Patrisha Louisse Alysson O.

Ruzol
ETHNIST A51
June 14, 2018

Book Review:
Magos, Alicia P. The Enduring Ma-aram Tradition: An Ethnography of a Kinaray-a Village in
Antique. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1992.

Introduction

Alicia P. Magos took her Masters degree in anthropology and her Doctorate degree in

Philippine studies at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. She is a faculty at the University

of the Philippines in Visayas and works as a consultant to the Museo Iloilo and for the Office of

the Southern Cultural Communities. Her study on the Ma-arams of Antique was both her

graduate thesis and dissertation. The Ma-arams were located at a Kinaray-a Village in Antique

called Mariit and were considered important persons in the community, giving them a high social

status. The Ma-aram practice is vaguely called binabaylan because its role in society included

being an expert in popular tradition and culture, healer and mediator between different worlds.

The Enduring Ma-aram Tradition by Magos centers on the ideological context and

ethnomedical factors that revolve around the presence of the Ma-arams of Mariit as well as

factors on the maintenance and continued existence of the Ma-arams until today. It is through

this book that Magos’ extensive study on the area can be seen and in this book, she is able to

expound on the different traditions, practices, and beliefs of the Kinaray-a village as well as the

physical state of the area, all focusing on the importance of the Ma-aram as the center of cultural

life in the village. The book consists of eight chapters namely, Introduction, Historical

Background, The Ma-aram Practice in Mariit, The Ideological Context of Ma-aram Practice in
Mariit, The Ethnomedical System of the Ma-aram, More Pillars for Maintenance and Continuity,

Analysis, and Epilogue.

The first chapter provided an introduction on the ethnographic account of Magos wherein

she defined what a babaylan is and what are their distinct characteristics. A babaylan was a

religio-initiated person, having undergone deep intense religious experience wherein he enters

into a trance-like state in order to connect to the spirit world. He is a folk therapist or healer of

physical, mental, and emotional stresses. They believe that physical ailments are supernaturally-

occurring and that its symptoms are manifested into the psychic state of the individual, making

the attendance of the babaylan during the ritual very important. The babaylan is a priest that

officiates rituals and ceremonies, he is a philosopher and propagator of the tribe’s ideologies and

beliefs, and he is also a transmitter of culture due to the fact that he socializes and trains future

babaylans, invoking in them the very root of the tribe’s culture and tradition for their continued

survival.

The second chapter gives a historical background on the emergence of the Ma-aram in

the Visayas. From the pre-Hispanic period to the late Hispanic period, Magos talks about the

presence of the babaylanes in Visayan oral literature. These documents can be seen through

many Spanish accounts just like those of Morga, Loarca, Chirino, de San Antonio, and Alzina.

By the early seventeenth century, the uprising of Bankaw and Tamblot paved the way for the

realization of religious oppression but it also institutionalized the babaylanes because of its

extensive community practice into the sociopolitical, religious, medical, and economic life of the

people. The author also discusses the life of the babaylan during the late Hispanic period to the

early American period wherein there was an economic boom in places just like in Panay, Cebu,

and Bohol. Magos highlighted the oppression in Negros and the emergence of the tulisanes and
bandits to the sociopolitical and religious instability during these times. Lastly, she discusses the

emergence of the early Ma-arams during the 1930s.

The third chapter entitled The Ma-aram Practice in Mariit focuses on the topographical

state of Mariit, from its climate, public facilities, people, material culture, and social

organization. In this chapter, the author discusses the importance of their economic life in

relation to the religious aspect of the community. Different rites and agricultural practices have

been highlighted by the author to explain the beliefs of the people of Mariit. For instance, the

Samba is a communal ceremony presided by the Ma-aram in order to solicit rain and good

harvest through the season by singing and dancing worship songs and activities to their

ancestors.

The Ideological Context of Ma-aram Practice in Mariit makes use of Robert Redfield’s

term “worldview” as an explanation for Mariit’s concept of the universe, soul, and other cosmic

beings. The concept of the Dungan or soul helps the Ma-aram heal ailments and teaches an

individual nurture his own body. Their creation story includes a man called Tagna-an who is

considered the first male on earth, his female companion Humihinahon, who were born from

bubbles from the sea and between the water and the sky, respectively. These two are the

predecessors of Adan and Eba. The Mariitnon believe that the world has seven layers and that

the earth’s surface layer is the center of the world. They believe in sacred mountains such as

Mount Kanlaon in Negros which is called the City of Engkantados.

The Ethnomedical System of the Ma-aram discusses theories and beliefs on health

restoration of the Ma-aram. Some of these include supernaturally-caused illnesses and naturally

caused illnesses like budlay (fatigue or stress) and pasmu (heat and cold imbalance). In order to

diagnose these, rituals such as Luy-a (ginger ritual), Pamulso (pulsing), and itlog (egg) are
employed. To treat these prayers, certain food, steaming, and massages are done to the individual

by the community Ma-aram to heal the illness.

