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Mambabarang (socerer) & magician Vicente Tamala.

Vincente Tamala started with magic when he was in his early 20’s.

He learned a lot from an Indian sorcerer which he befriended while

in Zamboanga. Beside performing magic tricks he claims he has

supernatural powers. He sells anting-antings (amulets) which protects

the bearer from any harm. He also sells all kind of herbal and love

(lumay) potions.

Mr. Tamala claims he only performs white magic and he doesn’t

know anybody who do black magic in Siquijor.

According to the website Dumaguette info (click here) there are two

different kind of people with supernatural powers that can be found

in the island of Siquijor: one is the "Shaman" and the other the

"Sorcerer". The folk healer or shaman is called mananambal while

the sorcerer is called a mambabarang in the local dialect. Their so

called healing powers are derived from an external supernatural source,

a saint, an enchanted being or a spirit (of a dead person).

The sorcerer is commissioned to cause death or inflict serious illness

to an enemy of the client. For these they charge 6,000 to 30,000 pesos.

Frequently, these sorcerers are called on to retaliate to adultery,

to land grabbing or unsettled land disputes, and theft.

Some of the most well known sorcery rituals are the barang and paktol.

Barang happens when the sorcerer, through his magic, uses insects

like cockroaches and beetles, to invade the stomach of the victim

causing them to swell out of proportion and eventually, to explode.

On the other hand, paktol is when the sorcerer implores the help of

the spirits in causing death to an enemy. Typically this is done in

enchanted places like the balete tree or deserted caves where evil

spirits are believed to dwell.

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Mananmbal (healer) Cosing Akay a practitioner of bolo-bolo
(bulo-bulo)

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Mananambal (healer) Cosing Akay a practitioner of bolo-bolo
(bulo-bulo)

A practitioner of bolo-bolo generally uses clean and clear water,

a drinking glass, a small black magic stone and a bamboo tube

about six inches long.

In this case the patient was plagued with chronic headaches

. Manang Akay first poured water inside the glass (with the magic

stone). Then she started to blow air into the bamboo tube while

moving around the head of the patient. After a few moments the

water magically became murky. She threw out the water and repeated

the procedure. The second time the water was still unclear and

dirty. Manang Akay had to repeat the procedure four times before

the water remained clear. This was a sure sign that the patient

was cured and that all the bad elements and spirits were removed

from his body.

I first thought that there was dirt in the bamboo stick but there

couldn’t be enough filth inside the bamboo to repeat the procedure

with four other patients.

Having some back pain from riding my motorbike I asked Manang

Akay if she could cure me. She told me she would try and she put

first some “magic oil” on my painful lower back while mumbling

things I didn't understood. Then she started the bolo-bolo procedure

as described above. To my horror the first glass of water turned

into extremely dirty water. Luckily after the third time the water

remained clear. To be honest I felt much better and my back pain

disappeared for several days. Maybe it was just a placebo effect.

I really don’t know but honestly I felt better.

Manang Akay’s patients come from all over the Philippines. Some

are diagnosed as having natural disorders and are send to medical

doctors. Other have problems caused by spirits or sorcery. Bolo-bolo

is very effective against skin disorders, headaches and body pains.

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Mananambal (healer) Cosing Akay a practitioner of bolo-bolo
(bulo-bulo)

Cosing Akay is a charming 83 year old lady and a famous practitioner

of bolo-bolo. (more about that tomorrow). She didn't learn “healing”

from anybody and believes that her supernatural power comes

directly from God. When she was young God appeared in one of her

dreams and He instructed her to heal sick people and cure those

possessed by bad spirits.

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A patient of Manang Akay.

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Pampahid (lotion) is composed of bottled oil or Tanduay mixed

with different tiny pieces of wood from different trees, vines and

grasses. It is very helpful against  cough, stomach ache, headaches,

fever, skin problems  and many others.

Here you can see how Manang Akay puts some ointment on the

forehead of a man  complaining about recurring headaches.

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Manang Akay blows the bad spirits out of her patients head.

The century old balete tree.

 

 

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Due to its strange outline and its roots that are aboveground the

bayan (locally known as the balete tree) is said to be home to a

variety of spirits and demon-like creatures. Mystical creatures

associated with this tree are the white lady, the  aswang, the diwata,

the  duwende, the ekek, the kapre, the  manananggal and the

tikbalang.

There is a small pond in front of this century old balete tree.

It is said that its water cures all kind of sicknesses.

Aswang:  is a Filipino version of the vampire. They are human like

by day but transform into different monstrous forms to harass

and eat awake humans at night, especially pregnant women who

are about to give birth.

Diwata: engkantada are fairies, nymphs, goddesses or enchanted

persons who are believed to guard natural creations such as forests,

seas, mountains, land and air. Diwatas are said to reside in large

trees, such as acacia and balete.

