SULONDANON (SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF)

    Buruanganons are Aklanons who don’t speak with an “ea” accent. And awareness of this superstitious belief is what you are going to learn today.

    Filipino superstitions have been impacted by our pre-colonial ancestors and the colonists that subsequently came and stayed in the Philippines for hundreds of years. It is based on regional and historical factors such as religious beliefs or the natural environment.

    Since practically all early Filipinos believed in numerous gods and spirits, various supernatural occurrences are currently accepted and being a belief across the country. Since the Philippines was subjected to colonialism. Religious beliefs and customs have shifted from believing in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe to Christianity.

    Filipinos, particularly the elderly, cope with illness by seeking guidance from family and friends and placing their faith in God. Observing a complete recovery from an illness is frequently regarded as a miracle to Filipinos before. This occurrence has a tremendous influence on how Filipinos view healthcare.

    Elders continue to teach and practice superstitions to their children to this day. The use of “Tabi-tabi po,” “Purya usog,” and other many others are just a few instances of today’s use of superstitions.

    We have several superstitions in our family, and one of them is securing all of your belongings before leaving the house. If you forget something, ask someone to get it for you because the more you get in and out of the house, the more bad luck and tragic events are likely to occur. It’s like a warning that you shouldn’t leave your place that day because unfortunate things are ahead, and that to avoid this, you should ask someone to get those things you need and continue to go.

    If you are the type of person who enjoys socializing and adventurous, you must be cautious of a few things. It’s common in the province to meet new people every day, and it’s pretty normal that if they haven’t met you before, they will just ignore you and go about their business.

But what will you do if a stranger or a complete unfamiliar face greeted you?

    And our second superstition will reveal. To begin, avoid making direct eye contact. There are stories of people linked to sorcery and witchcraft, catching their victims just by making eye contact with them. The phenomenon can also be related to the aswangs, but that’s a different topic.

    It will be like a game. The goal will be securing that the last gesture or movement in the entire conversation was from you. If the stranger grins and taps you, you must reciprocate. It will stop them from putting a curse on you. This scenario frequently occurred in people who were new to the area. People who are “lapitin” or prone to this phenomenon are always susceptible. In addition, you must create a strong aura and show no vulnerability in front of them.

    Taking luy-a (ginger) with you when you go to locations like mountains, wilderness, and forests is a widely practice superstition in the Visayas. It will operate as a charm to combat the negative influences in your environment.

    Since then, ginger has served as a charm and is usually in my pocket when I go into the woods. We got this belief from our elders. There are other available charms to carry or perform to counteract these negative influences. One of them is burning kamangayan. The ultimate purpose of these charms is to protect you from harmful spirits. As a visitor to that wilderness or unfamiliar place, you must do your bit to prevent and mitigate the danger by taking care of everything, acting normally, and respecting the things around you.

BALO (UNFATHOMABLE LOST IN THE WILDS)

    Something like getting lost in the woods, the feeling of running in circles is how balo survivors describe their experiences.

    My grandfather had a story about his experience when he got “balo.” He performed rituals to counteract this supernatural occurrence. He turned his clothes inside out and climbed the highest tree in that area to see where the spirits had taken him, only to discover that he had wandered far from his way back home.

So if you were in his situation, what are you going to do? How would you escape the curse?

    Elders say you have the power to prevent this thing from happening to you. Bringing ginger with you on your journey will act as a charm to counteract the bad influences in your environment that could cause you to lose your way or become confused. Second, have sincere faith and prayer. This event, known as “ba-lo” in their local dialect, occurs when the victims are experiencing being in the same place too many times like they were not moving at all. That’s how balo survivors describe their experiences. You can avoid this by just turning your clothes inside out.

Do you think spirits are held accountable for the situation?

    Nature is indeed a box of mysteries and surprises. Deep-diving its hidden stories unveils a vision of ten thousand colors in a kaleidoscope. There are tons of unexplained things that we come across that have left us with no answers.

SINDA (The Curse of the Nature Spirits)

    In our place, where superstitious beliefs are prevalent, I usually carry ginger in my pocket when I travel outdoors or in locations with large tress and forest.

"Pag-dahan, basi kamo ma-sindaan," the elders constantly say. Which indicates you should be cautious because you might get sinda.

    Sinda is the feeling of being unwell and out of shape after visiting areas you've never been to before. Usually in areas with the home of giant trees and a lot of wildness. According to urban legend, the creatures that guarded that area gave you this illness since you were noisy and annoying during your visit. Victims frequently go to manug luy a in search of a treatment, and the manug luy a explains where and why it happened to them.

    The story happened to a teenagers group, who like going on adventures and traveling. They came upon this spot one time, and it appears that not many people travel there. It's a river surrounded by big trees and woods, ideal for camping. They have their desired privacy because they have merely filled the space and are free to do as they like. They loved it since it was just a typical way of celebrating. Music is playing everywhere, and laughter can be heard in the distance, indicating that they are having so much fun. They shouted out loud while eating their food by the river. They had no idea that the location they had visited was "kaliliit," which means "surrounded by large trees hindered by nature spirits," and "talabuan," which means "prone to accidents or people

get unwell after visiting that area."

    Sinda victims are usually those who have made a lot of noise, which leads the spirits to be disturbed. There has long been a urban legend that if you attempt to visit a forest with large trees, you should not wear anything red, especially clothing since the color red seems highly dazzling in the eyes of the spirit. As a result, you will get their attention, and if you make a mistake, you risk becoming a Sinda victim.

