Saturday, October 11, 2014

"Na-engkanto po ba sila?": Albularyo

Tacobelles
SA21 – Q


1.      Who is the identity you want to imitate? Why did you choose this identity?

Our group chose the identity of an albularyo. In English, albularyos are referred to as quack/witch doctors, faith-healers, exorcists and others. There are many different labels for albularyos because they can have different specializations and this is also because of the variety of cultures around the globe with regards to “non-medical” healing. In our country alone, albularyo is associated with magtatawas, manghihilot, mangluluop, the popular mangkukulam and many others. The distinction between these terms is hard to determine. The Filipinos have been using these terms interchangeably for so long.

            Albularyos specialize in using herbs. This is where the word “albularyo” came from (“herb”, thus the more common pronunciation “AR-bu-lar-yo”). Aside from herbs, other things that they use are tawas, tapal (a written or whispered prayer), tawak (a mixture of different substances, many of which are roots of different plants). Most of them lack in formal education and got their knowledge and skills from previous generations and from years of practice. Others learned from serving as apprentices to the more ‘mature’ albularyos. There are also those who said that they got their skills from the supernatural (the so-called “not like ours” and even the Christian god). Most albularyos are pagans but nowadays, some of them incorporate Christian beliefs in healing, rituals and chants.

Honestly, at first, we chose this identity because we thought it was amusing. We were thinking of the stereotypical albularyo. At the same time, we had lots things that we wanted to know about them. Some of us have already gone to an albularyo but still, their visits aren’t enough to answer our queries. Choosing albularyo then would make us research about them and this, hopefully, satisfied our curiosity.


2.      What is your identity’s main function in the society?

People go to albularyos for different reasons; healing, exorcism, to buy amulets (anting-anting) and other good luck charms or when they want a problem to be resolved - make people fall in love with them (gayuma), exact revenge on someone and other personal matters. But not all albularyos are capable of all these things (because they have specializations), while some pretend-albularyos only con their customers to earn money.

Nowadays, many people still believe in faith-healing, especially in provinces and remote areas. Their popularity is usually brought about by the word of mouth. Some people, on the other hand, go to quack doctors because they have little to no choice - the nearest health center is closed, the nearest hospital is too far, or hospital bills are very expensive. The more privileged, on the other hand, visit albularyos as a last resort, when their ailments can no longer be treated by medical science.


3.      How does he/she look like? (clothes, gears like cellphone if any?, skin, hairstyle, nails, physical appearance—observe everything)

            In movies, albularyos are usually portrayed by old and balding, if not already bald, men. The typical albularyo is usually presented as someone who wears worn out long-sleeved shirts, folded until just below the elbow, loose pants, and different necklaces and trinkets, supposedly for protection and to ward off evil spirits. They also have a plain bandana or scarf tied around their head with herbal leaves tucked inside. In our time though, you can’t expect all or most of the albularyos to have a similar type of clothing. Some of them dress like how most of us would dress on an ordinary day- t-shirt + a pair of pants/shorts + flats and would have no accessories or whatsoever.


4.      How does he/she speak and behave? How do they talk to people?
           
Some albularyos are friendly with their customers - they make small talk, ask how they’re doing, occasionally joke around - while others are more serious, even professional. Albularyos, in general have different rituals, depending on the customer’s needs.

A patient with broken bones or dislocated joints is usually advised by elderly people to consult with an albularyo. The albularyo then performs healing massages or “hilot”, which he claims can speed up the recovery. Other ailments, like sudden fever, kidney stones, etc., are also brought to an albularyo so he can perform “hilot” and prescribe herbal medicine, leaves and roots to boil and drink or oils to massage on the body.

Supernatural concerns, like exorcisms, pagpapatawas, “na-engkanto”, and sudden illnesses (these are still usually associated with the supernatural) are also under the albularyo’s job description. Some of the more common practices, usually shown in movies and in television, involve dripping candle wax on a basin of water. The candle wax forms images that the albularyo “reads”. He shares his findings, and offers the customer a solution, like burnt offerings or wearing charms.

During exorcisms or the driving away of evil spirits, some of them chant and mutter prayers or incantations in other languages (like Latin or Old Tagalog).


5.      What are their beliefs in life? What are their values?

            Some albularyos do not accept large amounts of cash. “Customers” pay in kind or in small amounts not exceeding 100 pesos. Others would just leave a “donation box” and lets the patient decide on her own whether or not to drop money. Some albularyos claim that they are instruments of Christ, sent to the world to continue His healing, while some believe in nature as a more powerful force.

            It is also important for many of them to have someone to pass on their skills to, preferably a relative. This is why they practice apprenticeship.


6.      How does his or her day look like?

            Some albularyos have a scheduled time of “business”, like the one pictured in one of our references, who does healing from 9 am to 4 pm. Others are on an on-call basis wherein you have to contact them to go to your house or a specific location where you want the healing to take place. Those who sell potions and oils spend the rest of the time growing herbs and preparing their concoctions.


7.      Any sociological + personal reflections? How did it feel being another person for a day?

            During the deviance activity, people avoided us when we were in the Zen Garden. They saw us ambush people walking on the paths so they chose to go through Edsa Walk instead. Those that we ‘victimized’ were obviously confused as to what we were doing.

            Our group found this activity more challenging compared to the breaching experiment (giving strangers compliments, Gateway Cubao). We thought that it would be easier since we’re doing it in our school but rather, this presented concerns among the members. One of these is that the people we ‘victimized’ might recognize us the next time we pass by them. The impression we made on them was probably not that good and we’re afraid that this might affect how they think of us even after the activity.

If we look at albularyos in an SF point-of-view, their main purpose is to help people with problems regarding health and even one’s social life. However, there are a number of latent functions found from albularyos. They could be seen as people who try to keep the Filipino tradition alive. Their ways are of old, reaching back to the time before Christianity. We also mentioned that other people go to albularyos because health centers and hospitals are either closed or too far.

In our time of modern medicine and procedures, old ways of healing may be forgotten if not for albularyos. Also, since some albularyos have gone to use the Christian faith, this makes people believe in their God more especially when patients are healed. They serve as evidence to believe in a god. Some problems may arise though when what they do don’t work or if they’re actually just con-men. This leads us to social conflict.

Considering that albularyos veer away from scientifically-proven remedies, they bring about criticism. More and more people, especially those from developing cities, refuse to believe in their healing powers. In areas where urbanization is taking place, residents are gradually turning away from traditional healers and seeking modern medicine in hospitals and medical centers. However, some localities have no access to this so the residents have no choice but to go to the healers in their community. As mentioned before, they can be unreliable and that serious medical problems may get even worse under their methods. Still, without these albularyos, these people deprived of health care will have no one to go to.


References:



http://banderablogs.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/albularyo-espiritista-magtatawas-atbp/

http://www.buhayofw.com/medical-advice/other-diseases-of-ofws/ano-albularyo-hilot-faith-healers-totoo-ba-gayuma-mangagamot-folk-53c6387d429b3#.VDgbv_mSz00







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