A
SOCIETY & CULTURE
According to our ancestors, the universe is composed of seven layers. The fourth of which is Lupa (land) where the humans and spirits alike dwell. The spirits who live amongst humans are known as tamawo, kama-kama, mangingilaw, mantiw, kapre, sigbin, bawa, and aswang. These beings are also known as lupan-un in the local language. Between the humans and these spirits, there exists special people who act as vessels of communication. They are called maaram or babaylan.
In the province of Antique, there are towns whose babaylans still exist. Tobias Fornier, also known as Dao, hosts a number of babaylans who officiate in the traditional practices. Andong*, a native inhabitant of Dao is regarded by his town as maaram or babaylan. His ancestry as maaram was passed through generations and among the five members of his family, he inherited the gift of a babaylan’s wisdom from his ancestors. In his first six years as maaram, Andong struggled in accepting such gift.
MAARAM:
Tradition of ages WRITTEN BY
DIANA ROSE LAMPASA, SANDIE GED NICHOLAS MINAVES and BRYAN ZANDER BACONGA
Between the humans and the spirits, there exists special people who act as vessels of communication. They are called maaram or babaylan.
Although a maaram is involved with practicing what is known by the public as witchcraft, he also believes in God and constantly communicates with Him through prayer. “Holy week is the most sacred time for sacrifices and offering. Pagpangalap or looking for medicinal plants to be used in curing illnesses is done during this week. We search in dangerous places like caves, steep cliffs and mountains,” Andong said. The maaram believes that Tuesdays and Fridays are the most powerful days in doing rituals. They believed that plants gathered during this time acquired bertud or inherited power to heal. Andong performed several rituals as a maaram in his town. Among these rituals is batak ka dungan (calling out a person’s soul). Batak ka dungan is explained in its origin as an invisible entity or duplicate of a living person. This dungan resides in the person until death. It has been said that a person with weak dungan easily gets sick. The ancestors believed that a person’s stronger dungan can overpower another’s weak one. Andong also performs pabulag sa kalag (to separate from the soul of the dead) usually done when the cause of sickness is the spirit of the dearly departed. The ritual food required inthe practice of this ritual is a bangkilan’s (wild boar) meat. This is performed in order to free the victim from the lure of the spirits.
39
The maaram uses pamulso (getting the pulse rate), luy-a (using ginger in performing a ritual), pagpakot (divination), itlog (egg ritual), kandila (candle ritual), and the victim’s clothes in diagnosing sickness. Through the urasyon (magical chants), hurobaton (formularies), use of libretto (religious booklet), panguyang (food offering), tu-ob (smoking), lubu-ob (steaming), dirigos (medicinal drinks), pamanyos (applying medicinal herbs), and laway (application of saliva). These traditional healing methods vary in its usage depending on the particular illness.
*not his real name
