Virgil Mayor Apostol
presents Preface to Way of the Ancient
Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Traditions
(North Atlantic Books, Berkeley,
2010)
Preface
Scholars,
anthropologists, and historians have played an important role in the
documentation of Filipino healing methodologies. Yet, to a certain extent,
their concentration of fieldwork occurred in other regions than those of the
northern Philippines. Although not too distinct from the other peoples of the
Philippines, the people of the north have their own cultures and linguistics,
diversely characterizing them as individual, yet related, subgroups of insular
and island Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander peoples.
The healing arts of northern Luzon have,
in fact, been touched upon but were mainly discussed in publications by foreign
authors, such as in medical anthropological reports and dissertations, and are
a great contribution to the collective research. Others wrote about traditional
healing not only from the healer’s perspective but also from their own. Some were
out to debunk the various folk practices or superstitions, claiming that there
is no medical relevance. On the other hand, others highly praised the diverse
skills and healing potential of the practices found throughout the archipelago.
A special feature article presented in
Life magazine read, “What we call alternative medicine is traditional medicine
for 80 percent of the world, and what we call traditional medicine is only a
few centuries old.”[1] This statement backs up
the fact that in the Philippines practitioners of traditional medicine
outnumber practitioners of biomedicine (allopathy), with at least 40,000
traditional birth attendants and 100,000 herbalists—high figures that do not
even account for the thousands of manghihilots
(traditional healers), acupuncturists, and other practitioners.[2] In
the United States, however, the reverse ratio applies in that the availability
of Filipino healers is smaller than practitioners of allopathic medicine. This
leaves a void for the Filipino who would rather go to a traditional Filipino
healer for an ankle sprain or fever, but who would not hesitate to go to the
hospital for an erupting appendix.
The above issues brought me to some
important questions when preparing this first volume: What is my point of view?
What do I want to convey? What will be the reaction of the thousands of
individuals who will read the contents of this book?
First of all, I believe it is important
to present traditional healing as it is practiced and to show the cultural,
psychological, and historical framework from which these practices evolved.
Although I have presented certain aspects in a scholarly manner, in no way do I
claim to be a scholar with a doctorate degree from some prominent university.
Passed-on knowledge, actual cases, personal research, and the products of
inquisitive, rational, creative, and spiritual minds support my writing. Thus,
this answers the first and second questions.
My point of view is a collective one, based
on both my ancestral lineage and other respected practitioners of Filipino
healing traditions who have shared actual experiences, true stories, and
legends. Many of the terms and methods are common in the amianan or northernmost part of the Philippines. This may mislead
others to think that I am biased towards the northern people, the Ilokanos and
their neighbors in particular, but to use another language or dialect (unless
used as a comparison) in describing practices other than from where they
developed would be a grave mistake, because the local language or dialect used
is perhaps the most accurate in terms of expression and meaning. While on the
topic of the amianan, I was struck when I came across a passage in a foreword
written by Jose M. Cruz, SJ, for William Henry Scott’s Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society in which
he wrote that Scott had notes for a chapter on the Ilocos (people of the Ilocos
Norte and Ilocos Sur provinces), but his passing away prevented its completion.[3]
Thus, this unfinished history gave me greater inspiration to conduct my
research even deeper.
The answer to the third question about
reader reaction to this book required some pondering. In presenting these
teachings, I am endeavoring to take the middle path, a transitional stage, or
nonlinear approach, intermeshing esoteric and metaphysical beliefs with
progressive scientific explanations. For those who are strictly left-brain
thinkers, they may “logically” have difficulty in this transition. On the other
hand, right-brain thinkers may “feel” that the scientific explanations are too
dense and limiting. In my style of presentation, I hope to balance both
left-brain and right-brain thinkers into becoming “whole-brain” thinkers and
healers.
In many ways, this book is a personal
interpretation of an existing “indigenous scientific” point of view, not one
that involves numerous tests, recording of data, and hooking up to computers
and machines of all sorts, but simply put, an indigenous science based on
highly developed ancient practices that get results! In this way,
traditionalists can feel at home with the numerous case studies, principles,
and practices. At the same time, people who are driven by an analytical mind
can be challenged to learn and discover a scientific basis to centuries-old
traditions that have been successfully used to heal the body, mind, heart, and
soul. Bias towards one way of learning is an injustice. But by taking the
middle path, I believe that both sides are honored, forming a bridge for those
who wish to experience the other side that for some is mysterious, alien, and
perhaps even backward. This also gives them greater potential to pioneer new
ideologies by breaking away from conventional thought and discovering hidden
truths through the acceptance of “infinite possibilities.” To attain this,
philosophies on healing are included for contemplation and inspiration.
