Folk healing practices and folkloric modalities of traditional healers

Introduction

Traditional and complementary medicine (TC&M)according to Haque et al. (2018) which is found inalmost all countries of the world is an important yetoften underestimated issue of healthcare and thedemand for such services is increasing. According tothe World Health Organization (WHO, 2013) it isestimated that 80% of the ailing population indeveloping countries depends on traditional healing fortheir primary health care needs. It is surprising to notehowever, that even industrialized countries, almost halfof their population now regularly uses some form oftraditional, complementary and alternative medicineslike United States 42%; Australia 48%; France 49%;Canada 70% (WHO, 2002). 

Also known as folk medicine, it is one of the threemain categories of traditional medicine aside fromcodified medical systems and allied forms of healthknowledge (Telles, Pathak, Singh, & Balkrishna,2014). The World Health Organization (WHO)acknowledges the role of traditional medicine anddefined it as "the knowledge, skills and practices basedon the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous todifferent cultures, used in the maintenance of healthand in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement ortreatment of physical and mental illness" (WorldHealth Organization [WHO], 2020). 

Complementary, folk medicine is those traditionalknowledge systems, which have been transmitted orallyfrom past centuries and use components of theecosystem that are indigenous to the community(Payyappallimana, 2010). In most cases, the custodianand dispenser of folk medicine are the folk healers,themselves. From the old name babaylan, the traditionalhealers now operate under various names, such asalbularyo, manghihilot, mangluluop, mangtatawas, andfaith healers (Rebuya, Lasarte and Amador, 2020). 

In the northwestern part of Cagayan province,particularly among the Ilokanos, folk healers aregenerally known as 'mangngagas'. They areinstrumental in ascertaining that their fellows receivethe health care they need. Folk healers come in variedtypes depending on folk illness specialization, andmodalities in diagnosis and therapeutics. The originof folk healers can be traced back to the pre-colonialera when shamanic leader babaylan served as the mainperson in charge of healthcare (Almario, 2015).However, the concept of babaylan disappeared from theconsciousness of the Filipinos because of the brutalrepression of the Spanish colonist, and the introductionof the Western medical system and education duringAmerican occupation. Generally, the nature ofhealthcare in the Philippines has turned towardsWestern medicine due to economic development,urbanization (Abe & Ohtani, 2013), and modernization(Mahmood, Mahmood & Tabassum, 2011).

The rapid disappearance of traditional culturesuggests that unrecorded folk knowledge andinformation may be lost forever (Abe & Ohtani, 2013).It is a good thing to note, however, that there are afew systematic studies conducted in the Philippinesthat can be accessed online which records theseimportant intangible national resources. Conversely,there is no published paper accessible online thatdocuments the folk healing practices of the'mangngagas' or traditional healers in Northwestern,Cagayan province. Therefore, there is an urgent needto record the origin of the existing 'mangngagas' inthe place. Also, the study provides a profile anddynamics of folk healing in the study area. Hence, thisstudy may provide appreciation to culture on traditionalmedicine, which can be used in developing instructionalmaterials on local cultures and traditions; and policy anddevelopment inputs for folk healing practices. The resultof the study provides and a baseline data on the folkhealers in Northwestern Cagayan, Philippines; also, itadds to the emergence of scientific readings ontraditional medicine in the country