1

Fig 1. Signature of Don Dionisio Capulong, son of Lakandúlâ, ruler of Candába. In Santamaria’s El “Baybayin” en el archive de Sto. Tomás, 1603-1645 (as cited in Scott, 1984).

Assessing the current status of the Kapampangan “pre-Hispanic” script Michael Raymon M. Pangilinan

siuala@yahoo.co.uk

The term “pre-Hispanic” in referring to the indigenous non-Roman script that is used to represent the Kapampangan language is a bit problematic. Although it is in fact a script that was in use prior to the Spanish conquest of Luzon in 1571, it also connotes the idea of something that ceased to exist at the onset of Spanish colonialisation. The indigenous script is still in use today, ironically among a growing number of Kapampangan youth. Though considered an “antique” by the time of Marcilla (1895), it was also said to have been revived around this time and brought over to the 20th century by no other than Aurelio Tolentino, a Kapampangan writer of the Wawa tradition and a celebrated ultranationalist who was known to be one of the first thirteen members of Andres Bonifacio’s anti-Spanish revolutionary society, the Katipunan. Tolentino has had a profound influence on a number of Kapampangan nationalists, mystics and intellectuals. Among them was Zoilo Hilario, founder of the Akademyang Kapampangan, who used the indigenous script as a basis for his campaign to change the Spanish style Kapampangan orthography. In the 1990s, a group of Kapampangan advocates once again began to revive and popularise the Kapampangan script. This paper will present the indigenous non-Roman Kapampangan script as it is being used today, including an instruction on how to read and write them, a comparison to other existing indigenous scripts, a brief history and assessment. I. Introduction One of the earliest specimen of indigenous Kapampangan writing in Spanish colonial records is the signature of Don Dionisio Capulong (Fig.1), ruler of Candaba (Pampanga Province) and son of Lakandúlâ, the famous ruler of Tondo (��), Luzon’s old imperial capital. It was perhaps written some time between 1594, when he finally decided to collaborate with the Spanish colonial authorities after his return from exile in Mexico, up to the time of his death in 1607 (Santiago 2001). The Spaniards conquered the Luzon Empire1 (��, 1617) in 1571 and from it created the province of Pampanga in the same year (San Agustin 1698; Henson, 1965). The original specimen is preserved in the archives of the University of Sto. Tomás (Scott, 1984). More specimens of early indigenous Kapampangan writing were discovered by historical researcher Dr. Luciano Santiago in a 17th century manuscript signed by members of the Kapampangan nobility who acted as witnesses for the beatification of a Franciscan nun in 1621 (Santiago, 2002).

1 ��

compiled the ���� (A study of the Eastern and Western Oceans) in 1617, as a record of the Ming Empire’s (1368-1644) foreign relations. It records that Luzon (���) was a kingdom or empire (

�) ruled by kings () and not

chieftains.

2

A primer on how to read and write the Kapampangan script is by far limited to a very few authors. The earliest of which appears in Benavente’s Vocabulario de Lengua Pampanga which was published in 1699. He devoted half of the first chapter of his book in introducing and explaining each of the characters used in Kapampangan writing. One curious note is his mention of the use of the Tagalog character to represent the H sound which does not exist in the Kapampangan language except in loan words (Benavente, 1699). However, Benavente did not include it in his general list of characters used in Kapampangan writing (Fig.2). A few months before his death in 1963, Kapampangan writer Zoilo Hilario of the Akademyang Kapampangan, compiled a typed-written book of his work entitled Bayung Sunis (Hilario, 1962). In his chapter on orthography, Hilario also devotes a section on how to read and write the Kapampangan script. For the scholars of Philippine palaeography who wonder why the Kapampangan script have no characters to represent the W and Y sounds, Hilario explains that the character for the vowel U ( ) is the same character used to represent the W sound, while the character for the vowel I ( ) is the same character used to represent the Y sound (Fig.3). Just as Zoilo Hilario explained in his Bayung Sunis, the character for I ( ) is the same one used for Y. The character for YA ( ) in Kapampangan writing is usually written as a combination of the characters I ( ) and A ( ) (Pangilinan, 2002). Curiously enough, renowned Kapampangan historian Mariano A. Henson, also known to be well-versed in the indigenous script, is the only Kapampangan known to use a distinct single character, , to represent YA (Fig. 4). He included this in his general list of Kapampangan characters in the final edition of his book Pampanga and Its Towns (Henson, 1965). Henson was also the first to present a list of the Kapampangan consonant characters with their default vowel sound A (Fig.4).

