150 ASIAN STUDIES: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia (Re)theorizing the Nation: Jocano's Structural-Functionalism in the Neo-Colonial Order David Gowey Arizona State University Before proceeding with my reflections on Dr. F. Landa Jocano, I would be remiss not to mention two ironies central to my writing them. First, my main argument is that Dr. Jocano’s experience of rural Panayanon life prepared him for his work in ways that his American anthropological training never could. Writing as one of those American anthropologists, this is quite a thing to admit. Second, these reflections are of necessity much more imagined than I would have liked them to be. In November 2013, the PagBayaw Conference held in Iloilo City—the first to focus specifically on Panay Bukidnon sugidanon chanting, the field in which Dr. Jocano made his initial contributions—seemed to be the ideal opportunity for me to meet the person whose work had sparked my interest in sugidanon in the first place. As it happened, Dr. Jocano passed away only two weeks prior. I write with all of this in mind. It is tempting to conclude that Dr. Jocano’s work began in a particularly auspicious time for Philippine anthropology and folklore studies; “auspicious” because I wonder if it would have had quite the impact it did had it been done at any other time. Certainly, folklore traditions of the Philippine Islands attracted the attentions of many others before him, from the Spanish authors of relaciones to babaylan rebels to ilustrados. The latter sought to make a new nation out of nearly two 146