Bapu Reyna at ing Litanya ning Birhen Maria(Hail Holy Queen, and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kapampangan)

The Bapu Reyna is the prayer that made me want to search these prayers because it was the main prayer I did not manage to learn when I was still a kid in Pampanga.  I think they taught it in College Theology (or Catechism as my friend Danton Remoto would argue.)

Much more than that, the prayer has intrigued me for life because it was where my Apu would close her eyes, and start praying in whispers, sometimes almost crying, sometimes only exhaling so deeply but still in the cadenced measure of the words of the prayers.  That was when Apu would leave us and commune with her God/s.  I saw a picture of Pope John Paul in deep prayer with his hand on his forehead, taken at Fatima I think when he was praying for his assassin.  Seeing John Paul then, made me miss my Apu.

Interestingly, the Hail Holy Queen addresses the Virgin Mary directly--again a Baylan (priestess) communing with her deity (The Virgin Mary.)  Talk about the ever present matriarchy of the Philippines!

Bapu Reyna, Indung mapamakalulu, bie ampon yumu, manga panaligan mi, Bapu Reyna, Ikang awsan mi, ikeng pepalakwan a anak nang Eva, ikang pangisnawan ming malalam, daralung keng manga tatangis, keni king karinan ning luwa.  Ngamu na wari, patulunan mi, balikdan mu kami karing mata mung mapamakalulu, ampon nung mapupus na, ing pangalako mi keti sulip, ipakit me kekami, i Jesus, ing bunga nang masampat ning atyan mu.  O malugud, O mapamakalulu, o Santa Marian Birhen a mayumu.

Ing Litanya ning Birhen Maria

Ginu, pakalulu (Ginu, pakalulwan mu kami)
Kristo, pakalulu , (Kristo, pakalulwan mu kami)
Ginu, pakalulu. (Ginu pakalulwan mu kami)
Kristo, pakirandaman mu kami. (Kristo, pakirandaman mu kami)
Kristo, pakapakirandaman mu kami. (Kristo, pakapakirandaman mu kami)
Dios Inpa Banua                                      (PAKALULWAN MU KAMI)
Dios Anak, a minyaklung king yatu              (pasibayu angang mibayu ing dalit a pakibat)
Dios Espiritu Santo
Santa Trinidad a metung king pangaDios

Santa Maria      (PANALANGIN MU KAMI)
Santang Indu ning Dios
Santang Birhen ding Birhenes
Indu nang Kristo
Indu ning Santa Iglesya
Indu ning dibina Grasya
Indu alang kasalatsalat
Indung kalinislinisan
Indung Alang keumanan
Indung alang malit king e matulid
Indung alang bakas kasalanan
Inding kayirug-irug
Indung makapagmulala
Indu ning masampat a usuk
Indu ning Miglalang
Indu ning Mengabus

Birhen a kapantaspantasan
Birhen a sukat igalang
'Birhen a sukat ibantug
Birhen a mayupaya
Birhen a mapamakalulu
Birhen a matibe lub king mayap

Salamin ning katuliran
Luklukan ning kabyasnan
Lulana' ning kabanalan
Lulana' a sukat irangal
Lulana' nang makamal ning debosyon
Rosang e payisip a ulaga
Torre nang David
Torreng Marfil
Bale a Gintu
Kaban ning Tipan
Pasbul ning banua
Tala ning munag

Kamasmas ding Salunan
Mapamatula karing malungkut
Mapagampun karing Kristiyanu

Reina ding Angeles
Reina ding Patriarkas
Reina ding Propetas
Reina ding Apostoles
Reina ding Martires
Reina ding Konpesores
Reina ding Birhenes
Reina ding Sablang Santos
Reina a e mangas na king kasalanan a mana
Reina a miyuli banwa kaladwa at katawan
Reina ning Santisimo rosario
Reina ning familia
Reina ding sablang Bansa
Reina ning karatunan
Reina ning meto katawan

Kordero ning Dios a milalako king kasalanan ning yatu
  Ginu patawaran mu kami
Kordero ning Dios a milalako king kasalanan ning yatu
    Ginu pakirandaman mu kami.
Kordero ning Dios a milalako king kasalanan ning yatu
    Ginu pakalulwan mu kami.

