Who is F.L.J?

I vividly recall this name when I was still in my elementary years. If I am not mistaken, the name was resounding from the issue of the tabon man and the first Filipino. Who is F. Landa Jocano then? In my attempt to gather my needed information, I was provided with a heap that I would not fit all of them in here.

Felipe Landa Jocano is an eminent historian, anthropologist, scholar and professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines. He is also the executive director the PUNLAD Research House where most of this works are published. Jocano is famous for his writings about the Filipino in ancient times, the ethnic divisions and the history of various ethnic groups which are oftentimes used as textbooks in a college setting.

One of great works include Hinilawod: Adventures of Humadapnon. This book tells of the story of the three demigod brothers - Labaw Donggon, Humadapnon and Dumadalapdap of Ancient Panay. He also recounts a concise version of the story in his book Philippine Mythology. It took him a lot of effort in writing down the epic. He climbed the hinterlands of Panay while collecting the needed information to put the pieces together.

Hinilawod

If other countries have their own musical play to be proud of, we have our very own. To start off, it isn't just any story made into a big production. It's an epic to be exact - one of the longest epics in the world.

Hinilawod came from ancient Panay or the Hiligaynon Nation. This is a literary piece which has 8,340 verses. As a part of culture, this piece is chanted when performed. Don't get too alarmed by the number. Hinilawod is basically a pure Filipino piece that showcases a true Filipino before we were stripped by the people of the foreign land. All our core values and our way of life during ancient times are clearly shown here.

The natives kept this as a part of their identity. Writing the whole piece became tedious for the interested. Because of it's original context in Hiligaynon, researchers had to go translate the whole thing into our present medium. One researcher who found a heart for Hinilawod and Panay was Dr. F. Landa Jocano.

Who is she and her contribution to this world-class epic?

....

An Ethnocentric Blur

Ethnocentric - centered on a specific ethnic group, usually one's own

Blur - A hazy or indistinct representation

Ethnocentric Blur - A hazy representation of our own ethnic group.

Why hazy?

Because we still don't know who we are. It's my role and our goal to make that blur vivid. So enjoy every bit of my peel as I tell you more of our race, starting with the epic "Hinilawod".