I am re writing a Comptency Based Learning Material for Hilot Wellness Massage NC II and i want to share it here the History and Development of Traditional Medicine in the Philippines.
This article is not a full details of History but a summary of what had happened in the past, that which i like most in TESDA training which focus more on Skills Development rather than in theoretical and philosopical knowledge.
So here is the first part of my CBLM:
History of Traditional Filipino Medicine
Ancient Filipinos believes that all Life form comes from the Divine, thus maintaining life is the sacred duty of everyone. Since the Divine is the creator of mankind, it is also the Divine who is the first healer of its creation.
When the creation of the Divine had multiplied on the face of the world, the Divine tasked the human beings to be the caretaker of all of its creation; and the Babaylan, who was chosen among the people who has a special ability in communicating with the Divine and all of its creation becomes the Catalonan or mediator between man and the Divine. The Catalonans are the one who are at Peace with everyone thus he or she has the role of a healer who brings back peace to the lives of the People.
When the Spanish arrive in the Philippines, they brought Catholicism in the land and forcibly convert the locals to the modern religion; thus the Babaylan, Catalonans and Mumbakis of the old religion hide their beliefs and practices by adopting the new religion and their healing methods are synchronized into the Catholic Faith that bring forth to the Alburaryos and Spiritista who employs orasyon , herbs and touch manipulation massagein their healing arts. Catholic Faith demonizes the old beliefs and practices of the Babaylan, Catalonan and the mumbaki that makes the modern medicine popular to the Land.
On the revival of the Traditional Medicine in the Philippines on 1997, the Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos signed the Republic Act 8423 which is also known as the Traditional & Alternative Medicine Act of 1997 of which brought forth the standardization of the study of Hilot Wellness Massage as an employable skills that can generate income to the Health, Social and other Community Development services sector.
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan 