21.MayPinoy superstition in London
Naniniwala ka ba sa mga kababalaghan?
Roughly translated, “Do you believe in superstitions?”
A family friend just came back from their 5-week Pinas holiday when their 5-year old son developed coughs & colds. After 2 days he developed fever & the coughing became severe. After 2 weeks & a round of antibiotics, the boy was vomiting & was unable to eat and his fever was on & off. The parents have brought him to two hospital A&Es, and if you know NHS, you’ll know how frustrated they felt. Anyway, malaria and dengue were ruled out by blood tests. The mum & her family back in Nueva Ecija then consulted an albularyo (faith healer). The woman asked for the boy’s picture & immediately said he fell from a white staircase & hit an elder (nuno) on the stomach. The family in NE has no staircase but my friend said they went to Baguio where her son did fall from a white staircase! She was then told to gather holy water, blessed oil, palaspas, dried sampaguita & incense. I don’t know the entire ceremony involved but they were told to pray “Ama Namin” (Our Father). The boy was better the following day! Indeed I saw him last Sunday (three days after the pray-over) and he was running about like he’s never been sick.
I had goosebumps when my friend told me that story over the phone last week. She asked me do I believe in “such things”? I was hesitant to answer because part of me wants to say “No”, but a greater part says “Yes”.
You see, I grew up in a family where relatives develop enlarged genitals, lumps & all sorts of pains & aches that all go away immediately when the albularyo‘s words were followed. And more often than not, those relatives all encounter these beings at my house! I’ve seen how grains of rice (newly removed from husks) or drops of candle form very recognisable figures. We order platters of rice cakes (bila-bilao talaga) for offerings & we all pray & ask forgiveness from the unseen.
I was told another story of a Pinay who got voodoo’ed here in London! Of course, this ranks of kwentong kutsero now, but let me tell it anyway. This nurse was complaining of serious headaches & pain on the nape. After scans & xrays, the doctors told her she’s probably just stressed. Frustrated she boarded a plane to Pinas but stopped in Dubai instead due to the severe pain she was felt. In Dubai (where she has friend to house her), she was introduced to an Indian “healer”. As soon the guy saw her, he told her that she has upset a dark person (read: maitim). All the guy did was link her small fingers point-to-point & the pain was gone. The girl said it was if something was pulled out of her nape!
Ah to live in constant fear of upsetting something you cannot see, or someone you can see but who has some sort of magical power. How to find a balance in modern life? Well you have your Faith, you have your Science. And also you have bigger things to worry about like the increasing crime rates.
But in my life there is a space for superstition. I say my “tabi po, apo“, and I will buy my son a small crucifix to pin on his shirt when we go visit Pinas. As one friend said with regards to these preventive measures, it doesn’t hurt to give them a try.
So you think being away in Pinas makes a First World country safe from the engkanto ha?
This entry was posted on Monday, May 21st, 2007 at 4:17 pm and is filed under funny moments, katakot. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
my husband and i dont want to believe in these things. sabi nga niya, nagkakatotoo kasi iniisip natin na ganon.
pero sabi nga ng ibang tao, kaya raw kami ganito kasi we havent seen anything yet. puro kwento lang. ang parents ko, naku, talagang naniniwala sila sa mga ganyan. my father said nakakakita pa raw siya ng spirits (pero hindi niya sa amin sinabi, sa mama ko lang, si mama sinabi sa akin now that im older). yung hipag ko, graduate ng medicine, pero naniniwala sa ganyan kasi nga raw ang dami na niyang nakita.
siguro maniniwala na lang ako kung maka-witness na rin ako. to see is to believe, wika nga. pero it doesnt mean gusto ko ha ?
all my relatives from my dad’s side believe in “mang-hi-hilot”. whenever someone gets sick, they immediately call or see her so she can do the “tawas” thing. it’s funny because all of my relatives are educated (lots of doctors, dentists, etc) yet the all believe in the mang-hi-hilot.
most of the times, i just go along out of respect. and there’s really nothing to lose if you do follow di ba?
hmmm, childcare myths and fallacies. forgive me, but i just don’t get the logical reasons for these oldfolk tales. sabi nila, wala naman daw mawawala kung susunod. but count to think of it, marami, esp. our sense of believing the most logical and explainable way of looking at situations. it’s important to consult a medical expert for scientific explanations.
i’m one of the mommies na naniniwala sa mga ganyan..me and my sister were regulars of the ‘albularyo’ and manghihilot..at gumagaling kame..siguro faith do the rest for us. i also believed in ‘bati’ kaya whenever i naalis kame ni olin, i make sure she has this iwas usog-thing..la naman mawawala eh..
pero siyempre i still religously follow her pedia’s advice and all..