Another factor that inspired this writing
began after I realized the complex history of the Filipino people, a history
that ultimately influenced our modern mentality and views on who and what we
once were as indigenous peoples with diverse practices and traditions. This
first volume, along with the preceding manuscripts, were written with the
intent to help heal the aftermath of a colonial mentality and to bring
Filipinos, wherever they are, back to their roots so that the nation can pick
up where it left off and develop from its original path. This does not mean
returning to precolonial times. Rather, I want to point out that we have thousands
of centuries in the making of a diverse group of people with an indigenous
psychological and sociological structure that we use to function in life. For
people to act as if they have the traits of a foreign race—its background and
culture that evolved from different historical, psychological, sociological,
and even political conditions—can result in an identity crisis. It is an
obvious historical fact that Western cultures have crept into Philippine
society and the peoples’ psyche, even though the psychology of the people is
undeniably a median between Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander cultures.
Lumiel Kim-Hammerich, doctor of
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and a friend and healer who grew up with
Filipinos in Hawai‘i, expressed a keen observation of the people in a letter:
The Philippine culture is a uniquely
indigenous culture that has been neglected for aeons because the colonization
of these people distorted their culture enough so that it is almost
unrecognizable in the modern world. What the Philippines is missing is a sense
of legacy and pride in their uniqueness. Instead, the people have fallen under
the spell of the Western world, and their priorities and goals are a hollow
echo of the old, outmoded values of Western civilization. The Filipino people
are starved for an identity that goes beyond Spain and America. They don’t want
to be some other stepchild. They deserve to claim their inheritance.[4]
Although
our Islamic cousins in the south and our mountain and other indigenous cousins
in the north have successfully resisted colonization, the majority of the
people have fallen victim to it, affecting our past and present views, which
ultimately affects our future progress. In the words of the late Philippine
President Ferdinand E. Marcos:
Having been colonized for so long, we
have to rediscover ourselves. European culture is the legacy of kings and the
commerce of merchant bankers. Our own culture has been suppressed by centuries
of colonial subjugation. For us, therefore, development is an aspect of
decolonization, and that cannot be achieved without restoring to our people the
pride of identity.[5]
To
restore our “pride of identity” means to have self-respect for who and what we
are based on our ancient past, and to embrace, practice, and promote our
cultural traditions, not only among ourselves but also among our future generations.
Other countries have strived to maintain or attain this and so should
Filipinos, no matter where they stand.
Topics on esoteric, metaphysical,
sociological, and psychological aspects of healing are dispersed throughout the
book. My intention is to give the reader a fair idea of the animistic and
spiritual foundation from which many of the Filipino healing practices evolved,
not to mention, the culture and society itself.
More and more health professionals are returning
to the roots of healing, integrating vast practices ranging from shamanism to
traditional (indigenous) medicine with conventional or allopathic medicine.
Science and metaphysics—the physical and the spiritual—are merging. Wholeness is
sought and achieved. According to Roland Werner, physician and researcher of
Malay ethnomedicine:
Critics say that there are considerable limitations
of traditional medical practices as compared with modern medical procedures.
But there is a significant difference of traditional medicine: the very
integral relationship between health, disease, and the wider moral, social, and
cultural environment in which members of society participate.[6]
I
wish to continue sharing my desire to spread the message of the existence and
practice of the Filipino healing traditions on a worldwide scale, and to help
them be recognized with the other great healing modalities. My achievement and
contribution, along with the highlights of my never-ending journey, I present
to you in this book.
[1]
Colt, “The Healing Revolution.”
[2]
Sy, “Doing Bioethics in the Philippines.”
[3]
Scott, Barangay: Sixteenth-Century
Philippine Culture and Society, viii.
[4]
Kim-Hammerich, letter to author, September 28, 2001.
[5]
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, quoted in Philippine Ministry of Education,
Culture and Sports. The Children of
Lam-ang, xi.
[6]
Werner, Bomoh/Dukun, 11l.
*****
Virgil Mayor Apostol, BBA, B.MSc, HHP, who goes by the moniker "Nagabuaya," descends from a maternal and paternal bloodline of indigenous healers, and has also been blessed to receive the teachings of other respected elders. He has dedicated himself to the research, development, and promotion of his ancestral Ilokano traditions. His background includes: founder of Applied Sciences of Indigenous Healing; author of Way of the Ancient Healer: Sacred Teachings from the Philippine Ancestral Traditions (North Atlantic Books, 2010); co-author of Healing Hands of Hilot (1997); instructor of Didya Mudgara: Warrior Club Calisthenics; educational speaker; and workshop presenter. In March of 2015, Apostol was bestowed the honorary title of “Open Eye Master” from the School of Pyramids, thereby initiated into the International Circle of Masters. He is based in Southern California.
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