Description

“Mindanawon Literature is alive, well, and kicking! Dr. Mansoor Limba’s latest publication, ‘mBayuka Tanu! Maguindanaon Bayuk Transcription, Translation, and Annotation is a most welcome addition to what is evolving in Mindanao, namely an increasingly varied collection of original materials about Mindanao written by a Mindanawon. This is a book of stories. Storytelling is a favorite pastime for peoples in all cultural contexts around the world, told in the people’s mother tongue and in styles unique to their indigenous roots.  ‘mBayuka Tanu! is a collection of the unique Maguindanaon style of storytelling known as bayuk, the prominent example of Maguindanaon folk speech which refers to lyric poetry, proverbs, and aphorisms as well as chant which is syllabic and tetrachordal. However, this book is not just an anthology of 13 stories, but the author-translator does the reader, who is a non-Maguindanaoan, a big favor through his efforts at transcription, translation, and annotation. Not only are the stories now accessible to readers in English, but they can better be appreciated as their background stories, or their context are also provided. Thus, the book’s bayuk translation may be considered its ‘flesh’ while the story behind or its context may be its ‘soul’.”

––Karl M. Gaspar CSsR

Redemptorist Brother, anthropologist, and historian

 

“In the constant assertion of our Bangsamoro identity, history and cultural heritage play a central role. For, our history and cultural heritage, underpinned by our Islamic faith, attest to the nationhood of the Bangsamoro that makes it sui generis in the Philippine state setting. In this regard, Dr. Mansoor Limba’s written work on Maguindanao bayuk merits not only our profound appreciation because such a work allows us to ‘rediscover’ in nostalgic context a wonderful tradition that bespeaks the richness of our cultural heritage, but also enthralls us with the inimitable artistic skills our ancestors communicated their stories by word of mouth in measured rhythmic tempo that have become an integral part of our indigenous traditional oral literature. As such, Dr. Limba’s book, ‘mBayuka Tanu, is truly a wonderful work of scholarship in the service of the Bangsamoro. It should serve as an inspiration to other Moro scholars.”

––Robert Maulana M. Alonto

Chair, Committee for Writing Bangsamoro History

Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)

 

“Congratulations to Mansoor for this great work of preserving the bayuk of the Magindanaw! We need more people who will collect and publish the limitless oral lore of our people.”

––Macario D. Tiu, EdD

historian, fiction writer, and poet

Director, Ateneo de Davao University Publication Office

 

“This is a fantastic work that you have done. You will leave a legacy to the Maguindanao people. First, nobody has done it. At the present situation, it is very hard to find onor (bayuk reciter) that can chant the bayok. When you found an onor, it is hard to understand and translate the bayok into English because the words are classical. Dr. Mansoor Limba, congratulations again! As you preserve one of the intangible cultural heritages of the Maguindanao, al-hamdulillah (all praise is due to Allah)…”

––Labi Hadji Sarip Riwarung, PhD

historian and cultural heritage researcher

Chair, Folklore Division, Mamitua Saber Research Center

Mindanao State University-Main Campus, Marawi City