Siquijor Island, located in the Central Visayas region, attracts many Filipino tourists, including those living abroad, who come to experience local mystical healing therapies, along with activities such as medicine making, exorcism and herbal steam baths.
The various treatments available on the island are believed to have supernatural powers to cure illnesses, no matter how serious. There are many reasons why people have so much faith in these treatments.
“The first reason is that many people believe that there are many worlds that exist parallel to ours. Spirits are always around us, in the forest, the sea, the waterfalls. If people invade their habitat, they can take revenge and make people sick,” said local guide Luis Nathaniel Borongan.
The second reason, Mr Borongan explained, is that many people believe that witchcraft can make us sick. There are many forms of witchcraft, including haplit - casting a spell on someone using a voodoo doll and barang - using insects to harm people or crops.
Third, many people believe that any illness, be it a simple sore throat or a magical obsession, can be cured by visiting a mananambal (healer). Therefore, many people who are sick will go to the island to see a mananambal.
Some people also place great faith in the healing powers of the island’s traditional healers, making Siquijor a popular destination for tourists from all over the country and the diaspora.
“Tourists coming to the island can simply ask at the tourist office or taxi drivers to find the mananambal. The healers believe that their powers are a gift from God. So they will treat everyone,” said Borongan.
According to Borongan, many people visit mananambal instead of doctors. Mananambal often treats illnesses with homemade herbal remedies made from the nearly 300 medicinal plants that grow on the island. The abundance of medicinal plants may also explain why folk remedies have been so important to island life for centuries.
Two Spanish explorers - Juan Aguirre and Esteban Rodriguez - were the first Europeans to set foot on Siquijor in 1565. Spotting the island from afar and thinking it was on fire, they named it Isla de Fuego (Island of Fire).
“In fact, the lights the explorers saw were from fireflies hovering around molave trees, a native plant that grows on the island,” said Borongan.
Herbal remedies are very popular on the island. They can be easily purchased at roadside shops for around 100 pesos (about 45,000 VND). One of the most popular is the love potion which contains 20 natural ingredients including pangamay, a strangely shaped tree branch that resembles a hand.
One of the ancient rituals on the island that still exists today and attracts tourists is "Black Saturday". The shamans will use a black medicine made from more than 200 herbs called minasa wax to burn in the to-ob ceremony. This ritual will help to dispel spells and drive away evil spirits. To make minasa wax, the shamans must visit sacred places on the island on 7 consecutive Fridays during Lent to collect ingredients such as insects, flowers, herbs, wild honey, and candle wax in cemeteries. Then, they will melt these ingredients into wax on Black Saturday or Good Friday.
What is special is that people who come to Siquijor for treatment will not have to pay for treatment. Instead, they are asked to make a small donation.
“We do not treat people for profit. We live very simply,” said physician Juanita Torremacha.
However, today the number of healers on the island has decreased significantly.
To attract tourists to the island, officials have held an annual Island Healing Festival every Holy Week since 2006 at Mount Bandilaan National Park. Locals and tourists are welcome to attend.
“Everyone can experience the rituals for themselves,” says guide Borongan. “We want to prove that this is not a fantasy. Our healing power is very strong and for centuries it has been what has made Siquijor unique. We don’t want to lose this magic.”
Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/kham-pha-siquijor-hon-dao-phep-thuat-o-philippines-385173.html
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