Ancient Filipino script making a comeback with new generations
In classrooms and online, local teachers spark revival of Baybayin
Ally Gonzalo is on a mission to remain connected with their homeland.
The Filipino-Canadian immigrated to Canada in the summer of 2016 but is determined never to lose touch with their culture and what it means to be Filipino.
Enter Baybayin.
Gonzalo is Winnipeg artist and photographer who taught themself Baybayin, the ancient Filipino syllabary.
"Having left my motherland I really wanted to find a way to feel more connected and so I was like, 'Well, I know I can teach myself, why don't I just familiarize myself with this writing script even more,'" Gonzalo said.
A syllabary differs from a language but includes characters that represent syllables. Baybayin is thought to date back to the 1400s or earlier, before the Philippines was colonized by Spain.
Gonzalo now teaches the script in workshops in Winnipeg. (Gonzalo will be holding new workshops soon. For more information message Gonzalo via their Instagram account. )
Winnipegger Kat Daaca, also known as Baybayin Baby on Instagram, teaches Baybayin workshops in person and online.
This evening (Thursday March 20) she is teaching a 90-minute interactive virtual course for beginners and people who already have some familiarity with the script. Register here, or for more information visit her website.
Local Filipinos aren't the only people intrigued by Baybayin.
The cool thing for me is that it's not a historical design. That's my personal font that I made for myself and my website, and they used it on the money.- Paul Morrow
Winnipegger Paul Morrow has done extensive research on the ancient script and created his own Baybayin fonts.
"Now, because of the internet … the newer generations are just more interested in it so it's coming back," said Morrow, who is not Filipino.
He made his fonts available free online, and now they appear on Phillippines currency, he said.
"The cool thing for me is that it's not a historical design. That's my personal font that I made for myself and my website and they used it on the money."
Winnipeggers' interest in Baybayin is also now the subject of a mini-documentary by Chaira Plaga, a digital film and media student at Red River College PolyTechnic. Her four-minute documentary was made with the help of fellow students Trevor Mason and Evan Rivard.
For Gonzalo, the resurgence of Baybayin is gratifying and they hope more Filipinos learn the script.
"What I would say to fellow Filipino Canadians if they want to connect with their Filipino heritage, is just, 'explore Baybayin,'" Gonzalo said. "The worst thing that will happen is really you just didn't learn it in a day. I didn't learn it in a day, either."