Tawas is a Filipino Divinatory Method which is also used by our ancestors as Diagnostic Procedure. Before you receive any treatment, you need to consult first with a Magtatawas.
Most people now-a-days who consult with Magtatawas as those people who seek help because after checking with medical professionals cleared them out with no medical finding. So they come to a magtatawas for a relief. I even experienced that, i was rushed to the hospital early of 2020 before the pandemic start due to pain but after checking on me i was sent back home as they do not find anything wrong with me. I went back home still with pain. I ask Lakay to do the tawas procedures on me and after having tawas, he conducted Suob and Pagpag Ritual; then i got relieved.
As Hilot Pratitioner, i do not want to dismiss the role of modern doctors in our society as they are also part of the Generations of Healers which are on the 4th Generations, while us as Hilot Binabaylan are the 5th Generation who works to restore back the roles of Babaylan in this modern Society.
The 5 Generations of Healers
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan have taught that there are 5 Generations of Healers and our First Healer was the Diwata. Diwata is a Hindu/Buddhist terminology pertaining to the Deity which in South East Asian Indigenous Terminology we call as Tuhan. When Human beings were created, Tuhan selected Elders who will take care of all creations. As Elders they become our Babaylan who is the Mediator of mankind to the spirit world (watch out for my exclusive post about Who is our Elders). When the Spanish Colonizer arrived and Christianity has been forced to our ancestors to be converted into the new religion, in order to preserve the sacred knowledge of the Babaylan in Healing Arts and Science, they separated the skills to the Albularyo and Manghihilot.
The Albularyo are the one who specialized in Spirit Communication and Plant Medicine; while the Manghihilot are the one who Specialized on Body Work Techniques and Manipulation that includes Birthing or Pagpapaanak. The modern medical doctors are the 4th Generation of healers which specialize treatment based on modern technologies and through observation of the physical body reaction towards a stimulus. And lastly, in these modern days, the Hilot Binabaylan who serves to be the 5th Generation Healers that work to unite again all the Healing Arts and Science that will identify our cultural pride.
Why do we consult with Magtatawas?
Traditionally, in order to implement any treatment procedure, the Healer must know first and determine the cause of an illness. We know and understand that a wrong treatment procedure will only aggravate the condition of the person who is ill. So in this case, tawas served as a Diagnostic tool.
In the olden times, our ancestors believed that people illness is caused by 2 factors. First is the Physical illness which we can check out by observation. In the observation process, we look at the general appearance of the patient on how the person stand, walk and move. We ask the client to do certain movements such as raising their hands or even squatting. After doing that we palpate the body of the client specially on the location which they have complain that is painful. We also ask them question how did they get that pain and what activities that they do so as we also check on what food or drinks that they take. When all of these investigative procedure shows no result specially when the person who is in pain will not recall what had happened to them; at that time we will check if there are Spiritual Cause of an Illness.
Our Ancestors believed that our life is given by the Spirits so as our Health (which is the status of our life force within our body) also rely on the Blessings of the Spirits. Ancient Filipino and also some of our Indigenous Community and few from the modern ones believe that the Spirits can take affect on the life of the living individual. We who are living might offend them through our words and action so that they may punish us through illness. The illness that we may suffer might be different from the physical illness, therefore the condition that we may experience from spiritual illness may affect our mind and emotion and if not treated, it may manifest into physical illness.
Soul of the dead are not always the main source of this type of an illness, it can also come from a deity, nature spirits, or from the souls of a living person.
We as human being have our body mind and emotion. The Greek word Psyche pertains to the mind which also means to be Spirit. Thus the Spirit that we all possess individually has the power to influence other living person spirits. This ability of an individual to affect other spirit is called Kulam (Magick). And Kulam has many form and manifestation such as Bati, Bulong, Barang, Usog and many more.
Check out this video discussion that we have in Hilot Academy to learn more about Tawas.
Now-a-days, people consult with magtatawas for economical reason. Asking for the service of Magtatawas is more cheaper than Medical Consultation. I am discouraging this behavior as people may be deceived and blame all the misery that happens in their life to the spiritual realms. YOU NEED TO CONSULT FIRST WITH YOUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL and Undergo proper medical diagnosis. And when consulting with a Magtatawas make sure to have a background check first before going to them in person or dealing with them online. Now-a-days, we have certified Magtatawas practitioner that could provide you their service and expertise in dealing with Spiritual Illness. Always check if they are Certified and Ordained. For list of our Certified and Ordained Magtatawas Provider, you may click on the link below.
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan is an Educational Ministry of Luntiang Aghama Natural Divine Arts Shrine of Healing which aims to promote Philippine Traditional and Natural Medicine and Indigenous Spirituality, Beliefs and practices through Seminar, Workshop and Online Training.
For details about our course offering, check out our website at www.hilotacademy.com.
and to get to know more about us check out http://luntiangaghama.wordpress.com for more details.
If you like this post and want to have more like this. Consider buying me a coffee that I may stay awake and create more post like this.
Thank you for taking time to read this!
Mayari Na!
PagAsatin!
Apu Adman Aghama