By:

Abella, Jomaica

Benitez, Jennifer

Castillo, Alithea

• Is phenomena in which physical illness appear to be cured by means other than those of drugs, surgery , regimes, manipulations, recognized psychological methods or common sense

• a prerequisite of healing is belief in the healers powers, or belief that the sufferer will recover, or belief that God wills recovery from the particular ailment

-protest against the mechanistic and a return to the tradition of regarding man as a complex of the physical and the spiritual

a rediscovery of old wisdoma demand for marvels or simply a relapse into

superstition and quackery

a part of the Healing Processhas 2 basic needs

The world must make senseThe person must feel himself to be more than a

slave of implacable fates, gods or mechanismFaith healers (e.g witch doctors) recognize

these dual needs and attempted to satisfy them

In the Philippines, there are different types of traditional healer

Most of these healers consider their healing craft as God-given, a calling from a supernatural being, and consequently, their healing practices are profusely infused with prayers and religious rituals.

Usually rural-based, they are also present in the urban and suburban communities.

animistic and mythological ethos, nunos, lamang lupas, tikbalangs and kapres - creatures that often complicate the conundrum of pathophysiology.

diagnostic rituals and treatment modalities are affected by the belief in these creatures.

Kanyaw:the sacrificial chicken spurting and dripping

blood from its gashed neck as it circles the grounds of the haunting habitues, and later to be shared as a poultry dish

to drive away the evil spirits. prayers - whispered (bulong) or written

(orasyon).

methods of treatment used: prayers, spitting, rubbing, plastering and murmuring." Prayer -use of prayers to invoke some saint or

God. Spitting -chewing and spitting on the object for

a cure. (e.g in circumcision, tobacco mixed with guava leaves is chewed Then spat on the newly cut foreskin).

Rubbing -little massage with the use of an ointment or a liniment,(e.g. Kerosene is used to rub on the joints that are painful or aching).

Plastering -herbs are pounded in the mortar and applied with a piece of cloth.

Murmuring - special secret phrase with specific wonders on certain ailments. It is not directed to God or a saint. The words themselves are responsible for the results. They can also be used to ward off evil.

Although most are available for daily consultations, some practice their craft only on tuesdays and fridays, days of the week coinciding with the feast of the Sto. Niño and the feast of the Black Nazarene, when they believe their healing powers to be at their optimum.

'chiropractic' manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoligamentous and muskuloskeletal ailments.

their practice is limited only to bodily complaints amenable to chiropractic manipulations and massage.

Tools : an amulet, an 'empowered' cane, or a nazarene-garb.

attribution of the healing effect to God, that it is through His guidance that they are able to manipulate the spiritual and energy channels, hoping to expel evil spirits that may have invaded the patient's etheric space and may have caused the physical ailments

• technique of massage: patterns of symbolic patterns of the cross, crown of thorns, the rosary, and the nailed hands and feet.

• Panghihila: After gently massaging coconut oil over the areas of concern, the "panghihila" is performed using a mirror, a strip of cigarette cellophane paper, or a strip of banana frond. Any of these is passed over the body areas. If the material, instead of being pulled smoothly, sticks to a specific spot, this is presumed to be an area of malady - "sala," strain or muscle pull, and the massage directed to this area.

Bintusa: The treatment is usually supplemented with wrappings of medicinal leaves.

Incorporates some elements of "science" (meridians, trigger points, reflexology, basic anatomy and physiology)

• unfortunate outcomes: – delayed diagnosis of serious maladies and

many occasions– attempting complicated fracture reductions

without radiographic imaging resulting in non-union, often life-time, deformities.

• Like the albularyo, the hilot 's services are "free-of-charge", fearing that set fees will lessen the hilot's healing powers. abilities. Voluntary donations are accepted: P10 - 100 or in kind - cigarettes, snacks, etc.

• determines the cause of an illness through the ritual of luop.

• luop is used for gastrointestinal complaints caused the inhalation of unpleasant odors

• ritual paraphernalia consists of the kalanghuga (a kind of freshwater or saltwater shell), salt (to weaken the supernatural spirits), benditang palaspas (piece of blessed palm leaves from Palm Sunday), charcoal made from a coconut shell, a coconut midrib and a tin plate.

• A fiery concoction is made from these elements is made on a tin plate, in consonance with prayers and invocations and performing the sign-of-the-cross thrice over the patient, the kalanghuga is examined.

• The diagnosis is suggested by its appearance: Roughness, a slight affliction; stickiness, a sprain; a figure or form (hugis-hugis), a displeased environmental spirit; brittleness, a really angered spirit.

• The treatment is then suggested and the necessary alternative referral made.

