A Sea of Stories: Tales from Sulu by Carla M. Pacis

A Sea of Stories: Tales from Sulu Reviews

• 
  Ava (jeepneylit)

  Lucky to have found this at our local library. Five remarkable tales, all set in beautiful Sulu, that talk about the love of family, history, and love for the environment. These stories are part of Mindanao's oral tradition. I'm glad that some of this rich literary material has been turned into a book so it can be shared and read far and wide. Highly recommended!
• 
  Luke Schroeder

  Having my 5 children (4 readers) read this book was important to me. Their heritage traces back to Sulu, but they have rarely found themselves in Sulu waters. This is a good mix of old tales and present reality. Sulu culture (including Tawi-Tawi and the tip of the Zamboanga peninsula) is well represented in this children's book. The first two tales are typical origin stories of certain islands or communities of people. The story of the Manta Ray is an often told story of how the Sama people became spread out over Tawi-Tawi, Siasi, Jolo, Zamboanga, and Palawan. It has shown up in the ethnographic literature in various forms and variations. The second story is a similar story about a turtle carrying a couple to the island of Mapun, marking the beginning of the Jama Mapun community (also a Sama group).
  
  One way that Sulu culture is represented is linguistically. There is a glossary in the back with definitions of terms from various Sulu languages including Tausug, Badjao, Sama, and I believe Jama Mapun as well. The terms are also used throughout the stories and well defined so that the English reader can understand. I personally enjoy stories and articles that do this because it is a tell-tale sign of a connection to the cultures even as author Carla M. Pacis is not from the region.
  
  The Sulu culture is also represented in various activities and material culture. Boat building, sailing, mat weaving, carving, turtle egg collecting (discouraged by one of the stories), various forms of fishing, stilt houses, and moorages are all included in these stories. Also some of the area mythological creatures find their way into the stories such as jinn, dragons, the giant 'gargasi' (the Jama Mapun variation of what the Sinama language calls 'agasi') and the witch 'babah' (also I believe a Jama Mapun variation of balbalan in Sinama).
  
  The book was an enjoyable read for my children and for their father, a Sulu culture and language enthusiast. The illustrations are vibrant and do the job for backing up the stories visually. It is worth noting that there are 5 different illustrators for the stories of this book. If you happen to get your hands on this rare book, I believe it is worth the effort.
• 
  aya

  Beautiful and heartwarming stories. Also the art in this book??? Magnificent.