NAGMALITONG YAWA, SINAGMALING DIWATA
(Beguiling Demon, Seductive Goddess)
Type Gallery Work
Show DESCENDANTS II
Gallery Jose T. Joya Gallery
This piece acknowledges bisexuality in Philippine culture and heritage--protesting invisibility. We are front and center, in full display of our power, despite cries to erase us.
Nagmalitong Yawa, Sinagmaling Diwata was an ancient Bisaya goddess and babaylan known for her great magic and summoning powers. Colonization forced to distort the meaning of her name and almost erased her identity from Bisayan culture. Through the attempt of this erasure, she became unfamiliar to us, but she has not been forgotten. Her story finds a parallel to the pervasive problem in which the existence or legitimacy of bisexuality is constantly questioned or outright ignored.
This piece is exhibited at Descendants II: A Queer Art Show at Jose T. Joya Gallery, University of the Philippines Cebu.
