How Kristo Democratized Langit

• Main Author: Rodriguez, Agustin Martin G
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2021
• Subjects: Katipunanan; Kalayaan; Kapaypaan; Democracy; Langit; History; Philosophy
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/philo-faculty-pubs/51; https://archium.ateneo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1051&context=philo-faculty-pubs
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This paper is a philosophical exploration on the native appropriation of the Christian rationality for the creation of a discourse of genuine liberation. This appropriation stimulated the native creation of the discourse of Kaharian ng Langit which shaped the millenarian revolts; the Revolution of 1896; and even subsequent reform and liberation movements in the Philippines. Through a hermeneutical reflection on the babaylan cosmology and the transformation of the concept of the ideal society during the Spanish colonization; the author will show how the indigenous rationality created a new vision of a good society from the imposed colonizing rationality which it appropriated to their own babaylan cosmology. The study will begin by articulating the native concept of a balanced cosmos where humans and spirits of nature are engaged in systems of mutual flourishing. It will then show how the imposition of the Pasyon cosmology enriched the babaylan cosmos by breaking heaven open for the ducha to consider such as a realm of power into which the ducha could tap into for empowerment. The paper will argue that this democratization of Langit; which made it accessible to the ducha; allowed them to imagine a better world that would liberate them from the bayang sawi created by the Spanish and this image allowed for the millenarian revolts and Katipunan revolution and continues to influence liberation movements in this nation.