Women’s Memory in Sari Saysay’s Plays

Abstract

This critical study seeks to analyze six selected plays of the Filipino playwright, namely Sari Saysay, using cultural memory and the Bikol indigenous concept, baliana--a precolonial female priestess of the Bikol Region, Southern Luzon, Philippines. It examines how his plays represent the memory of women by articulating their voice and redressing their silencing at the same time. By analyzing one female character per play who resonates the qualities of a baliana, this paper finds that the female characters can be classified into the following: sugot (libertine), gerera (warrior), or areglador (mediator). The sugot is a libertine character whose primary motivation is to just survive her corrupt world. Meanwhile, the gerera is a fighter, armed with guns or wisdom in going against the oppressors. Their decisions are driven by their desire to fight for the minorities or the powerless. The areglador is a mediator of two “conflicting” forces: the past and the present, the traditions and modernity, the dead and the living, and the invisible and the visible. In conclusion, this paper demonstrates the power of women in Bikol society in addressing societal problems, which must be preserved amidst the prevalence of patriarchy.