Damdaman: Feelings in Filipino

Damdaman is a children’s book that introduces feelings in Tagalog. It is the fifth book of Little Yellow Jeepney’s language series.

This book was inspired by the makahiya plant. A common sight in Philippine grasslands, the makahiya plant (Mimosa pudica) is famous for its tendency to curl up its leaves at the slightest touch, as if it were extremely embarrassed about physical contact, hence its name: "makahiya" is derived from the Filipino word for "shame" or "shyness" (hiya).

About the title:
Portmanteau or blending is when you clip two words and bring them together to form a new word. For example, 'motorized hotel' becomes 'motel.’ What we see in many Filipino names is a portmanteau of the parents’ names. Today this is commonly referred to as shipping names. This was how the title of this book was created. Damdam (feelings) + halaman (plants) = damdaman. Similarly, the term “damdamin” means feelings in Filipino.

This digital version of this book is available for purchase on Amazon. Printed versions will be available Summer 2023.