Even how much effort we exert on what Hilot is, if the people insist that the kind of Hilot they know is Massage, the Provider will give what the people know wants in exchange for the money they will earn. By giving in to what people demand, the more our Hilot Healing Tradition will be dressed up by the IGNORANCE of the People and in the future Generation, the real knowledge of Hilot will be lost and think of Hilot is just the Filipino Terminology of Massage.
I remember on 2017 to 2018 that i become an administrator of a Massage Therapist group at Facebook which is composed of Massage Therapist working at the Spa so as Freelancer who do Home Service Massage. One Massage Therapist have rant which is a licensed Massage Therapist at DoH have said that the Freelancers and Manghihilot are stealing their jobs from them.
Well, how come that Manghihilot were included in stealing the Jobs of Massage Therapist, whereas it is the Massage Therapist who steal the Job of Manghihilot. Not only the Massage Therapist but the entire Health Care System that have stripped off the Duties and Responsibilities of Manghihilot and leaving out the Identity of Being Filipino Masseur.
And out of the custom for the Licensed Massage Therapist to upgrade their knowledge in Massage that they are required to know other forms of massage that they have amalgamated the massage of Hilot into Massage Therapy and they call it themselves as Hilot. And this is wrong. It is an act of colonizing, such as to what had happened in our Ancient Filipino Spiritual beliefs.
Such as to what had happened to the precolonial culture in Obando, Bulacan which observed the Kasilinoan Fertility Dance which has been popularly known as Tatarin or the Summer Solstice Ritual that is once sacred to Dayang Masalanta, Lakapati and Bathala, whereas the Spanish colonized our Country, they have forcibly converted the Natives into Roman Catholicism and Changed our custom of dancing Kasilinoan into Fandanguan. Kasilinoan or now popularly known as Tatarin was a Pagan Fertility Dance on which married woman who is unable to conceive a Child would dance for 3 nights to a Phalus God named Lingga when the Summer Solstice arrived. When Christianity arrived it was changed into Fandanguan in honor of the patron saints of Obando, Bulacan named Sta. Clara of Assisi, San Pascual Baylon and the Imaculate Conception de Salambao which is named after the fish net that caught the image on the sea while fishing.
Many of those who work as Massage Provider are guilty of this crime in dressing up massage to be the modality of Hilot, such as one time I went to the mall to avail Thai Massage, when I went to book an appointment, the receptionist discourage me taking that services but instead pushed me to get Swedish massage instead, being out of time and need to have a massage- I take the offer. In my mind I see the problem that probably the massage provider are not proficient in giving the modality I seek. And another problem I notice is that when a Filipino Massage Therapist are working abroad, they are advertising Hilot even the modality the do is Swedish Massage. This is very wrong.
Hilot as we always say is not just a Massage. Though it have a massage treatment that could be performed quickly. Hilot is not a Spa Treatment that can be performed in One Hour or more. Rather Hilot is a Quick relief treatment when a person had Pilay. Though I am not certain when do the Spa Industry started but I am supposing that it Started on during the implementation of the Sanitation Code of the Philippines when it was mandated on December 23, 1975. There in Article 13 discuss about the Policy on Massage Therapy and Sauna Bath’s.
With the rising of Spa Industry, they make their services like a Restaurant, where a client will choose what kind of services they will avail. So as a result, many spa services provider must learn different forms of massage until they have developed Combination Massages as their promotional Offering.
As an Individual practitioner, there is a Pride that they should know all as they walk up to the pedestal of fame and glory. Knowing all means getting Money from the services they provide. And no one think that Hilot can provide all the Health Care needs of the Community. But since Hilot is not well accepted, certain individual still need other professional license in order to introduce Hilot to the public. And the end result of it is that Hilot has been covered up by other Traditional Medicine modality that it became end to the list such as to what happened in PITHAC.
There are still many people who does not know What Really Hilot is an just rely on the information provided online and the practice of authentic Manghihilot in rural and slum areas of the Philippines are being ignored as it is unscientific and covered much in mysticism.
But to tell you, Traditional Chinese Medicine too was once covered in mysticism such as the principles of Tao and the doctrines of Chi which is being observed not only in Traditional Medicine but as well as in Fung Sui.
If Colonial Mentality will stop and the Roman Catholic Church will not interfere in the Development of Hilot in the Philippines, the modalities of Hilot will have the Science it needed in order to explain its principles to the modern world and If Hilot will have its own center not associated in Spa or Wellness Center; the Hilot Treatment we provide will receive the recognition we deserve.
Would you be the Manghihilot the world need now?
Hilot Academy of Binabaylan 
Great arguments
Sent from my iPhone
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