Myth | Lore | History

Filipino folklore story in Ginger & Smoke

I have a short story in the first edition of Ginger & Smoke! A Filipino-Canadian first, Ginger & Smoke is a genre-blending publication reclaiming Filipino folklore, mythology and fairy tales. It became my dream publication as soon as I saw the call for submissions, and I’m grateful to Nathalie De Los Santos for broadening the […]

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Boundary keepers & path shifters: forest spirits in Filipino & Finnish folklore

As a kid, I was taught that certain spirits lived just beyond the edges of the path. In Filipino folklore, the nuno sa punso might curse you for disturbing its mound. In Finnish folklore, a type of haltija called a tonttu could guard your house and required certain behaviour. I grew up saying “tabi tabi

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historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: foreign rule in finland & the philippines

Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: foreign rule in Finland & the Philippines

Why do I write historically-inspired SF/F set in societies that disregard personal autonomy? I admit, when I first noticed it I got a little concerned.⁠ Shouldn’t I be writing about dragons or something lighthearted and fun? ⁠ Then I took a step back and looked at the broad strokes history of my parents’ countries of

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The Quiet is Loud & old Filipino restaurants

Firstly: Happy Filipino Heritage Month! 🇵🇭 There’s an old-school style of Filipino restaurant called “turo-turo1.” The name is an example of classic Filipino word reduplicating, and stems from the word for pointing at something. They’re often located in strip malls, and the typical feature is their cafeteria-style presentation, all food laid out in warming trays

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Historical inspiration for my fantasy novel: Pre-colonial Philippines

Twist the Branch (formerly Seeker of the Lost Song) is a historically-inspired fantasy novel merging medieval Finnish & pre-colonial Filipino elements, and I wanted to share two elements of Filipino history I included. Dulang, a low table One of my favourite tidbits from my research is that pre-colonial Filipinos ate at a low table, sitting

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