Healing Beyond Believing
Reana Jean M. Cuevas BSA 3
Healing beyond Believing As Philippines is a country which is rich with conglomerated cultures form west to east, it has also a unique own traditions, practices, beliefs and culture. Ancient indigenous beliefs are collection of beliefs cultural mores anchored more or less in the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, good or bad, are pre-colonial beliefs practiced by ancient Filipinos and some are still rooted and practiced today. I had a short chit-chat with an “albularyo”---whom can be referred as quack/herb doctor. She is now 64 years of age, with 30 years of being an “albularyo”. I was shock to hear and know that even “albularyos” have a specific field of practice. The name of the treatment she gave to her patients is “limot”--- in English “forget”, it is called “limot” in order the sickness will be forgotten or wash away and not be suffered again. Her patients are usually children. This practice is inherited from her mother, at first, she hesitated to accept it but then her mother gave her a premonition in her dreams and finally accepted it. There are sicknesses that hospital treatment is not adequate so others seek for quack/herb doctors. The matter of treatment seems strange to those who are not so familiar with it. In case, she have a patient with only a mild case she only do the treatment once but for severe cases she’ll do it for 2 to 3 times. Her matter of treatment is usually herbs--- sabujing, talikod(roots) and gabi(skin) soaked with vinegar used as her belt. Her methods of treatment goes like this: patient should be checked/treated during new moon (patayangbuwan) ,she also mentioned in curing her patients she always give prayers and ask for intercession of their patron saint, who is Senor San Roque and also to the Mother of Perpetual help. And she does rubbing (hilot), it includes little massage with the use of an ointment or liniment, the plastering of the herbs is also present,
Healing beyond Believing As Philippines is a country which is rich with conglomerated cultures form west to east, it has also a unique own traditions, practices, beliefs and culture. Ancient indigenous beliefs are collection of beliefs cultural mores anchored more or less in the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, good or bad, are pre-colonial beliefs practiced by ancient Filipinos and some are still rooted and practiced today. I had a short chit-chat with an “albularyo”---whom can be referred as quack/herb doctor. She is now 64 years of age, with 30 years of being an “albularyo”. I was shock to hear and know that even “albularyos” have a specific field of practice. The name of the treatment she gave to her patients is “limot”--- in English “forget”, it is called “limot” in order the sickness will be forgotten or wash away and not be suffered again. Her patients are usually children. This practice is inherited from her mother, at first, she hesitated to accept it but then her mother gave her a premonition in her dreams and finally accepted it. There are sicknesses that hospital treatment is not adequate so others seek for quack/herb doctors. The matter of treatment seems strange to those who are not so familiar with it. In case, she have a patient with only a mild case she only do the treatment once but for severe cases she’ll do it for 2 to 3 times. Her matter of treatment is usually herbs--- sabujing, talikod(roots) and gabi(skin) soaked with vinegar used as her belt. Her methods of treatment goes like this: patient should be checked/treated during new moon (patayangbuwan) ,she also mentioned in curing her patients she always give prayers and ask for intercession of their patron saint, who is Senor San Roque and also to the Mother of Perpetual help. And she does rubbing (hilot), it includes little massage with the use of an ointment or liniment, the plastering of the herbs is also present,