The Philippine Online Chronicles

Imagine a dark room lit with candles where an old woman pierces a rag doll with needles while another brews a vile potion.

Welcome to the witches' coven, Pinoy style.  They're still around, the mangkukulam --  perhaps in an island in Samar, pehaps nearer where you and I are.

Kulam

Kulam is a Tagalog word used to mean witchcraft, jinx, hex, or evil spell. Kulam is associated with black magic meant to control, hurt, curse, and otherwise do woeful things to a person.

The mangkukulam usually obtains something that belongs to the victim to make the hex work.  It is believed that the closer the object is to a person, the stronger the effect of the kulam on him.  Maximum hexing effect can be achieved when a strand of hair, saliva, or blood is used. The mangkukulam uses a rag doll to represent the victim. The mangkukulam recites a spell, affixes the personal object (e.g. hair strand) on the doll, and pierces its body with pins to hurt the unwary victim (sometimes focusing on a particular part of the body).

Today, the mangkukulam’s role is more enlightened. The mangkukulam is no longer bound by her needles and rag dolls but rather has crossed over to other "more enlightened" roles such as casting love spells. A wife who suspects her husband of adultery can seek the mangkukulam’s help to catch her cheating husband.

In rural areas, the mangkukulam sometimes doubles as the village witch doctor or faith healer who cures ailments inflicted by supernatural beings (e.g. spirits, dwarves, nymphs, etc.). Possibly, she is the best pangontra for hexes from others of the same ilk.

Nena’s kulam experience

Red blotches suddenly appeared on Nena’s hands.  At first she thought it was just a minor allergy and didn’t pay too much attention to it. After a week, bigger red blotches covered both her hands even as her nails became brittle.  It became painful for her to cook and to crochet, which she loved doing.

When Nena consulted a doctor, she was told she had psoriasis, a condition characterized by red, scaly patches that appear on the skin. Nena was given topical treatment and pills to control the symptoms.

More weeks passed and it was apparent that her condition was not improving.  Applying the topical treatment and taking the pills made her suffer more.   Her fingernails began to crack, chip, and fall off, while the red marks on her skin darkened. Picking up things with her hands became a challenge even as the sensitivity of her hands escalated. Nena stopped taking the medicines and thought of seeing another doctor for a second opinion.

Nena would cover her hands with white gloves made of light fabric whenever she went out to protect them from the sun and shield "her shame" from public eyes. One time, while shopping at the wet market, a friend noticed and approached her, both curious and concerned.  Nena told her friend about her predicament and removed her gloves for her friend to see her hands.  In turn, the other woman suggested Nena paid a visit to a well-known manggagamot or albularyo in a nearby town.

With nothing to lose, Nena went, bringing a bottle of camphor liniment (e.g. Omega Pain Killer) and a piece of tobacco, as her friend told her to.   When the albularyo saw her hands, she immediately pronounced Nena a victim of kulam.  Someone who was extremely jealous of her was behind her suffering, she added. The albularyo lit the tobacco and began chanting in a strange language. This was an antispell or pangkontra that would reverse the effects of the kulam.

During the ritual, the face of the mangkukulam was revealed. On the burnt portion of the tobacco, Nena thought she deciphered a countenance. It wasn’t a clear image, but Nena was positive it was a woman’s.  The albolaryo puffed tobacco smoke directly on Nena’s hands with occasional soft chanting and rubbed them with oil.

After the ritual, the doctor took the liniment bottle Nena brought with her and in return handed her a bottle of the same oil, but purportedly "cured" or enchanted. The abolaryo instructed her to massage the oil on her hands every night before bed.

After a week, the redness on her hands diminished.  After another week, the blotches hardened and became scaly.  To Nena’s amazement, the dry patches started loosening and, like fish scales, shed after a while. Her nails began to grow back and return to its normal color.

When the albolaryo asked Nena if she wanted to "return the compliment" and cause the mangkukulam the same pain she went through, Nena declined. She simply requested to be protected from another hex.

Nena was not charged fees but rather encouraged to give a donation in cash or in kind.  She left a token amount by the albolaryo’s altar, where a Santo Nino image was enshrined.

