A Sea of Stories (Tales from Sulu)

Description

Written by Carla M. Pacis

 

The Bookmark Inc. and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) partnered to produce A Sea of Stories, a collection of books written by Carla Pacis, which feature tales that showcase the rich culture of the Sulu Sea area and to highlight the importance of marine conservation.

 

This children’s book features five charming and sentimental stories (The Jin and the Turtle, Dragon Boat, Mapun, Grandmother’s Gift and Manta Ray Journey) that speak of the people and the fascinating animals living in the islands of Sulu. The book is an effort to document and preserve some of the indigenous literary genres like legends, myths, and folktales, and create short stories for both the young and old from these raw, orally transmitted tales.

 

The collection of stories was written for World Wild Fund’s SSME Programme with the goal to educate children on the beauty, fragility and importance of SSME seas. The books also aim to inspire adults to conserve and protect the rich coastal resources of the Philippines.

 

Carla M. Pacis, the collection’s author, is a professor at De La Salle University where she teaches art, literature and creative writing. She won a PBBY-Salanga Writer’s Prize in 1998 and a Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award in 1995.

 

A Sea of Stories includes:

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞, illustrated by Jeanne P. Tan, which talks about the sad plight of sea turtles in the Sulu Sea and WWF efforts to save them

𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐭, illustrated by Edrick Raymond T. Daniel, tells of the boat-making skills of the Tausug people and the virtue of patience

𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐮𝐧, illustrated by Jose T. Gamboa and Herbert Miguel I. Consunji, talks about declining marine resources in the Sulu Sea and the conservation of sea turtles, some of which saved the lives of fishermen

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭, illustrated by Seth Clarece T. Estacio, narrates the hard life of families in the area, their mat-making industry, and a grandmother’s sacrifice to part with her treasured mat for the education of her granddaughter

𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲, illustrated by Lloyd F. Niguidula, is a folktale about the Badjao people and how they came to live in the different islands of the Sulu Sea, while touching on giant manta rays and the issue of diminishing marine resources.

 

ISBN: 971-569-376-8 (hb)

971-569-375-X (sb)

44 pages