All of my stories so far are set in secondary worlds largely inspired by precolonial Filipino culture. This era in history is unfortunately not a very well-known or well-documented one, and many of the documentation we do have were written by colonizers who were often not very charitable towards the natives. I, myself, spent many years decolonizing my perspective on my ancestors, and to this day, I strive to continue educating myself on who they were as a peoples.

Because of the dearth of representation on precolonial Filipinos, fictional or otherwise, I try to be very careful about how I portray the aspects of their culture that are present in my stories. It's important not to exacerbate false notions about them, nor to romanticize or exoticize them. It's also important to remember that many parts of their culture are actually still well and alive today, practiced by modern Filipinos.

This page is a list of the books and other materials I have used to conduct my research. Some are about history in general, others are specific to certain topics. I know I still have a long way to go. As our knowledge about precolonial Filipinos continues to expand, and as it continues to become more accessible to the layperson, I hope I will be able to add more and more entries to this list.

I also read about colonial and postcolonial Filipino culture and history. As someone who has spent most of my life as part of the diaspora, it's important for me to keep in touch with the issues concerning the Philippines today. I always have to remember that while my characters may resemble people who lived five hundred years ago, I and my audience live in the present.

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Books

Aboitiz, Nicole Cuunjieng. Asian Place, Filipino Nation: A Global Intellectual History of the Philippine Revolution, 1887-1912. Columbia University Press, 2020.

Apostol, Virgil Mayor. Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Traditions. North Atlantic Books, 2010.

Benitez-Johannot, Purissima. Paths of Origins: The Austronesian Heritage. Artpostasia, 2011.

David, E.J.R. Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino-American Postcolonial Psychology. Information Age Publishing, 2013.

Eugenio, Damiana L. Philippine Folk Literature: The Folk Tales. University of the Philippines Press, 2001.

Eugenio, Damiana L. Philippine Folk Literature: The Legends. University of the Philippines Press, 2001.

Francia, Luis H. History of the Philippines: From Indios Bravos to Filipinos. Harry N. Abrams, 2010.

Godhania, Krishna. Eskrima: Filipino Martial Art. The Crowood Press, 2010.

Jocano, F. Landa. Filipino Prehistory: Rediscovering Precolonial Heritage. PUNLAD Research House, Inc., 2001.

Lasco, Gideon. The Philippines Is Not a Small Country. Ataneo de Manila University Press, 2020.

Nono, Grace. Babaylan Sing Back: Philippine Shamans and Voice, Gender, and Place. Southeast Asia Program Publications, 2021.

Ocampo, Ambeth R. Chulalongkorn's Elephants. Anvil Publishing, Inc. 2011, 2016.

Ocampo, Ambeth R. Prehistoric Philippines. Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Ramos, Maximo D. The Creatures of Midnight. Phoenix Publishing House, 1990.

Ramos, Maximo D. The Creatures of Philippine Lower Mythology. Phoenix Publishing House, 1990.

Samar, Edgar Calabia. 101 Kagila-Gilalas na Nilalang. Adarna House, 2015.

Scott, William Henry. Baranggay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society. Ataneo de Manila University Press, 1999.

Scott, William Henry. Looking for the Prehispanic Filipino: And Other Essays in Philippine History. Cellar Book Shop, 1993.

Shaffer, Lynda Norene. Maritime Southeast Asia to 1500. Routledge, 1995.

Journal/Magazine Articles

Buendia, Rizal G. "Colonialism and Elitism in Philippine Political Development: Assessing the Roots of Underdevelopment." Philippine Journal of Public Administration, vol. 37, no. 2, Apr 1993, pp 141-174.

Manansala, Paul. "The Philippines and the sandalwood trade in the late pre-colonial and colonial periods." https://www.academia.edu/10401069/The_Philippines_and_the_sandalwood_trade_in_the_late_pre-colonial_and_colonial_periods.

Manuel, E. Arsenio. "Philippine Oral Traditions: Theory and Practice." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, vol. 8, no. 1, Special Folklore Issue, March 1980, pp. 7-27.

Pe-Pua, Rogelia, Elizabeth Protacio-Marcelino. "Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology): A legacy of Virgilio G. Enriquez." Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 3, 2000, pp. 49-71.

Salazar, Zeus A. "Faith Healing In The Philippines: An Historical Perspective." Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, 1980, pp. 27-41.

San Juan Jr, E. "U.S. APOLOGISTS OF THE EMPIRE: Notes on Stanley Karnow, Civil Society, and the Sorry State of U.S. Knowledge-Production on the Philippines." After Postcolonialism: Remapping Philippines-United States Confrontations, 2001, pp. 1-23.

Tarr, Peter. "Learning to Love Imperialism." The Nation, 05 June 1989, pp. 779-784.

Woods, Damon L. “Counting and Marking Time From the Precolonial to the Contemporary Tagalog World.” Philippine Studies, vol. 59, no. 3, 2011, pp. 337–65.

Websites

Webpages are not my favourite sources, as I've come across many webpages with inaccurate and unsourced information, or worse, outright hoaxes. However, these ones have information that I've seen included in more reliable sources such as the books and articles listed above, or are otherwise maintained by scholars or official institutions.

Cultural Center of the Philippines. Encyclopedia of Philippine Art.
https://epa.culturalcenter.gov.ph/encyclopedia/.

Quirino, Karl. "Sultanate of Maguindanao." The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/sultanate-of-maguindanao/.

Quirino, Karl. "Sultanate of Sulu." The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/sultanate-of-sulu/.

Quirino, Karl. "The Kingdom of Butuan." The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kingdom-of-butuan/.

Quirino, Karl. "The Kingdom of Maynila" The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kingdom-of-maynila/.

Quirino, Karl. "The Kingdom of Namayan" The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kingdom-of-namayan/.

Quirino, Karl. "The Kingdom of Tondo" The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-kingdom-of-tondo/.

Quirino, Karl. "The Rajahnate of Cebu." The Bulwagan Foundation Trust. 01 Sep 2010,
https://thebulwaganfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/09/01/the-rajahnate-of-cebu/.

Sta. Maria, Felice Prudente. Philippine Food History: Narratives of a Distinct Southeast Asian Cuisine. https://felicepstamaria.net/.

Videos

Ayala Museum YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@AyalaMuseumTV.

Chua, Xiao. "Ginto ng Ating Mga Ninuno." YouTube, uploaded by DFA Philippines, 01 Sep. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/live/QKlOrl0l8bo.

Nono, Grace. "A Woman Shaman's Voice: Hearing and Healing in the Philippines." YouTube, uploaded by Harvard Divinity School, 17 Nov. 2015, https://youtu.be/Z0_K8hGgmW0.

Ocampo, Ambeth. "Rotten Beef and Stinking Fish." YouTube, uploaded by DFA Philippines, 09 Sep. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/live/dV0OK6P_ERI.