Figure 2. 1699 Kapampangan script by Alvaro de Benavente (From Marcilla, 1895).

Figure 3. From Zoilo Hilario’s Bayung Sunis (Hilario, 1962 & Lacson, 1984).

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In 1995, the Akademyang Kapampangan published the primer Pamagkulit king Kekatamung Matuang Kasulatan written by Michael Pangilinan (as Siuálâ ding Meángûbié) in 1989 (Pangilinan, 1995). In this primer, the vowels E (as monophthongised diphthong AI) and O (as monophthongised dipthong AU) and clearly represented, including the changing and removal of the default vowel sounds of the consonant characters and the direction with which to write them. Table 1 is a modified version of the general list of characters and their morphs presented in the 1995 primer (Pangilinan, 2002 & 2008).

II. Names and Misnomers 2.1. CULIT / KULIT and KULITAN Benavente (1699), Bergaño (1860) and Hilario (1962) used the term CULIT in defining the characters used by Kapampángans to represent their language. Hilario (1962) wrote it as KULIT according to his indigenised anti-Hispanic orthography, replacing the traditional C with K. The whole writing system is therefore called KULITAN (Pangilinan, 2002; Edwin Camaya, pers. comm., 1989-1998; Marco Nepomuceno, pers. comm., 1997-2004).

Figure 4. Mariano A. Henson’s list with the character YA (Henson, 1965).

Table 1. Súlat Kapampángan (Pangilinan, 2008).

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2.2. PAMAGKULIT Pamagkulit king Kekatamung Matuang Kasulatan, a primer on the Kapampangan script written by Siuálâ ding Meángûbié in 1989 and published by the Akademyang Kapampangan in 1995, was uploaded on the internet in 1996 by Kapampangan language advocate Armando Regala for the benefit of Kapampangan expatriates (Regala, 1996). Ironically, it was the term PAMAGKULIT ‘primer’ (from pámag- [pref.], ‘how to’ and kulit [n.], ‘the indigenous characters used to represent the Kapampangan language’) that was popularised on the internet in reference to the Kapampangan script. Currently on Google search, there are about 20 websites, blogs and forums that uses the term PAMAGKULIT when referring to the indigenous Kapampangan script. 2.3. ALIBATANG KAPAMPANGAN For a long time, Philippine text books have collectively labelled the various indigenous scripts within the archipelago as ALIBATA. This was a term popularised in the early 20th by a member of the old National Language Institute (Morrow, 2002). It was derived from the first three letters of the Arabic alphabet ١ ALIF, ب BA and ت TA on the assumption that the Philippine scripts were of Arabic origin. This assumption had its origin in the early Spanish colonial era. Antonio de Morga for instance, a high ranking colonial official, wrote in his Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas that the natives “escríbese muy bien en todos las islas, con unos caracteres casi como Arábigos” and “á la usanza arábiga” (Morga, 1609). Spanish friar Francisco Colín was more emphatic in his assumptions when he wrote in 1663, “it is quite evident that they are all taken from the Moro Malays and originated from the Arabs” (as cited by Blair & Robertson, 1903-09; see also Wade, 1993). The Kapampangans who for generations were educated with the use of these textbooks still use the term ALIBATANG KAPAMPÁNGAN in referring to their own indigenous script. 2.3. SÚLAT BAYÁNÎ In several interviews months before his death, former HUKBALAHAP (The Peoples Anti-Japanese Liberation Army) commander Paul Aquino mentioned the use of the indigenous Tagalog and Kapampangan script during World War II by some members within the movement because it eluded Japanese interpreters (pers.comm., April-June, 1994). The practice became unpopular when nationalist groups working for the Japanese also began using them in their propaganda. The script was then called SÚLAT BAYÁNÎ ‘heroes’ script’ (from bayánî [n.], ‘warrior’, ‘hero’; [adj.] ‘brave’) in honour of the late 19th century anti-Spanish revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio and his secret society, the KATIPUNAN, who were known to have revived and used the native scripts in the late 19th century as a protest against Western colonialism.

Figure 5. Pamagkulit king Kekatamung Matuang Kasulatan (Pangilinan, 1995).

