Group 6 | Through the Eyes of a Healer and Her Patients
by Artuz, Duco, Tan, Tolibas, Toque, Torres, Triol, Villaluna
Moreover, the continued existence of traditional healers in the country reflects Filipinos' continued support and dependence on traditional medicine. From the babaylans, traditional health practitioners in modern times are divided into categories, varying from area and community, together with their culture and beliefs. Some of these are the albularyo, mananambal, mangluluop, manghihila, mangtatawas, mediko, shaman, and faith healer. However, among the rest, hilot remains one of the most popular remedies, retaining its respected and renowned position in the hierarchy of non-invasive, traditional healing procedures. Below are first-hand experiences of the group when it comes to traditional medicine, as well as a closer look into the healers themselves.
Louisa “Maya” Guijaro, a 68-year old healer in Oton, Iloilo, has been practicing traditional healing for 52 years, offering hilot services using herbal medicines, massage oils, and oil concoctions or lana, a mixture of boiled leaves of kahoy-kahoy, dahon-yerba, tanglad, and others. At ten, she lived with and assisted her midwife aunts in Mindanao during deliveries. Taught and influenced by them, she also ventured into midwifery and traditional healing since she was 16, basing all her knowledge on experience. As an effective manghihilot, she is famous in Oton with several families seeking her “magical” hands for their skeletal misalignments and body aches. Her services are affordable, usually Php300 for a whole-body massage. Although experiencing tiredness and spasms, she is happy with her job of helping many people especially those in impoverished communities.
Another is Bacolod native Indriquita “Indring” Sagmon, whose practice has been passed down generationally in her family. At 66, she has been performing hilot for 36 years, taught and trained by her lola. Indring has been aked to heal mild to extreme cases, utilizing various herbs and oils depending on their magnitude. For cough patients, she boils rainwater and ginger for them to take, rubs virgin coconut oil during sessions to find kibit (sprains) in those with fever, and for near-death circumstances would quietly utter a bulong or orasyon. The onset of COVID-19 has affected her discipline tremendously with touch as the primary act, but even through reciting an orasyon over the phone for her clients, she believes she is gifted to help cure their sickness. Just like her husband who offers the same service, they do not ask for a fixed amount in exchange for their healing and instead accept whatever the patient is financially capable of.
Personal Experiences
The lack of healthcare services in rural areas, Filipino spiritual beliefs, and cost-effectiveness of traditional healing practices have been cited as common reasons for consulting traditional healers. Hilot is one of the most frequented traditional healing practices locally, having been experienced by everyone in the group. It is usually sought whenever someone, especially children, gets fevers or injuries after engaging in strenuous activities. Some experienced having their specific muscle points massaged with secret oil concoctions, while others had their healers conduct rituals such as whispered prayers while massaging their back and head. In addition, some of the group members had also experienced their sprain injuries treated by a manghihilot by massaging the injured part back into place accompanied with coconut oils and other essential oils.
Generally, traditional healers are the preferred choice for ailments that would not need advanced medical attention. The group members have shared experiences in which their parents and elders prefer traditional healing practices due to its affordability, convenience, and multiple witnesses stating its success to heal their illnesses. For people living in remote areas with limited access to conventional health care, traditional healers offer a practical, low-cost alternative to remedy their sickness, especially when expensive medical fees and transport costs are taken into account. Nevertheless, the group also shared a similar opinion strongly suggesting that traditional healing practices are not to be relied on and trusted, specifically when it comes to major health conditions.
Integration of Traditional and Modern Medicine
Traditional healers may be orthodox in most of their ways, but they have helped the healthcare system in the rural areas evolve to become more efficient and effective in delivering healthcare services. Even with the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act or R.A 11223, we can’t hide the fact that many of us, particularly the marginalized sectors, lack the necessary services to a better healthcare system—the reason why people still go to folk healers even when they are, at some point, not getting any better. Some also experience their traditional beliefs blatantly invalidated in health institutions, making them distrust the capitalist healthcare system. Moreover, communities in the rural areas, especially in far-flung places don’t have the luxury to go to hospitals for consultations because they are separated by a wide distance.
Hopefully, we can work our ways into utilizing some of the traditional medicines in the realm of science as a stepping stone in recognizing their use and potential in delivering the best patient care possible. With further advancements and programs that aim in ratifying various traditional medicine practices, like investing in interpersonal relations, giving high-quality supplies and equipment, or even just a simple appreciation and recognition, this, in turn, can help us to come to an understanding in bridging the disparities between traditional and conventional medicine to further the existing solutions in treating a patient. Incorporating traditional healers into the healthcare system, where there are differences in the worldviews of healthcare providers and patients, and sensitivity to mediate cultural differences between caregivers and patients could have the benefit of providing appropriate care in rural spaces.
References
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