SIQUIJOR, Philippines — The island province of Siquijor has a long history tied to mysticism and healing, leading to some to believe that magic brews within the coastal trees.
Philstar.com was invited by a phone brand earlier this year on a trip to Siquijor to test out a new water-resistant unit, but there are some wonders even technology hardly matches.
Looking after the media was Johnry Ina-an, a tour guide from Maria — one of only six municipalities located in the island now part of the new Negros Island Region.
Ina-an started with the basic information about Siquijor:
- With a land area of 343.5 square kilometers and a coastline 102 kilometers long, it is the Philippines' third smallest island province behind Batanes and Camiguin
- 134 barangays make up the six municipalities (Enrique Villanueva, Maria, Larena, San Juan, Lazi, and Siquijor)
- As of December 2021, 103,395 reside in Siquijor, just as much as any large city in Luzon
Eventually though, Ina-an began rattling off what people were eager to learn about — why Siquijor is the Healing Island or Mystical/Magical Island once called by the Spaniards as The Island of Witches.
"Lalo na 'pag from Manila, 'pag narinig nila 'yung Siquijor, natatakot. Pero 'yung iba nai-excite, lalo na 'yung mga curious kung gano katotoo 'yung mga story, " Ina-an said. "'Pag sinabi kasing Siquijor, unang papasok is maraming mangkukulam. Maraming manananggal or aswang."
He clarified it was indeed true there are "manananggal" on the island, specifically "manananggal ng sakit" or the faith healers.
Ina-an shared that whenever the Spaniards would travel from the north of the Philippines, they would have no choice but to pass through what is now Central Visayas where Siquijor is located.
At the time, some shipmates would get sick so the Spaniards would seek help from the natives. Because they were in disbelief that natives could heal the illnesses, they branded them witches out of fear and kept their distance.
Mananambal
Ina-an then shared how faith healers would go about making their "medicine," or what they would use in their healing process.
"In that time, wala kaming access sa mga modern healthcare facilities. Wala kaming boutique. Wala kaming pharmacy. Wala kaming hospital. Wala kaming mga doctors," Ina-an noted about the Spanish colonial era.
Instead, the mananambal — from the word "tambal," another term for medicine — would go to mountain or forests in search of medicinal plants.
The tour guide reiterated the similarity of mananambal with manananggal, a vampiric creature whose upper half of the body can fly, by pointing out, "Pwede din manananggal, pero manananggal ng sakit."
These days, the faith healers follow practices likely borrowed from the Spaniards by gathering herbals during Lenten season.
During the seven Fridays before Black Saturday, the healers would go to the mountain, sea, caves, and even churches or cemeteries to gather over 200 types of herbal.
Example of sea ingredients are from the pufferfish, while from churches are wax of melted candles. Ina-an quipped that healers would not pick up bones from graveyards, only plants that grow by and in them.
"Ang ginagawa nila, china-chop nila 'yan at hinahalo lahat. During Biyernes Santo, 'yung mga 200 types na herbals, sinusunog 'yan para magiging siyang puli," Ina-an explained. "Pagka-Black Saturday, ihahalo na lahat 'yung ingredients, tapos niluluto nila. Ang tawag nila 'yan is minasa."
As much as possible, the minasa should be able to sustain them for a whole year of healing.
Ways of healing
Ina-an went to talk about the different ways faith healers do their practice, starting with the use of fire through fumigation or "suob" ("tuob" in Bisaya), which became popular during the pandemic.
Patients would be seated and wrapped in a blanket to the point only their face is exposed, and a clay pot with a fire is placed underneath the chair.
The minasa will be put into the fire creating smoke, which will make contact the patient's body.
"Ang purpose niya, para i-eliminate 'yung mga negative energies sa katawan natin. Kasi naniwala kami dito, isa sa dahilan kung bakit magkasakit ang mga tao is dahil 'yan sa mga masamang elemento sa paligid. Dahil galing sa tubig, galing sa mga puno, o gano'n," Ina-an explained.
