babaylan at san joaquin, iloilo

babaylan, baylan or bailan was the name given by the ancient visayans to shamans who are able to communicate with the spirit world. the baybaylan uses incantation, plants, oil infusions, candles, incense or kamanyang for the healing rituals. ancient babaylans were either male or female. antonio de pigafetta, the chronicler of magellan's expedition in 1521, said that the babaylan he saw wore women's skirts even if they were men. i suspect pigafetta mistook the asian wrap around called by various names—the most common being sarong as a dress.

i hadn't seen a babaylan in action until mitzi invited me to go to san joaquin where a baybaylan was scheduled to cure a child. mitzi was doing research on the weaving tradition of iloilo; her work focused on the patadyong weaving tradition.

in the ritual i witnessed, the babaylan wears a turban of red patdyong cloth and spits saying "fuera" as he drives malevolent spirits to effect a cure. in the mountainous areas of panay island, the baybaylans continue to practice their art even if three centuries of colonial rule tried to exterminate this living remnant of ancient religion.