MEDICINE AND PHARMACY PRACTICES

OF IGOROTS

IGOROTS• All Igorots believe in WITCH

CRAFT.• They inhibit the mountainous

area of the Philippines called "Cordillera".

• 4 tribes of Igorots located in Luzon:

- Lepanto Igorots

- Nabaloi Igorots

- Kankanay Igorots

- Bontoc Igorots

• Igorot or Igolot literally means "MOUNTAIN PEOPLE".

"Manbunong"

• The Tribal Leader of the Igorot.

• And a priest who performed rituals.

• The influence of the manbunong is more powerful or influential than the elected officials.

gods of the Igorot Tribe• The gods of the Igorot tribe. According W.D Sacla: Dios Adi Kaila - The god which we cannot see.

- Creator of Sun, Moon, Earth, and Creatures. Kabunyan

- Son of Dios Adi Kaila.- One who execute the plan of god adi kaila.

Anitos or the ancestral spirit- Which means the spirit of those relative who passed away or malevolent ancestral spirits.- Often called Ap-apo.

Lepanto Igorots• Never knew much about remedies of their

sickness.• Most of them died without treatment.• Later learned to offer sacrifices called

"CANAO".• Canao - sacrificing CHICKEN and HOGS to

obtain good health, better crops and increase their livestock.

• Believes that illness was attributed by the work of bad spirits specially their departed realtives called "ANITOS"

Lepanto Igorot Healers

• Baylas - A priestess who prayed for the sick and offered hogs for the sacrifice.

• Mandadagap - Is a herb specialist who used the plant he dreamt of to sick people.

• Baloy - The plant used by the Mandadagap

Nabaloi Igorots

• Subgroup of the Igorot.

• Lives in the southern part of Benguet.

• They have few remedies

•Trusted their cure to the ceremony called "CANAO"

• They were traditionally an AGRARIAN society.

• Agrarian - is any society whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland.

• Many of the Ibaloi people continue with their agriculture and rice cultivation.

Medical practices or Rituals of Naboloi

• Palis - Ceremony which determines the cause of disease.

• Sabat - Used in determining the name of the person if the sickness is caused by witch craft.

• Buang - The canao to cure deafness.• Nansaang - The canao to cure headache.• Dosed - Practice to cure pains in the chest.

• Sigop - Ceremony to cure colds

• Kolos - For the treatment of stomachache and diarrhea

• Basil - For the disease of the sex organs

• Gangao - For rheumatism

• Salchi - Is for prevention of sickness caused by eating animals which have died of diseases.

Kankanay Igorots

• Subgroup of the Igorot.

• Lives in Amburayan and southern Lepanto.

Kankayan Spirits

• Kakading - Souls of the dead.

• Dagao - Spirits which lived with the people.

• Bilig - Spirits which lived in pasture or timberlands.

• Pinading - Those which lived the high mountains.

Medical practices or Rituals of Kankayan

• Bindian - Ceremony to cure or prevent sickness

• Mandit - Used to enhance prestige and increase wealth

• Buan - To cure deafness

• Mayitlutlutan - Used to cure headache

• Kapi - Celebrated to comply with dreams or a vow made during sickness

• Palis chi Kabunian - Celebrated to cure toothache

• Manthusis bilig - Cure for chest pain

• Biling - Celebrated for lung infection

Bontoc Igorots• Occupies a central

position among the Igorots.

• They are so good that they don't harm each other.

• Lives on the banks of the Chico River in the Central Mountain Province on the island of Luzon.

• Has distinctive body tattoos.

• Women were tattooed on the arms only.

• Believes in LUMAWIG

• Lumawig - Personifies the forces of nature and is the legendary creator, friend, and teacher of the Bontoc.

• Majority of them died if called "IMPOOSNAMAWAK"

Plants used in medical practice or rituals in Bontoc

• La-lay-ya - A paste applied to cuts.

• Ta-kum-fao - Used to treat burns.

• O-ok-ong-an - A poultice used to treat boils and swellings

• Ototek - used for trating toothache

• Leaves of Saysam - In the form of bath are used to treat small pox.