Trad Med
Trad Med
Trad Med
the Philippines
Claude Perez
Julius Sinio
History of Filipino Healing Tradition
Traditional Filipino medicine adopts a holistic perspective on the person, taking into account
environmental elements that impact a person's physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
02 Traditional
Healers
Traditional Healers
Albularyo 01 02 Manghihilot
Mangtatawas 03 04 Bylan
Albularyo
- An albularyo is a “folk doctor” who is typically found in more
rural areas of the Philippines.
- Patients of albularyos believe they possess supernatural healing
abilities that modern medicine does not offer, which makes
them more reliable than practitioners of modern medicine.
Manghihilot
- Their therapy is restricted to body ailments susceptible to
chiropractic manipulations and massage.
Mangtatawas
- Today, tawas refers to a diagnostic ritual or procedure using a
range of things such candles, eggs, mirrors, plain paper,
cigarette rolling-paper, and alum.
- It is carried out by the majority of alternative healers and serves
to provide clues as to the nature and source of the ailment.
Bylan
- The mediumistic healers claim to have special knowledge of the
environmental spirits, perform all the necessary rituals, and
chant prayers for the neighborhood when the barrio is in need.
- They believe they have extraordinary powers to cure illness.
02 Traditional
Techniques
Traditional Techniques
Herbalism and Plant
Hilot/Ablon
Medicine
It uses the hands and is related to The Philippine Department of Health has
physical therapy, chiropractic, only approved 10 medicinal plants out of
acupressure, and osteopathy. The the 10,000–14,000 plant species that are
practitioner, known as a manghihilot or found there, even though 1,500 of them may
mangablon, uses the patient's urat have medicinal value. These plants can be
(nerve or vein), pennet (tendons, used to make herbal teas, tinctures, fluid
ligaments, or sinewy structures), lasag extracts, poultices, tablets, supplements,
(flesh or muscle structure through powders, creams, and essential oils, this
which urat and pennet flow), and kinds of techniques was used by the
tulang to identify areas of congestion albularyo.
and treat skeletal misalignments and
energy imbalances (bones).
Traditional Techniques