MANILA, Philippines—An albularyo is a local healer who cures illnesses through touch, herbs, charged water, steam, amulets or power sounds.

When I was a child, I remember how Nana, our grandmother, took care of my sister Aleli, whose itchy and watery skin rashes did not improve with medicines and ointments prescribed by our in-house doctor, my uncle.

In the privacy of her home, Nana asked my sister to stand on hot leaves and, while humming prayer chants, she poured warm water with pounded herbs on her blistered body. In no time, Aleli’s skin allergies disappeared.

Aleli’s memory of healing was reawakened when she witnessed a hilot healing in Mt. Banahaw facilitated by Bibiano Fajardo, who is a chemical engineer and a PhD holder, but who takes pride in being called an albularyo, hilot and herbalist.

At age 27, in the midst of his extensive exploration of the mystical power of amulets and oraciones (power words), Bibiano was stricken with muscular dystrophy, an incurable illness. Economic reasons obliged him to resort to treatment by an albularyo.

Bibiano did not only get healed. He delved deep into the study of hilot and herbs and committed to heal and share with other people his knowledge of chemistry as applied to the healing power of herbs.

Indigenous practices

Our local albularyos have been derogatorily called “quacks” by society. It is only with the recent acceptance of indigenous and traditional practices in different countries—acupuncture in China, ayurveda in India, homeopathy in Europe, tribal Healing—that our own traditional healing art has slowly been recognized by some doctors and government sectors.

To develop and promote hilot, Aleli and Bibiano created Athag (Association of Traditional Health Care Givers). In less than four years, this Filipino traditional healing art has been represented in wellness exhibits in Singapore, Oman and Japan.

Barangay health workers from Quezon, Batangas, Marinduque and Cagayan were trained on the science of hilot and on the planting and uses of herbs, which improved these people’s livelihood. Hilot therapists were also trained and sent abroad to administer our traditional hilot in world-class spas catering to international audiences.

Being a natural researcher and a scientist, Bibiano has the advantage of translating the albularyo’s terms not only into common-sense language but also into scientific terms.

“Hilot is based on the alignment of our body, mind and emotions to the universal and natural laws,” said Bibiano. The training of the hilot is not limited to the skill of manually dissolving energy blockages in the veins, tendons and nerves to relieve body pains.

“Kung aburido ka, hindi ka makakapanggamot (If you are irritable, you cannot heal),” said Bibiano.

The slogan he uses for easy recall is “Mabuti, makakabuti, makapagpapabuti (Good for self, good for others, good for the environment).”

For inquiries about Athag’s public hilot training seminars, call 3815466 or 0923-3429269.