P-A-Milya

Over the weekend I attended the first half of a week long workshop on Philippine Ancestral Medicine or Ninunong Gamot. Our teacher Angela Angel is a Bay Area certified herbalist, traditional medicine teacher and healer,  you can find out more about her here,  Her teaching Assistant, Julz Ignacio, is a new friend and an amazing resource in finding good, organic, local sources and farmers for some of the traditional plants commonly used in the Islands back in the day and in some cases, until today.

My first personal experience with traditional medicine was during the healing process that followed my first childbirth.  I had an episiotomy and like any wound, takes time to heal.  Our kapitbahay (neighbor) brought some guava leaves fresh from the tree, and my mom boiled it and cooled it.  I used the liquid to wash myself for about a day or two and my recovery was amazing!

In the course, we discussed different seeds and leaves and how to use them and in what form.  We also discussed flowers and fruits and their healing properties.

During the two days, Angela took us on a meditative spiritual journey forward and back in time - both to connect to my ancestors seven generations back and forward and to connect with each other as children of indigenous ancestors who are trying to find their way.

Day 2 exercise on finding our herbal ally.  I picked the banana flower leaf not knowing what it was.

We were asked to bring photos or mementos of our ancestors and to bring an atang or offering for them.  I brought my album that had lots of photos of family members who are present and gone - pretty much my whole family.  I also brought some shells and some pandan roses I made last April.  Everyone did the same. We had a chance to talk about our ancestors and what our atang meant.  It was a very powerful experience for me...

Preparing Mangosteen Fruit for deseeding for medicine.

I was born and raised in the Philippines till I was 20.  I graduated from the top university in the country.  I was born in the struggle, survived martial law, and witnessed People Power, the revolution that was broadcast live on CNN.  My people were from Mindanao!  So I essentially felt that I knew my culture, I knew my ways.  I considered myself a culture bearer.  In my work with people of color here in the Northwest, I made concerted efforts to connect with people of color communities in my activism in my personal and professional life.  I raised a family with my husband of 25 years who was African American.  I worked with SeaMar clinic to reach out to the Latino population in Mt/ Vernon and learned about their traditional medicine - working with Wenatchee curandero Jorge R. Chacon.  I developed courses to help provide better awareness and health care for LGBTQ people.  I helped grow a program called Native American Center of Excellence whose primary goal was to increase the number of Native students and faculty in the UW School of Medicine.  For three decades I learned and absorbed the history of indigenous peoples on this turtle island, and was very happy with the relationships I was building all over the community.

Papaya, jackfruit, pineapples.  All have healing powers.  I loved rubbing the inside of the pineapple skin on my skin.  It was soothing and very moisturizing!

When the time came for me to bring my culture to the work, I only had my colonized ways to offer.  I had lost the spiritual and traditional side of my ancestors.  I didn't even really know who were my ancestors beyond my grandparents.  I only knew of the land they came from, not knowing how they got there.  It was sad.  I was sad.  Because after all these years, I still didnt know who I am.

Which is what led me back to ancient Philippines.  In a recent post, I shared the knowledge building of babaylan and baybayin on July 16.  And this weekend it was my turn to learn, once again, under the tutorship of Healer and Practitioner Angela Angel - who, IMHO, is a modern day contemporary babaylan in the diaspora.

Our teacher Angela as she prepared for the day.

Jackfruit and pineapples!

In this class, I learned our own ways of smudging, what we smudged and how we smudged.  I learned that I still have so much to learn about my ancestral ways.  That I can exist in my ancestral world and in my colonized Christianized world (I'm going to build my own ancestral altar in my home separate from my other altar) in Seattle.  I learned that there are farmers working and growing my traditional foods here.  I want to get to know them and visit them and buy from them.   In other words, I want to build a relationship with my own community.

Some of the offerings people brought.

So this class is one way to help me get started.  By getting to know my decolonized self, I am going to be able to stand in solidarity with my POC community in a better way.  By getting to know my decolonized self I can serve my people the same way I served others.  More importantly, I am gaining a new Philippine Ancestral Medicine family - a PAMilya - a small group of people who are learning about our ancient ways alongside with me - of all ages and all genders - who are ready to support and help each other on this journey.