'Islands of sorcerers'

Siquijor and Talalora, Western Samar are widely regarded as the kulam centers in the country, over the protest of the islands’ residents.

But whether they like it or not, during Holy Week, faith healers gather in Siquijor to mix their potions, have their talismans blessed, and in general strengthen their healing powers. They would meet on Mt. Bandilaan on Black Saturday to  prepare the oils comprising of herbs, tree bark, roots, and insects which they earlier gathered on the seven Fridays of the Lenten season.

This event attracts foreigners, anthropologists, sociologists, and curious onlookers. The rituals are performed in broad daylight for the people to witness.

Sidney, a photoblogger, published remarkable pictures of the preparation of healing material during Good Friday and Black Saturday in Siquijor. He witnessed healers mixing coconut oil, charcoal, candle wax (accumulated from church altars around the island), different herbs, and pieces of beehive in a huge pot. The final brew is regarded as a powerful sumpa which the albularyos use to cure illness caused by supernatural beings and magic spells such as kulam.

The tourism efforts in Siquijor try to neutralize the negative impressions associated with the island by emphasizing the island’s beautiful and natural attractions.

Curing kulam

Albularyos use various ways of curing kulam.  In the earlier story, Nena was cured with tobacco smoke, a special kind of oil, and chanting rituals.

Some albularyos diagnose the condition of a person through the process of pagtatawas. The alum or tawas is "crossed" on the person’s forehead and the sick part of his body while the healer whispers a special prayer. Then, the tawas is melted with a candle (usually on a spoon) and placed in a basin of water, whereupon it assumes the shape of the being or person (e.g. mangkukulam) causing the illness. The water is used to anoint the diseased part of the person’s body, while the tawas is sometimes placed under the person’s pillow for a few days.

Another mode of treatment involves the burning of alum (tawas), blessed palm leaves and strange roots on a broken piece of earthen jar. The shapes formed are interpreted by the healer. The burnt alum, along with other ingredients and water immersed with bato balani, is given to the afflicted person to drink.

Outside Quiapo church, you can find manghuhula (fortune tellers), prayers-for-hire, anting-anting (talismans), healing candles, and all kinds of herbal medicines.  You can even buy a cure for kulam composed of lubigan, atis, and anonas.

Sometimes an albularyo writes a counterspell on a piece of paper with the name of the involved person "pinned" with needles.

Medical point of view

Dr. Vergie Bonocan Miquiabas, author of “Mystical Siquijor,” a book on traditional healing methods of the island, says that folk healing is real.  It is a part of the hidden wonders of Siquijor. According to her, there are two types of healers – those who harness “white” powers and those who practice “black magic.” According to Dr. Miquiabas, the age-old healing practices continue in this modern age because people find it cheaper and more effective to resort to them, compared to medical alternatives.

A retired family physician I asked, not surprisingly, does not believe in kulam. For him, there is a scientific explanation for every ailment.  He is not against herbal treatments, but advises it is always best to seek treatment from medical experts.

Do you believe in kulam?

Witchcraft such as kulam continues to be feared in the modern world despite advancements in science and technology.  Age-old beliefs about the supernatural still prevail in a time of scientific progress.

We are often told to be careful how we treat others because we might offend a mangkukulam without knowing it and suffer dire consequences.  But shouldn’t we treat others kindly without condition?

Nena’s experience is puzzling.  Medically prescribed treatments didn’t seem to improve her condition so she turned to an albularyo for help. But how could simple tobacco smoke and oil cure her ailment?  It is of course possible that the conventional medication she had stopped taking took effect in a delayed manner.  Possibly too, it was indeed the albularyo that cured her.

I leave it to you to believe it or not.

Personally, let me say I know Nena and actually saw her hands before and after she went for alternative healing.

There is more to this world than meets the eye.

Photos: ‘Kulam’ screenshot from regalcinema. / ’smoke 1’ by Reinald Kirchner, c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved. / ‘The Bowl of Unbecoming’ by Paul Walker, c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.