Hilot
This article is part of a series on |
Alternative medicine |
---|
![]() |
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2020) |
Hilot (/HEE-lot/) is an ancient
Overview
Hilot incorporates supernatural aspects, particularly in cases of practitioners who claim that their ability is given by a supernatural source such as the case of manghihilot who embarks on pilgrimage to a mountain called Banahaw to satisfy the spiritual component of their healing practice.[3] A Hilot practitioner or albularyo (herbalist) are usually cheaper alternatives to medical doctors in the Philippines, especially in very deep rural areas. A Manghihilot employs chiropractic-like manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal ailments. They also have been known to reset dislocated and sprained joints such as the knee, ankle, fingers and metacarpal bones. An Albularyo use herbs in addition to massage. The term hilot is also applied to traditional midwives, licensed or otherwise (Panday in Meranaw).
Spiritual and physical components
The spiritual component of Hilot treats the relationship between the body's attitude and universal energy. In other words, the goal is to bring the body back to harmony. This focuses on inner change. One way this can be achieved is through the Banahaw Devotional Technique. Tracing its origins to the fifteenth century, this technique requires the performance of orations and sacrificial rituals to influence the body's spirit.[4] The goal of this is to ask for forgiveness from God. Depending where the manghihilot and their patient are located, the popular location to perform this technique is in the active volcano of Mt. Banahaw, located in Luzon. Following the Banahaw Devotional Technique is the Pagpapahalaga, or the Valuing Process in which the goal is to direct inner change to outer change with the use of inner understandings. These inner understandings is presented within the following three modules: mabuti (self-honesty), makabubuti (sincerity), makapagpapabuti (consequential goodness).[4] The Banahaw Devotional Technique and Valuing Process are treatments for inner conflicts within the body such as stress which causes the imbalance of the four elements.[4]
The physical material component of Hilot is addressed through four modalities and this time focuses on external forces in order to restore balance between the four elements. The bio-chemical modality promotes chemical component changes through the process of breaking down foods, herbs, vitamins, and minerals.[4] The neuro-electrical modality is the use of electricity, in the form of positive and negative ions, to break down material goods in the body. The goal of the third process, electro-magnetic field (EMF), is to cause a change in the neuro-electric field to restore the normal function of the body's cells.[4] The final modality is the bio-mechanical process which is the modality that has chiropractic similarities. This process focuses and manipulates the interaction of bones, tendons, and muscles to restore their normal functions.[4] The direction of treatment among all four modalities is from material components (outer) to the inner components of the body.
Practitioners
Practitioners of hilot are both the manghihilot and the magpapaanak:[5]
Manghihilot
The manghihilot ("massager", "folk massage therapist", "folk
Magpapaanak
The magpapaanak, the other "hilot", is the folk "midwife" who does prenatal visits and check-ups to pregnant mothers. Normally a woman, she delivers babies during childbirth and often performs the ritual called the suob (a form of "aroma therapy" performed while placed under a cloak).[5]
Traditional Chinese Medicine similarities
The geopolitical position of the Philippines as either being the gateway to either enter or exit Southeast Asia has allowed the exchanging of medical knowledge between immigrants, whether they are colonial predecessors or neighboring countries. The
Present day
The sophistication of the practice has evolved over time and is still being practiced, primarily in rural areas of the Philippines. The challenges of incorporating traditional/alternative medicine into the Philippine national health care system shows the competition against Western medicine because of the stigma of superstition and the lack of scholarly evidence to prove alternative medicine effective.[8] There are organizations advocating for the fusion of both western medicine and alternative medicine out of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) passed in 1997 to make healthcare accessible in rural areas.[8] The Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) is one of the advocacy groups formed from TAMA and one of their objectives is to: "Encourage scientific research on and develop traditional and alternative health care systems that have direct impact on public health care".[6] With this objective, the organization advocates for the continuation and legitimization of hilot. The ancient practice of the hilot has become a debate in public health policy in the Philippines.
See also
- Albularyo, a traditional Filipino herbalist
- Kulam, traditional Filipino witchcraft
- History of medicine in the Philippines
- Philippine shamans
- Folk medicine
References
- ISBN 0759103925.
- ISBN 9780892818815.
- ISBN 9789712728976.
- ^ OCLC 931327408.
- ^ a b "BOOK REVIEWS". J.A.M.A., April 24, 1954, p. 1470. JAMA Network. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ^ OCLC 842880737.
- ^ OCLC 934836292.
- ^ S2CID 208340947.
Further reading
- Grant, Alan (August 2008), "Taming a Martial Art", Discovery Channel Magazine, pp. 30–33
External links
- Alave, Kristine L. (19 January 2008). "Taking 'hilot' or touch therapy into the 21st century". INQUIRER.net. Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 26 June 2016.