The Japan Foundation, Manila and ThriveArt Projects, Iloilo proudly kick off the Golden Realms: Inheriting the Panay Sugidanun webinar series which will retell some of the country's most memorable fiction tales
The Philippines is rich in interesting and admirable tales like the sons of influential chiefs datus (village chief) who wooed veiled maidens, a crab who disguised as an island, a lion heart that kept a man's breath for a long time, and a seven-headed snake who controls the underworld.
The aforementioned stories have defined and gave colour to Philippine literature through the years. However, in the digital age, it gets harder to keep in touch with traditional media (books, pamphlets, and whatnot) where these legends were written.
In light of the matter, the Japan Foundation, Manila and ThriveArt Projects, worked together and came up with Golden Realms: Inheriting the Panay Sugidanun webinar series which will feature manga adaptations of sections from the Panay Sugidanun (stories that reflect the different beliefs and practices of Filipinos in Panay). Presented by the artists from Iloilo Komiks, this part of the event is slated for December 2021 in both English and Japanese languages.
The webinar seeks to honour the Panay Sugidanun in the present and celebrate the resonances in oral literature between Japan and the Philippines. Golden Realms is under The Japan Foundation’s Asian Literature Project, Yomu, which bridges connections between literary traditions around Asia, and explores how literature is being consumed today.
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The first installation of the series is Telling the Stories of the Panay Bukidnon, which introduces the rich heritage of the Sugidanun and the ways in which these stories can be told in the generations to come.
A roster of esteemed guests and speakers like Dr Alicia P. Magos, anthropologist and professor emeritus of University of the Philippines (UP) Visayas, and Anna Ramirez, assistant to Dr Magos, will let the audience indulge in the wonders of Philippine literature.
The event will kick off on October 16, 2021 from 10:00am to 1:10pm via The Japan Foundation, Manila and ThriveArt Project's social media pages. All students, cultural workers, academics, and Filipino literature enthusiasts are invited to come and watch. Throughout October to December 2021, the five webinar sessions held biweekly will discuss different aspects of the Sugidanun, contextualising not just in the Philippines but in Asia, and also examining the adaptation of mythologies with Filipino and Japanese experts.
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Those who are interested to join may sign up through this link; for additional inquiries, feel free to reach The Japan Foundation Manila through Kanami Namiki, Ph.D.: knamiki@jfmo.org.ph and Mariah Reodica: mreodica@jfmo.org.ph.