But it’s real to those that have experienced its effects as even in these modern times sciences are yet to pierce many things.
Recently again I had to withstand the discomfort of sudden unexplained pain around the waist and stomach. It could easily be diagnosed as gall or kidney stones by the pain location. But “E pur si mouvi” (And yet it moves, to borrow Galileo Galilei's words after being forced to recant his claims that the earth moves around the sun). Indeed the pain moves from the waistline to the stomach area and then to where the lever is.
Luckily this time it was not accompanied by nausea, vomiting, acute headache, or diarrhea, just a couple of strange periods of chilling minus the fever, then fever after the chilling. My great fear is that the stress elicited by pains may affect the heart or other organs which will lead to really serious medical problems.
One night I felt so weak that I just fell down on the bathroom floor and nobody can lift me, that my wife thought I had a stroke but was relieved that I was answering coherently minus the garbled words.
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A neighbor whom I asked to drive for me was awed by how I endured the pain for the last four days and did not require assistance. I was waiting to feel better which I only did shortly after I drank a hot concoction of guyabano (sour sop fruit) leaves as suggested by a former colleague as an emergency measure to relieve the pain, and also offered to ask somebody to perform a “santigwar” on me.
Santigwar is a Bicolano term that has no direct translation in Tagalog or English. But the practice is very much similar to TAWAS of the Tagalogs and other regions which is the folk practice of healing a person of illness or strange feelings or even state of mind caused by what supernatural beings did to them.
Even illnesses, usually fever, caused by extreme fear, particularly among young children are often subjected to santigwar for healing.
Santigwar is determining what caused the malady and to heal in light cases. In extreme cases, the procedure is BAWI, or to take back from the supernatural its possession or negative influence on the person being treated by way of the medicine man’s force, persuasion, and also bribe if necessary. The bribe would usually consist of a pack of cigarettes, unsalted meat, soft drinks, or gin.
The santigwar may even be done remotely (think of the cyber age), as we joke as online rather than “face to face” where the person subject of the treatment need not be physically present with the healer. The name or used clothing would suffice to create a link.
In the old days a “prinsa”, the pan-like tool used for ironing clothes, is used. Burning charcoals are placed inside the pan and “tawas” (alum) is thrown in. When the alum cools down its shape determines what caused a person’s illness.
Some would wave a candle at you and let the wax fall on a basin of water until an image, supposed to be what caused the illness, is formed.
Most “para santigwar” today use a plate, trace a cross in the middle with oil, wave the plate over the subject as a security guard would whisk a metal detector, and hold it over a lighted candle. An image would appear.
I used to laugh at this procedure, though as a child my mother would take me to a para santigwar for treatment, but changed my perception when after my father’s death I cannot sleep for several weeks. My body was so tired but my mind is wide awake.
After consulting doctors and still I was deprived of sleep, I had no alternative but to try a santigwar. Only after the session, I was able to sleep peacefully.
The same happened when I had this burning sensation after I hit a big cat that was peering at our window. Without telling anyone what happened, the para santigwar asked me what I did to the cat.
Strange things happen without logical explanations. Through a SANTIGWAR, answers may be revealed.
The tawas is used to trace the sign of the cross on the patient's forehead and other suspicious or ailing parts of the body as prayers are being whispered (bulóng or oración). The alum is then placed on glowing embers, removed when it starts to crack, then transferred to a small basin of water.
In most cases, oil is spread thinly across a plate which is waived over a subject’s shoulders and head mumbles some prayers, and hold the oiled surface over a lighted candle.
In this case the “para santigwar” said I offended “somebody” in our kitchen. Clearly, enough in the image formed is the bone of the ham which I scraped off after New Year, as well as some strange creatures.
Somewhat serious as it took her 5 rituals to free me.
I’m feeling well now except for some weakness on the legs as I have not eaten a single solid meal from Saturday to Thursday, though a friend was laughing that after the session with the one that attended to my “usog” I was able to walk a total of about a kilometer of mountain trail to visit the Sto. Nino chapel he was telling me about.
All’s well that ends well, but thank you so much to the friends and relatives that took care of me, and sent messages of care, herbals, suggestions, and services.
A word of caution though, one should be able to discern through when discomfort is caused by paranormal causes or is in need of immediate medical attention.
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