The Sama are boat people of the sea. Their food is different. Their way of life is different. Their stories and creatures are different too! These often overlooked residents of Sulu, an archipelago in the Philippines, have an abundance of oral literature. Many of these stories are deserving of an international audience and should be passed on to younger Sama. The goal of the Sama stories series is to preserve these uniquely Sama tales.
The agasi are creatures of Sama lore that like to rip humans to pieces with their bare hands. There are numerous stories of them kidnapping people's wives whom they fancy. In, "Agasi Kidnaps Weensy," Agasi takes Teensy's wife up to his house, the one with the smoking chimney up on the mountain. However, Agasi isn't prepared for what Teensy and his friends Centipede, Egg, Chili Pepper, Needle, Turd, Ant, Wasp, and Croc will do next!
This book was prepared and funded by the Kauman Sama Online (sinama.org), a website dedicated to promoting Sama culture. The original Sinama version has been distributed to Sama classrooms and homes. Sales from the English version will fund the illustration and publication of future Sama stories.
Illustrations for, Agasi Kidnaps Weensy, were created by Filipino artist Vanjoy Sanchez and inspired by the work of Sama artist Elmo Anggilan who drew culturally relevant renditions of this folktale through consultation with elders in his community.
The original story, "Si Dah'kka maka si Dampat," was told in the 1960s by an elderly Sama lady from Musu' Daggotan, a Sama village on the island of Siasi, Sulu. Special thanks to linguist Kemp Pallesen who elicited the story and allowed for its translation and production into a children's book. Luke Schroeder translated the title into English.The book is dedicated to the people of Musu' and to the Sama who trace their origin back to that fishing village.
"The story has universal appeal and the values within it are cross-cultural. The excellent illustrations are vibrant and lively, and the overall format of the book is very reader-friendly." --- Author and Anthropologist H. Arlo Nimmo
Online, Kauman Sama: - Kauman Sama Online is a pen name that specifically represents works written and published within the program of a language and culture website for the Sama people, Sinama.org. Kauman Sama means Sama community. In a broader sense, the Kauman Sama Online seeks to be a place where Sama community can find its place on the internet. Published works are a joint effort of storytellers, elders, young people, common knowledge and linguistic researchers.
Sanchez, Vanjoy: - Filipino artist from General Santos City.
Schroeder, Luke: - Luke is both friend and in-law to the Sama people, seafarers of Southeast Asia. He has lived with them on a stilt house over the ocean, dove with them to 20 fathoms, danced at their weddings, mourned at their funerals, and served as an ambassador for Sama culture to the online world through the language & culture initiative Kauman Sama Online. While raising his family with his wife Ruth, a Sama from Siasi, Sulu, Luke has pursued a mission of providing lasting help for Sama people. Part of this involves producing engaging educational material in the Sinama language for use in Sama homes and Filipino schools. His training in linguistics, anthropology, and research is just enough to be dangerous and hopefully interesting as well.
