scholarship per class. To apply, please register & email: bababisaya@gmail.com w/ request
ATUN PAMATASAN
(Community Guidelines)
*2022 DATES
Week 1 > OPEN HOUSE / FIRST CLASS (all 3 Classes Together) Tuesday, September 13
Week 2 > September 19, 20, 21
Week 3 > September 26, 27, 28
Week 4 > October 3, 4, 5
-- TWO WEEK BREAK > October 10-23 (Pods will Coordinate Meetings)
Week 5 > October 24, 25, 26
Week 6 > October 31, Nov 1, 2
Week 7 > CLOSING CIRCLE / FINAL CLASS (all 3 Classes Together) Tuesday, November 8
HILIGAYNON - Mondays
SUGBUANON - Tuesdays
WARAY - Wednesdays
About Baba Bisaya
We are an emerging, transoceanic cultural heritage & creative media center preserving Bisayan islands languages & lived ecologies through learning schools & immersive experiences, for global diaspora & with local roots
About Khokhoi
KhoKhoi (aka KK/kk de la vida/mary alinney villacastin) is a movement-based media artist and plant, body & cultural heartworker. Living between unceded Lenapehoking (NYC) & Visayan Sea, Philippines. KK is a migrant proudly descended from fisherfolk of Bantayan island, located in the heart center of the Philippine archipelago.
KK holds a BA in Anthropology (Barnard College of Columbia University) & an MA in Media Studies (The New School of Public Engagement). In 2018-2019, KK received an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship in Dance to study local festivals & media cultures of the Visayan islands.
Alongside academic studies & artistic co-creations, KK traveled Mexico, India & Philippines, learning healing arts of plant medicine, hilot/bodywork, hatha yoga, dance, movement therapy & martial arts. KK channels these embodied practices through Kalami Spirit Arts @kalamispiritarts, offering somatic bodywork, islayoga, herbal elixirs, cultural handcrafts & curated gatherings.
Last year, KK co-created Baba Bisaya. Plugged into the ancestral techno-ecology of language, KK dreams of connecting folks in diaspora to Bisayan cultural roots and local island communities, as a transoceanic collaborative process of sharing, learning and healing.