A simpler practice is "tawal," which involves oil taken from coconuts on the eastern part of Siquijor facing the east, and that oil is mixed with the herbals.
What the healer would do here is touch the patient's forehead, close their eyes and pray in silence, blow on the patient, and make a cross on the patient with the oil mixture.
Yet another cleansing method is through the use of water called "bolo-bolo" or bubbling.
This method sees the healer placing a rock in clean water and taking a small bamboo pipe. Similar to the "tawal," the healer touches the patient's forehead, closes their eyes, and prays in silence, but this time, he blows the water around the patient (making the bubbling sound where its name is borrowed).
After that, the water is moved to a clean bowl where any floating dark particles represent the body's negative energies. The healer will repeat the process until the water is clear.
Ina-an shared that cursed victims or "biktima ng kulam" would not just have dark particles in the water but small cockroaches; however, in his years as a tour guide, he has yet to witness it.
Scammers
The tour guide noted that while Siquijor is famous for its faith healers, there are some who claim to have the ability to curse a person or "mangkulam" for a profit, and many have fallen victim to scams.
He recalled an incident in 2017 where a tourist from Manila arrived in Siquijor with the intention of cursing someone so he looked for a ride into the mountains.
One driver they came across claimed to have a contact with such an ability, and the deal was he and the "mangkukulam" would split the profit.
"Ang sabi daw ng mangkukulam, hindi aabutan ng isang buwan, patay 'yung pinapakulam. So nagbayad. Siyempre magaling mag-convince, magaling mag-kwento 'yung magkukulam kunyari," Ina-an said.
Four or five months later, the tourist returned to Siquijor angrily looking for the driver because the person they wanted to curse was in very good health ever since the first trip.
Ina-an said many try to scam non-residents of Siquijor, seeing it as a quick way of making a profit, but reiterated that faith healing is a true practice still being taught to younger generations.
In fact, every Holy Week, the island holds a healing festival attended by many tourists to witness the Association of Siquijor Healers go up Siquijor's highest peak, Mount Bandilaan, to do their practice.
Most healers make their minasa in private, but some would show it publicly on Black Saturday, and according to Ina-an, a true faith healer would never directly ask for payment.
"Ang totoong faith healer, ang totoong mananambal o manggagamot, hindi nanghihingi ng bayad. Any amount lang na donation. At saka, huwag mong ibigay direkta sa kamay niya," he explained.
It need not even be money, as some offer biscuits, sugar, coffee, even chicken or fish. "'Pag 'yung healer na naka-usap mo, hihingi ng exact amount na kabayaran, hindi totoong healer 'yan," Ina-an added.
"Kasi ang totoong healer kapag tumanggap sila ng bayad, nagsu-suffer sila, meron silang mga consequences na ma-encounter," he continued. "Hindi sila makatulog, magkaka-sakit sila, parang sa kanila babagsak 'yung kulam. Tapos, hindi papalag 'yung kanilang pagpanggap."
Aswang
Faith healers do exist in Siquijor, but the same cannot be said for evil spirits or aswang, another popular anecdote when talking about the island province.
While Ina-an definitely said there were no aswangs in Siquijor, he did regale the media with a story of how Jose Rizal was the reason no such creatures exist.
The tour guide narrated about an aswang family desperate for a kill, flying from town to town in search of a victim.
Eventually, they came across a figure in the dark, pouncing on him and attempting to drain his blood.
When morning came the townspeople found the aswang family dead at the foot of the statue of Jose Rizal in Maria, Ina-an's hometown, which is why he humorously bought into the stories of Rizal's heroism.
For a while, Ina-an played along with the story until a historian with an expertise in Rizal studies pointed out how ridiculous the story was, only for that encounter to become another footnote the tour guide could share to guests.
Stories after all are what keep people interested in traveling to places they have never been to before, and Siquijor is no different.
Whether its truly the Healing Island, a Magical Island, or an Island of Witches, Siquijor continues to attract people from all around the world to bask in its clear blue-green waters, imparting mystical memories of its own.
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