PNU USAP Tayo: Women and Literature: Stories. Storytelling and Sacred Sexuality (3 of 3)

Allow me now to connect the two stories, what it implies to our general discussion, what we can infer from them and finally, lend answers to the questions I posed at the first part of the talk.

In the creation myth of Tungkung Langit and Alunsina, we take caution in treating women as mere accessories and assistants. Something creative and beautiful came about from Tungkung Langit’s grief but it dispenses Alunsina’s role as co-creator of worlds. This is the message of the myth that must not be forgotten. Men and women are partners in creation. We need to recognize this creative power of women and honor its source.

In Baubo and Demeter, we find that the energy fueling a woman to restore and to be born again is in her sexuality. We didn’t know what Baubo told Demeter but it brought her joy, laughter and the zeal to live again. We only know that Baubo looking like the fertility goddess of ancient civilizations is capable of pushing another woman to go back to the very reason why she is so. This sexuality is not bad. We need to allow ourselves, even men, to get in touch with this sexuality that suggests humor, joy and a bit of play since it can be a life-giving force. In Jungian psychology, it is called the anima. A feminine figure present in the unconscious. When a person is made aware of it, he achieves a wholeness of the Self, the knowledge of one's strengths and weaknesses that lies within and eventually, a balance of the lights and shadows that haunt the psyche (Stein, 2020)

How do I make sense of it all now? 

Using Alunsina, Baubo and Demeter as my mentors (fictional as they are) allowed me to revisit the stories I have written for children. In Big Sister, I depicted an older sibling that is spunky and gleefully annoying whose love and affection for her younger brother makes her all the more endearing. In My Daddy! My One and Only! Tejido and I asserted the male presence as that of a nurturing parent. Fathers are capable of showing their tender and vulnerable side and this make them all the more desirable and, ah… sexier. In our recent book, Masaya Ang Maging Ako, a bullied child can walk away from her bullies only when her joy and self confidence in herself is intact. We need to respect this child who knows her joy and that her queerness is a source of pride.

The two stories from folk literature that I shared with you today have indeed, helped me examine my own creative process and what prevented me from writing at the onset of the pandemic. The misogyny and the gaslighting of men in government left me barren and unfulfilled. I have to remember that like Alunsina, I can make choices. With the help of another artistic group, otherwise known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or BTS, (who I consider my collective Baubo – yes, those seven Korean boys are very much in touch with their anima), I had the opportunity to revisit my inner child. BTS as my Baubo encouraged me to play and to laugh at myself. Their art, music and poetry inspired me to create again. I now have a collection of poems to self-publish in Zine form with an artist friend and co-teacher. I said yes to a writing project among the company of women. My publisher is setting up a new time table for the book project we had talked about previous to Covid 19. The life-death-life cycle is very much evident.

To end my talk, I have three things to emphasize. First, do not be afraid to acknowledge your sexuality as an energy of creation or a force of good. Second, when you see a woman of whatever age having fun, laughing, being joyful and relishing the little things that make her happy, follow her path and understand where that exuberance is coming from. Never judge her. Instead, learn from her how she can continuously temper and wield this heat. This inner fire that can be warm and scorching. In time you will know when to choose one from the other and how to use it well. Lastly, I do hope that when you are in the depths of despair, a Baubo will come along to whisper something frivolous or exciting that your heart will find the courage to sing again.  

And when you have found it, write your story. Own your narrative. Tell it. Share it. Create it. Stay alive!

 

 

Bibliography

Estes, Clarissa Pinkola. Women Who Run With Wolves. NY, Ballantine Books, 1992.

Sentro Rizal : Si Tungkung Langit at Alinsuna. Sentro Rizal Filipinas. Adarna House, Inc. Likha-an sa Intramuros. MAV Film Productions, 2020 © National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Stein, Murray. Map of the Soul: 7 Persona, Ego and Shadow in the World of BTS. NC, Chiron Publishing, 2020.

Gagatiga & Tejido. My Daddy! My One and Only! Lampara House, 2013

Gagatiga & De Jesus. Big Sister. Lampara House, 2015

Gagatiga & Bauza. Masaya Ang Maging Ako! Room to Read & Lampara House, 2020