Siquijor marks Folk Healing Festival 2016

CEBU, Philippines - The yearly gathering of folk healers (mananambal) in the island-province of Siquijor will be done again this week for the Folk Healing Festival 2016, in observance of the Lenten Season.

Herbalists and folk healers from across the country, most of whom have been regularly participating in the so-called gathering (mangalap) of ingredients through the seven Fridays of Lent, are now here in the island for the festival.

Local and foreign tourists have also flocked to the provincial festival, from March 23 to 26, at the Bandilaan Mountain View Park in Siquijor to witness the annual event.

Bandilaan, the highest peak of the island and a protected reserve forest by the government, contains most of the plants used by herbalists and cannot be found in any other places in the country, said Noel Torremocha, team leader of Cantabon Herbalists Group, of Barangay Cantabon.

As part of Siquijor’s culture and tradition, the gathering of plants and other ingredients will be collected from the island's mountains, caves and seas and even churches and cemeteries.

Ingredients such as tree barks, roots, herbs; dirt, insects and other “secret” substance are thrown into a large cauldron filled with coconut oil.

“After gathering and collecting all medicinal ingredients, we chop (adlip) it into pieces, and then mixed and cook in the cauldron,” Torremocha said.

Some ingredients however are not cooked, like the preparation of love potions (lumay) and herbal blend, but placed in colorful bracelets. “This is very good aid to people with plans of having business opportunities and even love problems,” he said.

Aside from Cantabon, four other villages — Cang-atuyom, Ponong, Cangmatnog and San Antonio — are also cooking herbs. Some healers are performing their rituals and healing practices in their homes, like the one being practiced by Marciano “Mang Junior” Tumapon in Cangmatnog.

Tumapon with his team of mangangalap will prepare herbal for cooking on Wednesday or Maundy Thursday and local folks observed the process and brought home the finished products.

Mang Junior, a well-known folk healer for severe and cancer diseases, also narrated the miraculous help of Senyor Santo Niño, as part of every healing session to patients and the needy ones.

Lost and dying love ones, recovering lost things, recovering broken homes, identifying appropriate plant for cancer cure and even for family and other material things are included in the ritual healing sessions for solutions. “If they believe,” Mang Junior said. — (FREEMAN)