BATHALA COMES BACK: FINDING THE NEW FROM THE OLD

Abstract

This paper begins with unravelling the tenets of modernism versus the tenets of postmodernism and examines how the principles of the latter became popular especially with the onset of postcolonial studies. Applying these critical approaches to the study of religion can be a fraught exercise but can also prove enlightening in understanding the suppression and re-emergence of native religions in colonized spaces. The postmodernist paradigm can be utilized to critically evaluate factors that led to the emergence of various indigenization movements in societies that were once colonized, such as the Philippines. This study explores the revival of the ancient Filipino system of belief in Bathala, the Supreme God, through the interpretation of the symbols of Baybayin, the ancient Filipino system of writing. It finally addresses the need for an alternative discourse on the renaissance of the precolonial culture in the Philippines, particularly in the field of religion. Despite the subjectivity of postmodernism as a paradigm, the paper argues that an attempt to uncover the meaning of Bathala will help the present Filipino generation to understand and appreciate the roots of their spirituality.