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2.4. KAPAMPANGAN BAYBAYIN KAPAMPANGAN BAYBAYIN was the name popularised on the internet by the online forum Alibata ~ Ancient Baybayin Scripts Network (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alibata). Three separate expanded discussions under the same title, KAPAMPANGAN BAYBAYIN, were initiated by three different authors in November 2002: Message No. 724 dated 8 November, Message No. 753 dated 9 November and Message No. 763 dated 9 November (Sundita et al, 2002). The discussion was probably triggered by the launching of a new and comprehensive website on Philippine scripts at that time created by Paul Morrow (2002), Baybayin ~ The Ancient Script of the Philippines. Morrow used the Tagalog word BAYBAYIN in reference to Philippine indigenous scripts in general. 2.5. SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN For the ordinary Kapampangan, the indigenous Kapampangan script is simply called SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN ‘Kapampangan writing’ (from súlat [n.] ‘script’, [v.] ‘to write’). The adjective MATUA ‘old’ (when describing people and living objects) is added when it is mentioned in contrast to the currently used Latin alphabets. This paper will also use the term SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in reference to the indigenous Kapampangan script. III. Theories on the Origin of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN 3.1. Purely Local Invention In his book Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands and Adjacent Countries, John Crawfurd (1586) stated his view that the Philippine Scripts were of local invention (cited by Wade, 1993). Notice the suggested pictographic origins of the Kapampangan characters on Table 2.

Character Sound Picture Interpretation

ta TA from TAGÂ ‘fish hook’

na

NA from NÁBÛ ‘to drop on purpose, to empty a container’

la

LA from LAGLAG ‘to drop off accidentally, to drop off through a hole inside a container”

nga

NGA is the sound of the water buffalo. The character represents the top view of a water buffalo (Ranada, M.S.T., pers.comm., December 15, 1995).

pa PA from PÂ ‘father’, the line/stroke outside the

vessel/dipper represents the male reproductive organ.

ma MA from MÂ ‘mother’, the line/stroke inside the

vessel/dipper represents the female reproductive organ.

ba BA from BÍLUG ‘circle’

Table 2. Pictographic origins of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN (Pangilinan 2002 & 2008).

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3.2. The Laguna Copper-Plate Inscription (LCI) The idea of that SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN was purely a local invention is however put into question when compared to the Indian-inspired Kawi script of ancient Java that was used in the 10th century Laguna Copper Plate Inscription (LCI), currently the oldest Philippine document, found in the Luzon province of Laguna. Place names that were traditionally a part of the Kapampangan homeland, like the ancient imperial capital of Tondo (��) (Loarca, 1583; Henson, 1965 and Tayag, 1985), are mentioned in the LCI (Postma, 1991). Many of the characters used in Kapampangan writing, including those believed to be of local invention, appear quite similar to the Indina-inspired Kawi characters used in the LCI (Table 3).

3.3. Indian-Inspired Local Development In his 1943 Philippine Indic Studies and Indic Writings of the Mindoro-Palawan Axis, Fletcher Gardner put forth the idea that the Philippine scripts may have been invented by traveling Indian priests or scribes on the basis of Brahmi or Karoshti scripts (as cited by Wade, 1993). Brahmi is believed to be the ancestor of all Indian-inspired writing system (Malaiya, 1997; Lo, 2007).

Sound Kapampangan Kawi (Javanese)

Hangul (Korean)

Siddham (Sanskrit text used in Japanese Buddhism)

Devanagari Brahmi (Parent Script of all

Indic Scripts) GA

KA

TA

DA

MA

(ba) PA

BA

(ma)

Table 3. Kapampangan in comparison with other Indic scripts (Pangilinan 2002 & 2008).

Figure 6. The Laguna Copper Plate Inscription (LCI) dated 900 AD (Postma 1991).

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SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN may have also been invented by local scholars who studied Buddhism abroad, perhaps in the Buddhist Empire of Srivijaya (7th-10th AD) in South Sumatra (Muñoz, 2006). Notice the similarity between SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN and other Indian-inspired Asian scripts (Table 3) and the structure and format of scripts invented by Buddhist monks (Fig. 6). 3.4. Similarities with Brahmi Like other Indian-inspired Asian scripts derived from Brahmi, Kapampangan is not a syllabary like the Japanese kana as many scholars think, but an abugida or alphasyllabary (Daniels, 1996), where the consonantal characters possess a default vowel sound that can be altered with the use of diacritical marks (Fig. 5). 3.5. Buddhist Era: A missing chapter in Philippine History In 670 AD, the Buddhist Empire of Srivijaya assumed complete control of the maritime trade routes between India and China and remained in control for about 640 years (Muñoz, 2006). Its capital in Suwarnadwipa (Sumatra) became the center of learning in Tantric (Vajrayana)

Figure 8. Similarities between Súlat Kapampángan & Brahmi (Pangilinan 2002 & 2008).

