UP Press launches Alayaw, Nagbuhis Panay epics

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Alayaw and Nagbuhis, identified by organizers as the 12th and 13th titles in the Suguidanon of Panay series, were launched during AHI’ANI: Paglulunsad ng mga Aklat ng UP Press 2025 at Atencio Libunao Hall in UP Diliman, Quezon City, on Feb. 27, 2026.

UP Press said the AHI’ANI program showcased books published and reprinted in 2025 and marked the press’s 61st anniversary.

Suguidanon of Panay is a 13-title body of oral narratives from Central Panay in Western Visayas that reflects the lifeways and worldview of the Panay Bukidnon community and has been documented by UP Visayas researchers since 1993.

The series was chanted by 2000 Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee Federico Caballero of Garangan, Calinog, Iloilo, researched by UP Visayas Professor Emeritus Alicia P. Magos and Anna Razel Limoso-Ramirez, and translated into contemporary Kinaray-a, Filipino, and English for publication in collaboration with UP Press.

Alayaw tells the story of Humadapnon, who lives in the heavens with his grandmother Laonsina and becomes determined to win Malitong Yawa, or Mali, after learning of her beauty and of the challenge to recover her stolen heirloom boat.

Following Laonsina’s advice, Humadapnon uses magic to grow an invisible alayaw tree, glimpses Mali, and sends three birds as messengers before eventually winning her hand in marriage.

Nagbuhis follows Matan-ayon, who grows old and weak after refusing to perform the surondon ritual needed to reconnect with her ancestral spirits, leading to preparations for her daughter Mali to inherit her spiritual power.

The story then turns on Mali’s hurt and revenge after Humadapnon bars her from the ritual, courts other maidens, and drives her to assume another form before her true body ascends to the heavens in a golden basket.

The launch continues a long-running effort by UP Visayas and its partners to preserve and publish Panay Bukidnon oral literature for new generations of readers, researchers, and cultural workers.

Brief note: I preserved the launch materials’ wording that describes Alayaw and Nagbuhis as the 12th and 13th titles, but that numbering appears to differ from some retail listings that label them with other book numbers, so that detail may need separate verification.