More Pillars for Maintenance and Continuity talks about the process of socialization of a

Ma-aram in training from infancy, adolescence, to married life, to being a Ma-aram in the

standard way, which is a hereditary state. The next category is that a person can be a Ma-aram

when he exhibits exemplary attitude and promising characteristics seen by the Ma-arams in the

community. In the final two chapters, the author will give a summary of her study and conclude

the findings of her ethnographic research.

Periodization

The author made use of three distinct periods to describe the plight of the babaylan and

Ma-aram throughout Philippine history. As stated in chapter two, the author divided the history

through by the pre-Hispanic – late Hispanic period (12th century- 1850s), the Late Hispanic

period – early American period (1850s-1945), and the post world war II – contemporary period

(1945-present). The author’s research study was first done from the years 1975-1978 while her

second field work was in 1984.

Nature and Adequacy of Sources/methodology

Alicia Magos was able to get an insider account of the community because she was a

maninay, a ritual godmother, of two Ma-arams in the community. In her research in the

community, she was able to visit and interview practictioners in 5 different barrios other than in

Mariit and 3 adjacent towns. She made use of the historical method in order to create a historical

narrative of the people of Mariit, most especially the Ma-arams, as well as uprisings and

organizations connected to this practice. She made use of Spanish documents to explain the
historical aspects of the history of the Ma-arams as well as books and other accounts related to

religion, socio-politics, and economy in the Philippines. She also used the key informant method

and participant-observation in order to create an unbiased account of the people. She employed

focused and in-depth interviews, unstructured and structured interviews, reconstructed

autobiographies, case studies, and simple random sampling in order obtain data from the

Mariitnon.

10 Historiographic Contributions in Prospective, Use of Sources, and Analysis

1. Pioneering work on the Ma-aram tradition

knowledge and practice. This work is one of the first to tackle the topic of the Ma-aram

in Antique and how their concept of babaylan is similar and different to other western

Visayan folk traditions. An extensive ethnographic research by Alicia Magos has

produced a work on how the Ma-aram’s continued existence and cultural value is evident

in society.

2. More information on the religious perspective of social uprisings

people coming from different sociopolitical and religious organizations that were being

oppressed and turned to uprisings in order to get what they want. Aside from what history

books tell us, Magos’ output describes the ideals of indigenous and how they are

comparable to normal books.

3. Use of historical method in anthropological subjects

anthropological training, it is no surprise that she has employed historical methodology to

her ethnography. Historical method give us a wider view of subjects, giving the viewer a
 bigger view of each situation. It justifies how the field of the social sciences is

interdisciplinary and can evolve through extensive research, providing a holistic

perspective on many things.

4. Viability of fieldwork to ethnographic research

this method. Fieldwork takes you to see the area itself and gives you a chance to observe

the place as well as to see the reaction of the people. Its viability was proven possible due

to the fact that studies show that older relationships have more experience rather than of

china.

5. Similarity and differences of binabaylan practices in Visayas

The book started out with the general idea of what a babaylan is to the Visayans and

from there, it has evolved through time with the emergence of the Ma-aram. From this,

we can see that there are many aspects of binabaylan that the Ma-aram has retained but

eventually changed it to follow the trend in the community, mostly its beliefs and

experiences. This book centers on how similar yet distinctis that the Ma-aram tradition is

from the other folk traditions in Visayas. She explained that there are different

situations/terminologies but concepts like soul and cosmology and how there are different

just like luy-a and pasmu.

6. Feasibility of an enduring folk ideology and religious practice

most especially during this cosmopolitan era. She highlights various factors that

contribute to the survival of the Ma-aram tradition as well as the continued existence

through descendants and ancestry.

the reader a better understanding of the translation of a word and how it can be similar to

other dialects in the Philippines.

8. Showcase the Filipino culture before the arrival of the Spaniards

This book shows that Filipinos indeed had an advance ethnomedical system as well as

culture and tradition, contrary to the fact that the Spaniards have discovered the

Philippines and they said that the country was composed of savages who were incapable

of advancement and progress.

9. Comparison and contrast of different cultures and traditions of the people

The output of Alicia Magos gives a comparison and contrast of the different cultures and

traditions of the people in the country. Through the book, the reader can learn more about

the indigenous practices of the Ma-aram as well as how the Mariitnon uses similar

methods of healing just like the rest of the country.

10. Employment of Sikolohiyang Pilipino

is reflective of indigenous practices. These practices are highlighted and given value by

scholars and other people who have studied this topic. Through Sikolohiyang Pilipino,

the proponents of the study will be able to study the indigenous people’s psyche and

better understand and co-exist with these people.