Figure 7. Súlat Kapampángan and the scripts invented by Buddhist monks (Pangilinan 2008).

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Buddhism in the Far East (��, 695). Its impact reached as far as Tibet where masters trace their lineage to the Srivijayan prince Serlingpa (Dharmarakshita), whose student Atisha reintroduced Tantric Buddhism to Tibet after its persecution in the 10th century AD (Berzin, 2003). Now Tantric Buddhism exists in Tibet and Japan, thanks to Atisha who studied in Srivijaya under Serlingpa (Dharmarakshita). If Srivijaya’s influence was felt all over Southeast Asia and reached as far as China, Japan and Tibet, its absence in Philippine history is a bit frustrating. Despite the progress made in Philippine archaeology and the wealth of records that can be found in the archives of neighboring Asian countries, scholarship in Philippine History has remained Euro-centric and solely dependant on Spanish colonial records. Thus, in order for anthropologists and linguists to explain the traces of Indian influences in Philippine languages and culture, they would have to be their own historian. V. The Characters in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN 5.1. The Difference between a Syllabary and an Alphasyllabary Basically, a syllabary has a distinct character for each syllable or consonant-vowel combination. In an alphasyllabary, the consonantal symbol remains the same, augmented only by vowel diacritics (Daniels, 1996). A good example of a syllabary is the Japanese kana (katakana and hiragana). This difference can be demonstrated in the following chart (Table 4) between the Japanese syllabary (hiragana) and Kapampangan alphasyllabary. In Kapampangan, the symbol for the consonant sound K ( ) remains the same in all its vowel combination, while Japanese hiragana has a distinct symbol for each consonant-vowel combination.

ka Ki ku ke ko Japanese (syllabary)

� � � � � Kapampangan (alphasyllabary)

5.2. The Consonantal Characters SÚLAT KAPAMÁPNGAN recognizes eleven consonantal symbols (Table 5): two velar, GA ( ) and KA ( ); five alveolar (Del Corro, 2008), TA ( ), DA/RA ( ), NA ( ), LA ( ) and SA ( ); three bilabials MA ( ), PA ( ) and BA ( ); and one nasal velar, NGA ( ). The D and R sound is interchangeable in Kapampangan, hence the singular symbol. Kapampangan writer and scholar Zoilo Hilario of the Akademyang Kapampangan explained that the vowels U ( ) and I ( ) may also stand for the consonants W and Y respectively (Hilario, 1965; also Fig. 3). In fact, Spanish friar Benavente wrote that the vowel U ( ) also responds to the same vowel diacritics to become WI ( ) and WU ( ) (Benavente, 1699).

Table 4. Syllabary (Japanese Hiragana) versus Alphasyllabary (Kapampangan).

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5.3. The Vowel Characters SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN recognizes three basic vowels or SIUÁLÂ, A ( ), I ( ) and U ( ), and two monopthongised dipthongs (Gonzales, 1972), E ( ) and O ( ). The KAMBAL SIUÁLÂ ‘twin vowels’ (from kambal (n.) ‘twins’, (adj.) ‘twin’ and siuálâ (n.), ‘voice’ or ‘sound’) in Romanised Kapampangan are written with the diacritic (�) above the vowel when in medial position, indicating a lengthened vowel sound. They are written with the diacritic (^) above the vowel when in the final position, indicating a glottal stop. VI. Writing Technique Each of the consonantal characters in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN possesses the default vowel sound ‘A’. Like other alphasyllabaries, this default vowel sound can be altered by the placement of diacritics above, below or next to the consonantal character base (Table 6).

Table 5. Consonantal Characters in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN (Pangilinan 2002 & 2008).

Table 5. Vowel Characters in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN (Pangilinan 2002 & 2008).