• After the diagnostic ritual, the shell is powdered while praying, a sign-of-the-cross is performed on the patient's forehead, both palms and plantar arches of both feet.

• Then, the ritual paraphernalia are thrown under the entrance stairs to prevent the evil spirits from reentering the house.

performed by most alternative healers that serves in providing clues as to the nature and cause of the illness.

derived its name from to its chemical nature - alum, an astringent, crystalline double sulfate of aluminum and potassium - and early on, was used exclusively in the diagnostic ritual.

today, tawas refers to a diagnostic ritual or procedure, utilizing a variety of materials: candles, eggs, mirrors, plain paper, cigarette rolling-paper, and alum.

mediumistic healingmediums are believed to possess

extraordinary powers to cure sickness, to exorcise evil spirits from the rice fields, or out of the human body, and to intercede with good spirits for the petitions of the people.

claim to have special knowledge of the environmental spirits. They perform all important rituals, chant prayers for the community when the barrio faces a crisis.

To insult or harm a medium is to endanger one's life. To imitate his work is equally harmful.

The mediums believe that rites of the priests are more effective than their own as they "contain" more powerful magic. That is why the baylan often supplements his own prayers with Latin prayers; and takes his ritual paraphernalia – holy water, the cross, pieces of wood from the santo entero (Christ in the Sepulchre), incense, and others from the church.

psychic or astral surgeons who claim to cut incisions with their fingers and perform other miracles of para-science.

spritistic apport, an apport being the appearance or disappearance of an object within a closed space.

dematerialization, where substance just disintegrates and dissolves into nothing.

Unlike that of the Greeks or Romans, this does not have generally long epics nor has it been relegated to history.

Although there is no scientific evidence for any of these creatures, there is also no shortage in the rural parts of the Philippines of people who believe firmly in their existence.

These creatures are also called shape-shiftersThey 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.

These are creatures that have been denoted as flesh-eating night dwellers who favor the human liver.

Particularly enjoy feasting on pregnant women who are about to give birth.

Can detect them by the scent of ripe jackfruit.

are creatures which, in Philippine mythology, imitate the form of a child.

It usually takes the form of a newborn baby and cries like one in the jungle to attract unwary travelers. Once it is picked up by the victim, it reverts to its true form and attacks the victim.

 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.Tikbalangs are very playful with people, and they usually make a person imagine things that aren't real. Sometimes a Tikbalang will drive a person crazy.

 Literally means “one that removes”. This creature is usually an attractive woman by

day. At night, especially when there is a full moon,

her upper body detaches from her lower body; it utters a special demonic prayer and applies

some kind of oil on all of its body parts before the ‘detachment’.

Bat-like wings sprout out from its back, and it uses its long tongue to feed on human blood and flesh (usually that of unborn babies).

The name Mangkukulam was derived from the work kulam, a Tagalog term which literally means bewitchment; magic spell.

witches, wizards, bruho (male) and bruha (female)

or sorcerers who cast evil spells to humans.old folk say they have red eyes. And "don’t

look directly at those eyes or you will catch a spell", they add.

Typically, the mangkukulam recites spells and mixes potions.

The modern version of the mangkukulam uses dolls.

Superstitious folks still attribute certain illnesses or diseases to kulam

In some rural provincial areas, people completely rely on the albularyo for treatment.

To fight the curses of the mangkukulam, one should look for him or her and offer bribes.

said to be centered on: the islands of Siquijor and Talalora Western Samar Some province of Sorsogon, where many of the

country's faith healers reside. Kulam also exists in many of the hinterlands,

especially in Samar and Leyte.

a witch who uses insects and spirits to enter the body of any person they hate.

Mambabarangs are ordinary human beings with black magic who torture and later kill their victims by infesting their bodies with insects. They are different from Mangkukulams - the latter only inflict pain or illness.

Also refereed to as vodoo.

Often described as giant-like and hairy, wearing loincloths (or bahag) and smoking tobaccos inhabiting trees particularly the balete and old acacia or mango trees.

Kapres are not particularly evil. They just love playing pranks on people, and would sometimes look for friendship with mortals.

They are little creatures who can provide good fortune or bad fate to humans.

In the Philippines, duwendes frequently live in houses, in trees, underground, termite like mound or hill, and in rural areas.

They are known to be either good or mischievous, depending on how homeowners treat them.

usually come out at 12 noon for an hour and during the night.

Sigbin is a creature of Philippine mythology said to come out at night to suck the blood of victims from their shadows. walks backward with its head lowered between

its hind legs. resembles a hornless goat emits a very nauseating smell possess a pair of very large ears which are

capable of clapping like a pair of handsalso claimed to issue forth from its lair during

Holy Week, looking for children that it will kill for the heart, which is made into an amulet.