Antifona
Lalam na pu ning kekang kayampunan magsakdal keng makanlung.  O kasantusantusan a Indu ning Dios!  E mu sa pu pisawil ing aklis mi keka, king kakulangan mi, nune bagjus mu keng ikabus king sablang panganib, O maligaya't kanuanan a Birhen.

V.  Ipanalangin mu kami o Santang INdu ning Dios
R  Ba ming apangyintuliran at nabangnan ing pengaku nang JesuKristung Ginu mi.

Manalangin tamu
Dios ming malugud, ampat ning bugtung mung anak, kind bie na't kamatayan at pangasubli nang mebie, pepakit na kekami ing ablas ning bie alang angga, daptan mu sa pu, king pauli ning kasantusan-tusan a Rosari ning Birhen Maria apakirasan ming daptan ing kalamnan da at layun ming akamtan ing pangaku ra.  King uli na ning JesuKristung Ginu mi, Amen, o Ya na sa.

Kredo o Sasalpantaya (Nicene Creed in Kapampangan, Vatican II version)

I am uploading onto the net the Kapampangan adaptations of the Catholic prayers my Grandmothers prayed with me when I was a kid.  One of the great genius strokes of Vatican II was allowing the converted, forced or otherwise, to pray in their own languages.  While this did not necessarily occur in the Philippines because of Vatican II--as these adaptations and not mere translations, have been around way before the 20th century.  I of course have to research the exact birth of these Kapampangan prayers.

One of the wonderful adaptive ideas ingrained into the Nicene creed is the 'translation" of the word FATHER ALMIGHTY.  Father is Ibpa, which is indeed Father.  But the word almighty is "translated" as "mayupayang tutu."

Now take this definition of the word ALMIGHTY:

–adjective

1.

having unlimited power; omnipotent, as God.

2.

having very great power, influence, etc.: The almighty presscondemned him without trial.

3.

Informal . extreme; terrible: He's in an almighty fix.

–adverb

4.

Informal . extremely: It's almighty hot.

–noun

5.

the Almighty, God.

Origin: 
bef. 900;  ME; OE ælmihtig, ealmihtig,  equiv. to æl-, eal- all  (c.ON al-  < *ol-o- ) + mihtig  ( miht, meaht might²  + -ig -y¹ ); cf.Alemanni

—Related forms

al·might·i·ly, adverb

al·might·i·ness, noun

—Synonyms 
1.  supreme, sovereign, all-powerful. 

Now, mayupayang tutu, to me means, truthfully or deeply understands (tutu could mean both truth, truthfully, or deeply as in malagu yang tutu, very pretty or really pretty--but the essence of the word approximating intensity and an honesty remains.  Thus in the Kapampangan context, God or Ibpa or Apung Guinu, is not referenced in terms of his might or power, but rather on his or her ability to understand us, be it from his point of intellect (which I would equate more with power dynamics) or from a deep sense of love and empathy.

The second point I want to document here is how the Kapampangan prayers have the power indeed to erase from my consciousness my ever looming conscientious effort to decolonize myself from enforced  colonial notions such as religion.  For when I pray these Kapampangan prayers, I only think of my late grandmother and all my memories with my siblings and her praying them.  I manage to expunge all the post colonial discourse from my mind and heart, and manage to be one with my late beloved Apu, who seemed to have a direct line to the ones up in heaven.  

I wrote an article on my grandmother equating her with the Baylans who mediated for ancient Filipino communities.  In essence, these Kapampangan prayers, Catholic as they are, manage to subvert a colonial weapon of encroachment into one that aids a recovering colonial subject into reclaiming his self.

Of course in using my Grandmother's pious line to God, I am also utilizing the Catholic intercessory medium of the Virgin Mary.  But it takes much thinking to get to that point of convergence.  The reunion that takes place between me, my Grandmother, and all of my memories with her and my family are much too palpable and all enveloping so that any analysis or intellectualization becomes much too much like mental masturbation.

So here is the first of the Kapampangan prayers that manage to resurrect my Apu, my Mom's mom who we all love so much.

Sasalpantaya ku king Dios Ibpang mayupayang tutu, linalang king banwa't yatu.  At kang Jesu-Kristong Anak nang bugtung a Ginu tamu.  Pengagli king upaya ning Banal a Espiritu,

(Duku)

mibayit kang Santa Marian Birhen, linasa lalam nang upayang Poncio Pilato, mipaku king krus, mete at sinubli yang mebie, pepaytas ya banwa, makalukluk wanan ning Dios Ibpang mayupayang tutu.