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6.1. Changing the default ‘A’ sound to ‘I’ To change the default ‘A’ sound of any of the consonantal characters to ‘I’, simply place a GARLIT ‘dot’ or ‘stroke’ above it. For example, KA ( ) becomes KI ( ) by placing this ‘mark’ ( ) above it. 6.2. Changing the default ‘A’ sound to ‘U’ To change the default ‘A’ sound of any of the consonantal characters to ‘U’, simply place a GARLIT ‘dot’ or ‘stroke’ below it. For example, KA ( ) becomes KU ( ) by placing this ‘mark’ ( ) below. 6.3. Changing the default ‘A’ sound to ‘E’ Since the Kapampangan sound ‘E’ was created from the monophthongisation of the diphthong ‘AI’, simply place the vowel character I ( ) right next to it to change the default ‘A’ sound of any of the consonantal characters to ‘E’. For example, KA ( ) becomes KE ( ) by placing the vowel character I ( ) right after it. 6.4. Changing the default ‘A’ sound to ‘O’ Since the Kapampangan sound ‘O’ was created from the monophthongisation of the diphthong ‘AU’, simply place the vowel character U ( ) right next to it to change the default ‘A’ sound of any of the consonantal characters to ‘O’. For example, KA ( ) becomes KO ( ) by placing the vowel character U ( ) right after it. 6.5. Lengthening the default ‘A’ sound Simply add the vowel character A ( ) right after it. For example, KA ( ) becomes medial KÁ

or final KÂ ( ) by placing the vowel character A ( ) right after it.

Table 6. Changing and terminating the default vowel sound (Pangilinan 1995, 2002 & 2008).

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6.6. Lengthening the ‘I’ sound

Simply place the vowel character I ( ) to a consonantal character whose default sound has already been altered to ‘I’. For example, to make KI ( ) into KÍ or final KÎ ( ), simply add the vowel character I ( ) right after it. 6.7. Lengthening the ‘U’ sound Simply place the vowel character U ( ) to a consonantal character whose default sound has already been altered to ‘U’. For example, to make KU ( ) into KÚ or final KÛ ( ), simply add the vowel character U ( ) right after it. 6.8. Terminating the default ‘A’ sound

When writing SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN vertically, simply place the intended consonantal character right next to the preceding character instead of below it. This will terminate its default vowel sound. For example:

saka

becomes

sak

banga

becomes

bang 6.9. Stacking of Consonant Conjuncts Like Tibetan and Kawi, SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN also forms consonant conjuncts by stacking compound consonantal characters below each other when writing horizontally, but with a difference. SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN does not have a “vowel killer”. To remove the default vowel sound of a consonantal character in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN when writing horizontally, simply stack this character under its preceding character. For example:

is composed of the characters

where

is stacked below

to form

SINGSING SI NGA NGA SI SING

Figure 9. Terminating the default vowel sound (Pangilinan, 1995).

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In Kawi (Old Javanese), the script used in the 10th century Laguna Copper Plate Inscription ~ the oldest Philippine document ever found, the Kapampangan word SINGSING would have been written as: Tibetan also stacks consonant conjuncts similar to Kawi. In the popular Tibetan mantra OM MANI PADME HUM ‘Hail to the Lotus Jewel’, the word PADME ‘lotus’ is written as:

6.10. Writing Direction Although SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN has been traditionally and commonly preferred to be written vertically from top to bottom, right to left, it can also be written horizontally, left to right, perhaps due to Spanish influence.

written as

where

is a vowel killer.

SINGSING SI- -NGSI- -NG

is written as

where DME is

made up of

OM MANI PADME HUM PADME PA- -DME DA ME

Figure 10. Examples written vertically (Pangilinan, 1995).

Figure 11. The first line of the song Atin Ku Pung Singsing written vertically.

Figure 12. The first line of the Kapampangan song Atin Ku Pung Singsing written horizontally, left to right.

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VII. Conclusion SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN has for a long time been limited to a number of intellectuals, artists, scholars and advocates. Though many wanted to limit literacy in it to an elite few, attempts have been made in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Edwin Camaya and Michael Pangilinan to share and popularize the script to the Kapampangan majority (Lacson, 1993). In 1992, Edwin Camaya helped establish the Kapampangan student organization MIABEABE at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (Edwin Camaya, pers.comm., 1991-1996) where literacy in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN was a mandatory membership requirement. In 1997, Rhaymond Torres helped organize the Kapampangan student organization ASLAG at the Central Luzon State University in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija (Rhaymond Torres, pers.comm., 1997-1998), where literacy in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN was encouraged but not mandatory. In 2001, literacy in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN also became a mandatory membership requirement in the Kapampangan research group SÚLÎ DING PANTAS which was organised by the engineering students of Holy Angel University in Angeles City (Deang, Aquino, Maniago et al, 2001). In 1995, the AKADEMYANG KAPAMPANGAN was the first Kapampangan organization to officially popularize the teaching of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN by publishing its primer Pamagkulit king Kekatamung Matuang Kasulatan (Pangilinan, 1995). This was followed-up by the BATIÁUAN Foundation’s school to school campaign in the years 1997 - 2001. From the years 1999 – 2003, literacy in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN became one of the requirements to pass the subject Kapampangan Culture (YKAMP) at Holy Angel University in Angeles City (Fig. 13).

