Jahnava Nitai Das 2 Report post Posted June 30, 2000 Dear Melvin, Could you tell us a little bit about Visayan culture and language? I am not familiar with what it is. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melvin 1 Report post Posted June 30, 2000 Hare Krishna! I was born on the 3rd of November 1957 on this elongatedly shaped island christened by historians as Sugbu or Sebu or Cebu, a name I can not even trace from whom or to whom it`s attributed to when Magellan, a sea voyager of Portugese descent empowered by the Spanish government to counquer lands from the eastern part of the world for the glory of Victoria, the Queen of Spain du- ring that era, discovered this very idyllic tropical island inhabited by a people whose way of living to survive depended on the resources this island queen had to offer, a very abundant marine life and verdant fo- rests filled with fruit trees, birds and wild animals. Since Cebu island`s inhabitants, the Sugbu- wanons, took care of her as if it were their Reyna(Queen) she, with her unlimited poten- tials, therefore attracted people from the other lands and began trading with them her fruits picked from trees her grateful oc- cupants had grown and nurtured. These ex- changes, in other words, had transformed this Queen island of Southern Philippines a business hub of the Orient where traders from different cultures managed to savor and smell the aroma of her products. Hence, history would show that it became a part of Shri Visaya Majapahit Empire, a kingdom ruled by Muslim Datus and Rajas. Here, I think, my dear Prabhu, the Visayan culture was derived, a civilization whose people believed in diwatas, mythic gods, supers- tition, and in a God whom they worshipped as Bathala, which means Child( Bata)God( Allah). Today, this ChildGod is worshipped as the Sr. Sto. Nino, the island`s patron saint. We, Sugbuwanons, therefore speak Visayan, a dialect spiced with sanskrit texts. An example of which is the word " Maya " or " Rama ", words we used regularly, the for- mer named after a town located north of the island and the latter, a name of promiment families residing, since time immemorial, on the island. To learn more about our culture, I really have to refer you to my friend, Mr. Juanito V. Jabat, the publisher of the local daily, The Freeman here in Cebu because he can provide you more solid information regarding our Visayan culture. His e-mail address is editorial@thefreeman.com. Or if you can`t contact him, just ask for Jerry Tundag or Noel Pangilinan, the newspaper`s editors. Their web site is www.thefreeman.com. You can begin from here. Hare Krishna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites