Where does “babaylan” come from?
babaylan (Tagalog) comes from Cebuano babaylan, from Cebuano babaye, from Proto-Austronesian ba-bahi, from Proto-Austronesian bahi — female, woman.
babaylan (Tagalog): Priestess; woman leader
Ancestry of “babaylan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Cebuano | babaylan | in pre-colonial Cebu; a woman, sometimes an... |
| 2 | Cebuano | babaye | a female; a girl, a lady or a woman; feminine,... |
| 3 | Proto-Austronesian | ba-bahi | woman; female |
| 4 | Proto-Austronesian | bahi | female, woman |