From 1992 – 2008, the Pampanga Arts Guild also kept alive the teaching of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN to its members, and even to outsiders. The latest was the lecture held in September 2008 (Pangilinan, 2008). In 2009, the Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies at Holy Angel University in Angeles City has plans to rewrite Kapampangan classic poems into SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN (Robby Tantingco & Joel Mallari, pers.comm., April 2009).

Figure 13. YKAMP Final Exam, Part I & II. Proficiency in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN.

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Currently, SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN can be found in various forms of expressions, from the scholarly to the most mundane. It is once again gaining popularity especially among a growing number of Kapampangan youths. 7.1. On Seals and Insignias Some of the growing number of Kapampangan arts and culture advocacy groups use SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in their logos and insignias. Among the most prestigious is the Akademyang Kapampangan (Fig 14) which began its campaign to indigenize Kapampangan orthography as early as the 1930s. The now dormant Batiáuan Foundation, was the most vocal and active Kapampangan culture advocacy group in the 1990s.

Figure 14. Akademyang Kapampangan (official logo).

Figure 15. Batiáuan Foundation (official logo).

Figure 18. Logo of the Kapampangan band T.H.E.M. tattooed on their vocalist Lyle Yap by Marlon Maristela.

Figure 17. Kapangulis (official logo), a student art group based in Holy Angel University.

Figure 16. Timáuâng Gámat (official logo), a Kapampangan art group.

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Figure 22. Tito Tanganco, artist.

Figure 23. The author’s signature.

7.2. Signature Specimens A number of Kapampangans are beginning to sign their names again in the indigenous script.

7.3. On Business Cards SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN is slowly becoming a fad on some business cards. Fig. 24 is from New York-based Kapampangan artist Lorina (Teta) Tayag Capitulo.

7.4. In Computer Technology In 1996, Emerson Navarro Camaya of Tarlac, Tarlac designed the first ever indigenous Kapampangan Typeface fonts that can be used on the computer (Camaya, 1996). In 2007, Joel Pabustan Mallari and his team at the Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies at Holy Angel University in Angeles City, Philippines designed a more stylised calligraphic version of the script (Mallari & Tanhueco, 2007). Literature in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN can now be easily stored and reproduced due to computer technology.

Figure 25. SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN Typeface designed by Emerson Camaya in 1996.

Figure 24. Business card using SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN.

Figure 19. Joel Pabustan Malari, researcher & visual artist.

Figure 20. John Manuntag, visual artist.

Figure 21. Toti Tanganco, Guitarist, the T.H.E.M. band.

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7.5. On Public Ads Some Kapampangan cultural publications, art exhibits and events make use of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in their ads and posters.

7.6. In Personal Correspondences. Kapampangan culture advocate Edwin Navarro Camaya began using SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in his personal correspondences in the late 1980s (Lacson, 1993). He also encouraged others to do the same, especially the growing number of Kapampangan students at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños. Fig. 29 is one of the many post card exchanges between the author and Edwin Camaya.

Figure 28. A poster ad for the opening of an art gallery and artist venue.

Figure 26. SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN Typeface designed by Mallari & Tanhueco (2007).

Figure 29. 1991 post card using SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN.

Figure 27. A subscription flyer for K-The Kapampangan Magazine.

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7.7. Notes and Scribbles Since the reading and writing of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN is still not yet widespread, those who can read and write in it find it a convenient medium in publicly posting and passing on privileged information to concerned parties. On Fig.29, the significance of the time “8:00 a.m.” on a notice board will remain a mystery except for the parties concerned.