Duwende: goblins, hobgoblins, elves or dwarfs. They are little creatures

who can provide good fortune or bad fate to humans. In the Philippines,

duwendes frequently live in houses or in trees in rural areas. They are

known to be either good or mischievous, depending on how homeowners

treat them. Filipinos usually leave food on the floor, so that the

duwende residing (or guarding) the house would not be angry with them.

Ekek: creatures who are bird-like humans. They are winged-humans

who at night search for victims. They hunger for flesh and blood.

Kapre: a filthy, dark giant who likes to smoke huge rolls of cigars,

and hide within and atop large trees, particularly the balete and old acacia

or mango trees. A Filipino bigfoot, it scares away little children who play

at night. If you're stuck in a place and you keep going around in circles,

you're said to be played around by a Kapre. To escape its control, you

must remove your t-shirt, and wear it inside-out.

Manananggal: an aswang that can fly after separating itself from the

lower half of its body. It eats babies and fetuses from a mothers womb.

It eats babies by means of passing their long tongue through a small hole

from the roof of a house. The sharp end of the tongue touches the mother's

navel to suck the blood of the fetus or unborn child.

Tikbalang: (demon horse) is a half-man and half-horse creature. It has a

horse's head, the body of a human but with the feet of the horse. It travels

at night to rape female mortals. The raped women will then give birth to

more tikbalang. They are also believed to cause travelers to lose their

way particularly in mountainous or forest areas.

(Click here for the complete list of mystical figures in the Philippines).

Santa Rita statue in the village of Maria.

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Hidden inside the church of the village of Maria is the frightening

statue of Sta. Rita holding a skull and an inverted crucifix.  Leave

before dark, some people claim she is a ghost...

The statue is out of view and you will not be able to see it without

the authorization of the Parish Priest. Nobody, even the Parish Priest,

could give me any clues as to the origin of the statue. The documents

related to the statue disappeared mysteriously a few years ago.

According to local legend, the skull belongs to the woman’s husband

whom she killed for reasons nobody in the island seems to know.

The decision to hide the statue from the public was taken by the

bishop to protect the statue from theft and vandalism. The statue

was already stolen in the past and was luckily recovered in the province

of Bohol. It also seem that faith healers were scraping pieces of the

skull to mix it in their magic potions. 

According to the Patron-Saints Index (click here) Rita was the

daughter of Antonio and Amata Lotti. From her early youth, Rita

visited the Augustinian nuns at Cascia, Italy, and showed interest in

a religious life. However, when she was twelve, her parents betrothed

her to Paolo Mancini, an ill-tempered, abusive individual who worked

as town watchman. Disappointed but obedient, Rita married him when

she was 18, and was the mother of twin sons. She put up with Paolo's

abuses for eighteen years before he was ambushed and stabbed to death.

Her sons swore vengeance on their father's killers, but through Rita's

prayers and interventions, they forgave the offenders. Upon the deaths

of her sons, Rita again felt the call to religious life. However, some of

the sisters at the Augustinian monastery were relatives of her husband's

assassins, and she was denied entry for fear of causing dissension.

Asking for the intervention of Saint John the Baptist she managed to be

admitted to the monastery at the age of 36. Rita lived 40 years in the

convent, spending her time in prayer and charity. Rita is well-known as

a patron of desperate, seemingly impossible causes and situations. This

is because she has been involved in so many stages of life - wife, mother,

widow, and nun, she buried her family, helped bring peace to her city,

saw her dreams denied and fulfilled - and never lost her faith in God, or

her desire to be with Him.

San Isidro Labrador Church and Convent in Lazi.

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The town of Lazi is located fifteen kilometers from San Juan. It is

the home of the popular St. Isidro Labrador Church and Convent.

Known as the largest convent in the Asian region, the structure is

situated at the southern edge of Siquijor surrounded by acacia trees.

The planning and construction of this religious edifice was started

by the Augustinian Recollects in the year 1857 and was finalized by

Filipino artisans twenty seven years later.

The church has two pulpits, the original retablos and wood floors.

The church walls are approximately a meter thick. The walls are

reinforced with log posts which are embedded in the wall. The facade

is covered with coral stone, while the rest is made of fill. It measures

almost 85 meters in length.

The convent, which was used for rest and recreation of the Friars is

a U-shape structure, with stonewalls at the first level, and wood studs

and panels at the second floor. The convent has width of about

50 meters and a depth of about 50 meters. It now houses a museum.

The proposal to construct the church and convent is credited to Father

Toribio Sanchez. I must say that I admire (but also fear) people like

Father Sanchez. Imagine building such a huge church and convent in

such a remote island in the 19th century. Even nowadays such a project

would be a logistic nightmare.

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“The perfect journey is never finished, the goal is always just across

the next river, round the shoulder of the next mountain. There is

always one more track to follow, one more mirage to explore.”  

-Rosita Forbes, From Red Sea to Blue Nile-

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Signboard inside a church. Ladies beware... ;-)