    Another anecdote is about when I was in first grade. It's an incident of how spirit possessed one of the students in our school. The classmates who were with her at that time said that they were playing hide and seek when the girl began acting strangely after the game. Her gaze lingered, and she was sobbing, yelling, and playing with her emotions. She was in a state of flux at the moment. Then, out of curiosity, I ran into the crowd, only to discover that I was the only one in all the people out there wearing a red shirt, while everyone else was in white uniforms. She stared at me dead straight in the eyes. Everyone said to take me away from the crowd and let me wear something different that wasn't red.

There is no adequate explanation for why spirits are attracted to red color.

    Sinda is similar to the Buruanganon superstition known as "natabuan." It indicates that something happened to you at that specific location allegedly associated with supernatural phenomena. Patients who experience and are associated with "natabuan" experience fever and heavy body feelings, similar to Sinda, and how would you obtain this? And how would you get this? Victims are usually the loudest, noisiest, and obnoxious ones in a group during the visit.

    Another superstition related to sinda is "sab-wag" The victims are often called "nasabwagan" It occurs when you visit a forest and then make noises there. Then after you get home, strange bumps and rashes in your skin start to form and irrational itching of the skin. But the itching can be a threat to medicines. These phenomena have something to do with how strong or weak your "Dungan" is.

MANUG LUY-A (FAITH HEALER)

 

    You’re the kind of person that goes anywhere they want and isn’t afraid to try new things, but have you ever heard of the word Dungan?

    Have you ever thought about it? Why is it that in certain supernatural horror films, they always got that one character who gets away from danger all the time?

    Dungan pertains to your ability to deal with supernatural creatures and events. It shows how tough you are and whether you have strong faith. The greater your Dungan, the less likely you are to be associated with supernatural happenings; on the other hand, if your Dungan is low, you are more susceptible to these events. And spirits and bad elements will always get in your way.

    Victims of supernatural events frequently seek out “Manug luy a” or faith healers. These faith healers are said to have the ability to cure people against spirits and elements. They are well-versed in dealing with it. They have rituals in which they trace the plot of the supposed event. A Manug luy a may do the “pagtatawas” if you visit him.

    Pagtatawas is a method of interpreting shapes produced in water by heated candles or molten wax.  Droppings from a burning candle to determine if the source of your ailments was because of supernatural events such as witchcraft, Barang, curses, spells, spirit presence, etc., or is it just a medical or psychological thing.

    The Manug luy a or manugbulong also has a method to detect the origin of your ailments using an egg and “lampunaya” or mayana plant in Tagalog. They perform it by exploring the egg onto the patient’s body. And to be particular to the patient’s weaker points, which are the forehead and abdomen. They’ll next break the egg in a bowl, say a few prayers, then squeeze the essence of the mayana plant into the egg yolk. Then, in the middle of the yolk, a picture will appear relating to where you acquired your diseases or who caused them to you.

 

USOG (EVIL'S EYE)

    You  won’t  even realize the  nature  spirits  are following you. These five superstition stories from the municipality of Buruanga will be an eye-opener for you because who knows? You may come upon this one along the way.

It was an average day for people trying to make a living, and this group of friends came upon a strange man loitering nearby, gazing them dead in the eyes. They couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. One of their friend afterward complained of severe abdominal pain. She feels a strange feeling about him. His appearance and vibe were eerily similar to something. They have no words to describe how they feel. They stumbled across a man who advised them to be cautious the next time they met a stranger.

Do you believe they’ll be able to avoid it if they knew about it beforehand?

    Usog is a Filipino superstition in which a stranger’s look might cause you to become ill or cursed. It mainly targets naïve victims, including people of all ages. In most cases, a new born or toddlers are vulnerable to this phenomenon.

    A stranger causes this disease by just lingering about his potential. This superstitious belief can be related to the Spanish “Mal de Ojo.”

    The “mal de Ojo,” or “evil eye,” typically affects children, with babies being particularly vulnerable. According to this supernatural belief, an adoring gaze or a stare can weaken a kid, causing ill luck, disease, and even death.

    When people experience being usog, they experience fever and pain specific parts of their bodies. Some traditions claim that the cure involves boiling the victims’ garments. Requesting that the stranger or guest apply some of his “laway” on the victim’s abdomen, shoulder, and forehead is another way to counteract the effects of usog.

    It’s a good thing that someone with the ability to “usog” understands what he needs to do, such as saying “pwera usog” before entering a house or touching people, especially new borns. On the other hand, to defend the child against usog, you might sew any protection charms or “panguntra to his garments.

MISTERYO SA DULOM

Sa ngadya nga mga adlaw,

hindi mo lon masiguro. 

Kung mong masublang sa dalan,

tuod gid man o kapakunwari nga tawo.

Mga istorya nga dati lang akon nabatian,

gina palampas at wala napatihan.

Mga gakatabo nga hindi masayran,

Hasta amon lamang namon imaw ya naagyan.

Hindi lon naton sanda ya malikawan,

dahil isa lang nga kalibotan ang atong natuntungan.

Imaw kinanglan gid nga mag dahan.

Dahil sa atong palibot may ga tulok, gapamatyag,

gatago sa dulom at sa imo gahulat.

-IGUIRON, CEDREYK