How much is the cost of Hilot?

Researchers of Philippine Traditional Medicine goes to places around the archepelago to experience the amazing healing touch of manghihilot. Mostly authentic hilot can be found in rural areas that is far away from the civilized society.

The Manghihilot (hilot provider) are the primary healthcare specialist where the common people consult with not only because of its effectivity but also for its affordability.

Now-a-days, authentic hilot are rare to find even the government provide training of Hilot Wellness Massage through TESDA and DoH. The hilot they teach is a commercialized massage that people confuse it with swedish massage. And sad to say still many people have a stigma of Hilot as Folk Medicine and quackery.

Indeed Hilot is a Folk Medicine that is nearly come to its extinction. The knowledge of Hilot as Traditional Medicine of the Filipino People is almost forgotten in exchange for higher income profession.

When you ask a child now-a-days of what the child will become when they grow old, no one will say that they want to become a Hilot.

But why?

Because people think that hilot is not a good income opportunity profession. Manghihilot only charge minimun amout or either accept donations only. The donation ranges from a pack of cigarette, bunch of banana, tray of eggs, etc.

But in doing Hilot, the provider spend a lot of energies from the time, knowledge of determining the cause of illness, planning the appropriate treatment modality to apply, use of herbs and other things that hilot will use before and after treatment.

The Hilot spend a lot rather than what s/he recieves. This shows that Hilot has a great value of Pakikipag Kapwa and pakikisama.

Kapwa is a Filipino Term that originates from the word kaputol ng kaluluwa ( a piece of the soul). Thus pakikipagkapwa is an art of unification of the individual soul to the Universal Soul or the word (us).

This pakikipagkapwa thing that the hilot has make hilot to reject payment from their client/patient. But what the client/patient did not realise is the value of the Hilot a manghihilot provide is much more greater that the amount of money could be spent.

What manghihilot work with is that we are restoring wellness to improve life.

Now if we talk about life, how much is the cost of life now-a-days?