am one of those who don’t believe in invisible people, or engkanto. and I haven’t seen one either to believe it. my mother always used hilot when she was not feeling good. well, hilot massages your glands and ducts, which does a body good, reason why we get relief from it.
also, i have been hiking all over places in Arizona in the weird and spooky places without saying “tabi po” but so far, nothing bad has happened to us.
my friend when she was suffering from depression, doctor didn’t do any good for her, in fact, it was the other way around, she got very ill and almost died. out of desperation, she went to an acupuncture, and magically felt better. whatever works, i think.
hi ladycess… oo naman maski ako ayaw ko ding ma-witness sa family ko ngayon. Unexplainable lang talaga kasi yung mga nangyari sa friend ko.
hi purplegirl… katuwa ‘no? Dito nga yung GP namin pagnilagnat ang anak ko nung bebe pa sya, tinatanong kung nagngingipin e di ba wala namang scientific basis yun? Indian kasi kaya mahilig din sa “old wives tales”.
hi feng… oh yes. We insist relatives prone to going to albularyo’s to consult proper doctors not doktor quack-quack.
hi kathy… di ko pa napahilot si Kelvin or napalawayan. Pero when we were in Pinas pinapapisil ko para “pwera usog” hehe
hi Belle… I tried acupuncture for my tennis elbow but it made it worse. But I will see another acupuncturist to consult with hayfever. It’s an accepted alternative therapy in London now.
i can relate to this. just recently we had our vacation backhome. just after a week nung pagbalik namin nagkasakit baby ko. at take note naka-3 doctors kami at iisa sinabi skin reaction etc. Syempre paranoid na kami kaya patol na lang sa mga kasabihan. I asked my mom to do some rituals like saboy ng bigas sa paligid, at pinatawas din namin. Ayun! Parang magic! Nawala lahat ng pantal nya at ni isang katiting na mark sa katawan ay wala.
Alin sa dalawa? Nawala na ng kusa o dahil nga sa mga rituals.
Di ko alam…
hi mitch… thanks for dropping-by. Yun talaga ang “killer” ‘no? My friend tried everything except confine the child to the hospital. Super panic na sila at umiiyak pa sa kin nung nagkwento dahil takot na takot na sya. They prayed hard as the healer advised & as if by magic the boy is alright.
I used to get sick for more than a week, and I only get well after a “tawas”, where an albularyo would use palay grains and water, she would pray, peel off the palay grains and put them in the water. She would “read” the cause of my ferev, and then put the grains in a piece of cotton, and pin it on my shirt. Guess what, it always works. 100%. They say that my deceased great grandmother is guarding the old santol tree, and they forbade me to go out of the house before 6am and after 6pm.
A few months ago, my Mama contacted an albulario via cellphone, because my son’s fever wouldn’t subside after a week. The albulario said “lagyan mo ng acete de alcampurado sa likod at paa”. We did, and yes, he got well. I mean, how does she know what to do when she didn’t even see my son’s condition?
Well, call it carelessness on our part, but my Mama believes in it 100%. But we still go to the doctor.
hi zahflo… Para kang yung pinsan ko nung bata pa kami. Laging may “magic” na nakasabit sa damit
:-)
I think the spirit world is very real but affinity to it is selective. My FIL is a devout Buddhist. Though in his younger years sensitive na sya sa spirits, his affinity rose higher in the recent years! His stories gives me goosebumps. Like there’s a man from Taiwan that he never met, they talked on the phone about something that was troubling the man. FIL told him to pray some chant, make offerings to some god. And right after he does what FIL says, the sickness goes away! It could be fluke but this just happens too often. Maraming stories, all first-hand experiences by my FIL and even my hubby.
hi chateau… kakatakot ‘no? I also have a friend who has what they call a third-eye, minsan tutulala na lang saka mag-aayang umalis dahil may nakikita sya. Kakakilabot.
we were taught as part of our catholic upbringing not to believe in superstitions, not to go to fortune tellers, etc., despite some manifestations that they could or seem to be real.
but true, even in the bible, there are evil spirits that entered people, and from what i read, this still happens now.
don’t be worried, just keep your faith in the Lord, and He will take care of you and your family.
hi sexy mom… some Africans here go to extreme measures with claims of evil possession. It’s horrendous and thankfully the UK government is now clamping down on these rituals.
Thanks
Hi Auee. I always try to be on the safe side when it comes to these things. I also say “tabi tabi po” since I believe wala namang mawawala if I say it.
I know that there are certain things that we cannot see nor can be explained by science. I guess there’s nothing wrong if we follow some traditions or beliefs as long as we don’t hurt or offend anyone in the process.
hi rachel… same here. Iba na maingat.