For creative people, being an outsider can influence what we notice and what we make. Writers, artists, and other creative professionals who feel outside of dominant culture or conventions often develop a distinctive perspective of the world around them. I’ve always felt like people at the margins tend to notice where the seams in their
How being an outsider can shape your creative work Read More »
The only way to get there is to be lost. Imagine a shimmering city looming before you. You hear voices calling in the distance. Large buildings reach to the clouds. Sleek cars slip through the streets. The latest tech is woven through the fabric of daily life, and so is the gold. This gleaming city
Inside Biringan, the Philippines’ invisible city Read More »
In Finnish mythology, a haltija (plural: haltijat) is a guardian spirit living in a liminal space: nature, homes, even within ourselves. The specific haltija that guards a place is called a tonttu (plural: tontut) – a newer word which comes from the Swedish “tomte.” Like the tomte (and the Norwegian/Danish nisse), a tonttu has a
Field guide to the Finnish tonttu Read More »
I’ve never been lucky enough to see the Northern Lights, and maybe that’s why I’m so interested in aurora borealis stories from Finnish and Sámi culture. I wanted to share my favourite bits of aurora borealis folklore here – let me know which one is most intriguing to you! Aurora borealis as sparks from a
Sparks from a fox tail: Aurora borealis folklore in Finland Read More »
In Finland, runes aren’t what you might think. At least, not in the same way. “Runo” means “poem,” and while the word is borrowed from the Proto-Germanic word, to us it’s different than the Norse futharks1. What are “runes” in Finland, Karelia, and Estonia? Rune-singing/runolaulu is an ancient form of oral folk poetry and
Rune-singers and kantele: ancient memory and magic Read More »
One of my favourite things about Filipino food is all of the outside influences made undeniably Filipino in their interpretation. I like to use Filipino food in my writing, and it’s become a key part of my mixed-race identity too. The Philippines is made up of many different cultures and languages, and this isn’t meant
How Filipino food history nurtures my mixed-race identity Read More »
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
Filipino folklore story in Ginger & Smoke Read More »
Imagine an autumnal fire-crackle, song and stillness after harvest, a pause between worlds when the veil is thinnest. This time of year seems right for that sort of thing, for divination and feasting and weaving the past and future together. In Finland & Karelia, it was called Kekri. Kekri was a liminal time of harvest
Before Halloween, there was Kekri Read More »
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
Boundary keepers & path shifters: forest spirits in Filipino & Finnish folklore Read More »
In Finno-Ugric paganism, the bear’s true name was too sacred to speak aloud, lest you attract it. It was replaced with euphemistic, respectful names instead. Finnish euphemisms for “bear” Because speaking the true name of the bear was taboo to ancient Finno-Ugric people, they used terms of endearment and euphemisms like mesikämmen (“honey-paw”,) metsän omena
The bear spirit in Finnish paganism Read More »