Ibat karin magbalik ya naman keti ban mukum karing mabie ampon mengamate.

Sasalpantaya ku king Banal a Espiritu, king Santa Inglesya Katolika, king pamisamak ding Santos, king pangapatawad da ring kasalanan, king pangasubli nang mie ding mete at king bie alang angga.  Ya na sa (o Amen).

Rest in Peace Prof. Teshome H. Gabriel: My First Ever Professor at UCLA Who Introduced me to Film

LOS ANGELES, CA (UCLA) — It is with great sadness we announce that our colleague Teshome H. Gabriel passed away yesterday evening, Monday, June 14, 2010. Professor Gabriel passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles.

Teshome Gabriel, professor at UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, has written extensively on memory and the cinema, theories of Third Cinema, on the aesthetics of nomadic thought in cinema and on weaving and the digital in developing countries. He has numerous publications including “Otherness and the Media: The Ethnography of the Imagined and the Imaged” and his “Third Cinema in the Third World: The Aesthetic of Liberation.” He is the founding director of several journals, including Emergencies and Ethiopian Fine Arts Journal.

John Delloro: UCLA Scholar Activist and Asian Pacific American Labor Leader Passes (1971-2010)

I was shocked to be tagged in a photo on FB entitled MEMORIAL TO JOHN DELLORO, who attended UCLA with me in the 90s.  Below is the announcement from UCLA Asian American Studies Center.  Rest in peace, John.  My deepest sympathies with your family.

-----------

It is with deep sadness that the faculty, staff, and students of the UCLA Asian American StudiesCenter and Department and the UCLA Labor Center join with countless others in mourning the loss of John Delloro, an extraordinary labor and community leader, teacher, and activist. He passed away in the early morning of Saturday, June 5, 2010 from a heart attack. Delloro was a courageous, articulate, and passionate advocate for social justice in Los Angeles, the nation, and beyond. 

What do Heroes Eat?

To do what we must in order to leave our fair share in this life, we should consider putting our health in our own hands by making our own food.  I've started to cook my own food--and do my even better best to convince my kids to take a bite of a raw red bell pepper.  I've also started growing my own lemon grass and basil (sweet and Thai).

"The Power of People: Heroism, in any age, is a mix of accident and idealism" By Corazon C. Aquino

Somebody once asked me what it took to become the first woman President of the Philippines. I replied: "Well, first, you'd have to marry someone who was quite heroic. Then your husband would have to be incarcerated and assassinated. And then millions of your countrymen would have to take to the streets to back you." There's an element of accident in the history of Presidents, or for that matter, heroes—fate, if you think the way I do.

Virginia Governor Defines Tolerable Discrimination (or I'm not really sure what he's saying here.)

I received the following email from the Chief of Staff of the new Republican Governor of Virginia.  I am posting it here hoping someone will help illuminate what he is really saying.  Anyone working in HR care to clarify for me what is happening in this email?

March 10, 2010

Dear Fellow State Employee:

Early in the Administration, the Governor authorized the issuance of an Equal Opportunity in the Workplace Directive to employees of the Office of the Governor that reflects his strong position that employment discrimination for any reason other than merit and ability has no place in state government.

YouTube Bans Spoken Word by College of William and Mary Alum

I received an email from one of my former students telling me that YOUtube had just banned his spoken word piece he posted on the site.  The piece began its life in one of my classes.  It was entitled, "TO SEUNG-HUI CHO."

To BUN, Bunning Around, Bunner: new words for the 21st century

 This week has all been about Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky voting against the extension of unemployment benefits, all by himself.  His argument of fiscal responsibility is valid and respectable, but to stake his conviction to the great peril of working class Americans gave me pause. 

Filipino Olympic Figure Skater Amanda Evora Places 10th in 2010 Winter Olympics

My mother just emailed me from California to tell me Amanda Evora and partner Mark Ladwig skated beautifully on the final night of pairs figure skating in Vancouver.

FilAm Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig Currently in 10th place, Pairs Figure Skating at 2010 Winter Olympics

Associated Press reports (Filipino American) Amanda Evora and (her partner) Mark Ladwig, surprise silver medalists at last month's U.S. championships, are 10th after the performance of their career at their first major international event. U.S. champions Caydee Denneyand Jeremy Barrettwere 14th.