This type of sorcery uses beetles, effigies, poppets, a boiling pot or some other type of representation of the target victim.

Despite the differences in terminology, the methods are almost identical across the Philippine islands (and indeed, across Southeast Asia). This is known by various names like kulam, gaway (Tagalog) barang, hiwit, lágà (Visayan) tanem, tamay (Ilocano) and pantak ( Moro). One of the most common kinds of black magic is a malevolent use of sympathetic magic. The latter type of sorcerers are often conflated with the evil supernatural beings capable of appearing human, like aswang and manananggal. Unlike healers, they do not consider the justice of their actions. There are also 'true' sorcerers who are said to have hereditary sorcerous powers.

Their targets are usually 'wrongdoers' like thieves, adulterous spouses, or land grabbers. Healer-sorcerers who practice this kind of sorcery usually justify it as a form of criminal punishment, as a widespread belief is that black magic does not work on people who are innocent. Visayan: barang, hiwit, lágà, haplit, paktol, anyawįilipino witches are believed to have powers that cause harm to other people covertly.

Witchcraft also exists in many of the hinterlands, especially in Samar and Leyte, however, witchcraft is known and occurs anywhere in the Philippines. Today it is said to be centered in Pampanga, Talalora, Western Samar and Sorsogon, where many of the country's faith healers reside. Witchcraft has been present throughout the Philippines before the Spanish colonization.

įilipino witches practice a kind of black magic, specifically a malevolent use of sympathetic magic, which is associated with Indigenous Philippine religions. The curses and other magics of witches are often blocked, countered, cured, or lifted by Filipino shamans associated with the indigenous Philippine folk religions. They are completely different from the Western notion of what a witch is, as each ethnic group has their own definition and practices attributed to witches. They include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on the ethnic group they are associated with. Filipino witches are the users of black magic and related practices from the Philippines.

The witches pdf free