"Anak Lakan, Children of the Gods" is a short collection of myths and legends from Pampanga, a province of the Philippines, written and illustrated by Josephine G.K. Hempen from the narrations of Michael Raymon M. Pangilinan, an expert on Kapampangan culture and history. These myths and legends have been handed down through generations in the tradition of oral storytelling. Anak Lakan is a contribution to the preservation and documentation of Kapampangan mythology and has made some of its myths and legends available to a wider audience.
For Westerners and Americans in particular, Philippine culture is deceptively familiar. Vestiges of Spanish and American colonial culture, as well as contemporary American media, have created resonances for identifying American culture in Philippine culture. This book guides the reader in re-examining these assumptions of sameness. By taking an unfamiliar text of a noted writer of Tagalog fiction, this study restores the sense of wonder in experiencing Tagalog culture on its own terms rather than by tastes dictated from the outside. The book also examines the broader Tagalog traditions in which the writer, Amado Hernandez, wrote.
This volume offers an important contribution to the comparative historical study of languages. Most of the articles deal with topics concerning the Indo-European proto-language as well as the individual languages descended from it. Essays in Finno-Ugric philology complete the volume. The book is divided in 8 sections: I. Indo-European, II. Anatolian, III. Indic, IV. Iranian and Armenian, V. Celtic, VI. Germanic Languages, VII. Slavic and Albanian, VIII. Fennougrica and Altaica.
The most enjoyable way to learn about a new culture is through its stories—especially when they're told in two languages! This book introduces 40 stories from the Philippines through bilingual Tagalog and English texts presented on facing pages. Paired with cultural notes, vocabulary lists, exercises, comprehension questions and free online audio recordings, Tagalog Stories for Language Learners is an excellent resource for intermediate language learners, or those who wish to pick up a bit of Phlippine cultural knowledge. This compilation includes a mix of traditional folktales retold for a modern audience, as well as several well-known works of contemporary Philippine literature. Along the way, you will meet fabulous mythological characters like the Bagobo goddess Mebuyan and the shape-shifting Aswang. Other characters cope with day-to-day issues, such as the domestic worker who cannot find her keys and a beauty queen who leaves behind her comfortable city life in order to help peasants in the countryside. Four of the stories are by well-known Filipino writers and are presented in complete or partially condensed form. These include: Estrangheritis by Inigo Ed. Regalado (1907) — The writer is critical of Filipinos who exalt all things foreign while, in fact, benefitting from their own land but unappreciative of their national culture. Desire by Paz Latorena (1928) — The story of a Filipino woman who has to deal with the narrow-mindedness of a foreigner who is far more interested in her body than in her personality. Greta Garbo by Deogracia Rosaro (1930) — Monina, who looks like Greta Garbo, plans a weekend getaway with her beau, only to be left at the station waiting, and later discovers he has gone on a honeymoon! Maria Elena Paterno's Sampaguita (1991) —Two popular legends about the Sampaguita (Philippine jasmine flower) which touch on the themes of courage and forbidden love.
