Babaylan - Live at the SOAS Concert Series
Ruhiya & Friends perform Babaylan at the SOAS Concert Series, Brunei Gallery, London on February 22nd, 2023.
Artist Line-Up:
Zayn Mohammed - Guitar
Jason Reyes-Walsh - Bass
Jimmy Norden - Drums
Ruhiya - Vocals
Special thank you to Georgie Pope at SOAS for organising the concert, Jerry Glasgow for audio engineering and videography, Greta Westwood as assistant videographer, and Stoyan "Storn" Stoyanov for audio mixing and mastering.
Babaylan was released in 2022 on the album GINHAWA. Written by Ruhiya. Produced & Arranged by Zayn Mohammed.
Listen to the official release here:
Inspired by the Filipina Babaylan, this song was written in 2018 as a homework task I was given to write a chant during a course exploring Indigenous wisdom. Inspired to write something inspired by my mother's native Philippines, I was drawn into the spirit of the "Babaylan" after listening to Leny Strobel speak about Decolonizing as a Spiritual Path:
If you would like to find out more about the Babaylan, here are some recommended resources:
https://www.centerforbabaylanstudies.org
Books:
Babaylan: Filipinos and the Call of the Indigenous - Leny Mendoza Strobel.
Back from the Crocodile's Belly: Philippine Babaylan Studies and the Struggle for Indigenous Memory - Leny Mendoza Strobel & Lily S. Mendoza.
Song of the Babaylan: Living Voices, Medicines, Spiritualities of Philippine Ritualist-Oralist-Healers - Grace Nono
Babaylan Sing Back: Philippine Shamans and Voice, Gender, and Place - Grace Nono.
I also produced a podcast for her SOAS Music masters final project, where I share about what it means to me to be Babaylan-inspired, and where I had the chance to interview native and indigenous Filipinos. The podcast is available to listen here:
https://soundcloud.com/user-607957278...
Thank you for listening!
& Happy Earth Day <3
Love Ruhiya