7.8. Creed, Statements and Manifesto The Kapampangan youth have always been vocal about their beliefs and sentiments but a number of groups and individuals have put this down into writing by using SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN. Fig. 32 is the preamble of the Holy Angel University-based student group SÚLÎ DING PANTAS ‘Descendants of Sages’ as it appears in their constitution (Deang, Aquino, Maniago et al, 2001). Fig. 33 is the personal creed of young artist Kit Tayag which he had tattooed on himself. Fig. 34 is an autobiographical statement of artist Gil Jonathan Tito Tanganco.

Figure 30. (Left) The significance of the time “8:00 a.m.” will remain a mystery except for the privileged parties who are literate in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN.

Figure 31. (Right) Random scribbles by Kapampangan band guitarist Toti Tanganco.

Figure 32. Preamble from Súlî ding Pantas: Constitution and By-Laws.

Figure 33. Kit Tayag’s personal creed. Tattoo by Marlon Maristela.

Figure 34. Artist Tito Tanganco’s autobiographical statement.

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7.9. In Visual Arts Kapampangan visual artists known to incorporate SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in their works include Pampanga Arts Guild members Teta (Lorina Tayag Capitulo), Mang Ron (Rolando Tayag), Siuálâ ding Meángûbié (Michael Pangilinan), Edille Paras and Pacs Pineda; Joel Pabustan Mallari of Kapangulis; Josefina Dizon Henson of the Akademyang Kapampangan; and independent artists Kusakos (John Manuntag) of Candaba and Kragi Garcia of Macabebe. Kapampangan writer and artist Kragi Garcia of Macabebe and Kapampangan researcher and artist Joel Pabustan Mallari of Bamban are currently known to be the most prolific when it comes to the use of the Kapampangan script in their creative expressions.

Figure 35. Rolando Tayag’s 1999 watercolor painting of the TALANGKA, the native crab.

Figure 36. Edille Paras’ 2000 Rice Mandala, a living installation art made of earth, grains and rice plants for Pampanga Arts Guild’s SINGSING, a Kapampangan ritual art performance at Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines.

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Figure 38. SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN character on Zu Lim’s finger. Tattooed by Marlon, December 2008.

7.10. Tattoo Art In 2007, Marlon Maristela, a tattoo artist and Kapampangan culture advocate, decided to incorporate the use of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN in his tattoo designs. His idea became an instant hit among Kapampangan youths. It is this phenomenon that is currently sustaining the interest in the use and revival of SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN among the youth.

Figure 37. Kusakos John Manuntag’s 2007 digital painting of Kapampangan swords.

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Figure 40. The Kapampangan song ATIN KU PÛNG SINGSING in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN is tattooed on Jeff Tanganco by Marlon Maristela. Photo courtesy of Vajrasattva Lajon Tanganco.

Figure 39. The Kapampangan song ATIN KU PÛNG SINGSING written horizontally in SÚLAT KAPAMPÁNGAN around Dennis Guiwan’s Ankle. Tattooed by Marlon, April 2009.

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References

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Camaya, Emerson & Camaya, Edwin. (1996). Truetype Fonts. Kapampangan True Type Fonts. Corel Draw Program. Colín, Francisco. (1663). Labor evangélica ministerios apostólicos de los obreros de Compañía de Jesus, fundación y progresos de las Islas Filipinas. In E. Blair and J. Robertson, eds. and trans. The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898. 16:49. Cleveland: Arthur H. Clark, 1903-1909. (Also from Wade, 1993). Crawfurd, John. (1856). A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islands & Adjacent Countries. London: Bradbury & Evans. Reprinted 1971. London: Oxford University Press. From Wade (1953: 51) Daniels, Peter T. & Bright, William. (1996). The World's Writing Systems, Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press. From http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/Abugida. Deang, M, Aquino, P., Maniago, J., Castillo, J., Enriquez, C., Punongbayan, D., et al. (2001). Súlî ding Pantas: Constitution and By-Laws. Submitted to the Office of the Student Affairs, Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines. Del Corro, Anicia. (2008, December 6). Kapampangan, from the Perspective of Linguistics. [Lecture Handout]. Lecture 1. Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University, Angeles City, Philippines. Dharmarakshita (n.d.). In talkingbuddhism.com. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from http://www.talkingbuddhism.com. Gonzales, Andrew B. (1972). Pampangan: Outline of a Generative Semantic Descritpion. Manila: De La Salle University Press. Henson, Mariano A. (1965). The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns: A.D. 1300-1965. 4th ed. revised. Angeles City: Mariano A. Henson.

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To be Presented at the 11th International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics

Aussois, France. June 22-26, 2009