Filipino shamans, commonly known as babaylan (also balian or katalonan, among many other names), were shamans of the various ethnic groups of the pre-colonial Philippine islands. These shamans specialized in communicating, appeasing, or harnessing the spirits of the dead and the spirits of nature . [ 2 ]

May 23, 2024 · Babaylan was the spiritual leader of the tribe in the pre-colonial Philippines. Second only to the datu (head chief) in the tribal hierarchy and acting as its advisor in almost all matters concerning religion, medicine, natural phenomena, and others.

Jun 27, 2016 · Though babaylan can literally be translated as “only a woman,” it was no wonder that even males aspired to the role of babaylan, and would take this multifaceted and powerful figure as their “peg for life” or #lifegoal.

Jul 20, 2017 · "In clothing and behavior, male babaylan also known as asog or bayog or bayoc, dressed and behaved as women, with a feminine hairstyle that they braided and grew long, like that of a woman, filled with a kind of resin or turpentine.

Philippine indigenous communities recognize a woman (or man) as a Babaylan, someone who has the ability to mediate with the spirit world, has her own spirit guides, and is given gifts of healing, foretelling, and insight.

Mar 3, 2016 · Babaylan refers to the pre-colonial Philippine tradition of female mystical healers whose spiritual connectedness was a source of political and social power. Babaylan women serve as intermediaries between spiritual and material worlds in their communities.

Dec 4, 2022 · The bayoc's appearance of feminine clothing with masculine weapons evokes other gender liminal counterparts in Southeast Asia, such as the bissu among the Bugis people in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Jan 15, 2022 · In pre-colonial Philippines, what did Babaylan wear? Does anyone have art or visuals that depict Babaylan historically?

Marianita (Girlie) Villariba is a sociologist who practises ‘babaylan’ (mystical women) work. Girlie, as she is fondly referred to in Isis, talks about the indigenous ways of remembering and honoring personal and community wellness.

“Katalonan” is the tagalog word for “Babaylan.” She is the highly revered female leader in the ancient Filipino society. The collection features innovations in textile and apparel design, inspired from Filipino culture, stories and life ways of the past and present.