KAMBABAS

(Maguindanao)
The Maguindanaons are traditionally superstitious. Once it was told
that a powerful Sultan prohibited his people from taking a bath in the
Rio Grande de Mindanao in order to uphold the morality of his clan.
But his daughter Bai Sa Sagay disobeyed his order, and thus her
father Sultan banished her to the mountain called Mt. Kabalukan and
there she became a spirit called tonong. She resented her fathers
extreme punishment and she expressed her anger by causing great
pains on people who came to the forest of Mt. Kabalukan. Bai Sa Sagay
or the tonong is so powerful that she can turn into a tree with rough
and scratchy leaves called sagay. Anybody who comes in contact
with its leaves suddenly develops red and itchy sores all over the body.
At times, Bai Sa Sagay or the tonong would literally possess the body
and torture the person. The only hope for the unfortunate man to be
cured is the Kambabas, an intricate ritual of driving out the spirit,
which is performed by the patotonong or the medicine man. It aims
to cleanse the body from the tonong. During the Kambabas, a chicken
is set free, a fire called Tudtugan is lit, coconut water, oil and thread
of different colors are used. These are all means to appease the anger
of Bai Sa Sagay.
The kambabas can also be performed on the sea shore. The sick
person sits on the lap of another while the patotonong performs the
ritual. Different kinds of sweets and delicacies called lalag are held
around a structure made of bamboo and grasses. After the ritual, the
sick person is made to take a bath in the water.
During the ritual, the patotonong and his companions move around in
fluid movements while the ones representing the bad spirit move freely
and roughly. The good spirits called the Bidadari move around in
happy movements to show beauty instead of ugliness.
After the ritual is held, the sick person regains his health, the evil
spirits of the tonong are defeated and run away.

KAMBABAS
(Maguindanao)
Belief in unseen powers, such as in good and evil spirits, is
intricately interwoven into the tapestry of the Maguindanaon
traditional community life. Before a harvest, the community
gathers for a ritual in invoking the gods and goddesses of bounty
to be generous and to provide for a very good harvest. Secure in
the belief that the supernatural powers are pleased in their
invocation, they proceed to harvest with joy and optimism.
But the bad spirits are lurking near, for as the legend has it, there
once was a powerful Sultan who prohibited his people from taking
a bath in the Rio Grande de Mindanao in order to uphold the
morality of his clan for it was believed that whoever takes a bath
in the river would be possessed by an evil spirit as the river was
cursed. But his daughter Bai Sa Sagay disobeyed his order.
She took a bath in the river. Enraged, her father Sultan banished
her to the mountain and there she transformed into a spirit called
tonong. She resented her fathers extreme punishment and her
wrath gave birth into a multitude of bad spirits.
The bad spirits spread and now, they engulf the whole community.
The people became possessed and tortured. The only hope for the
unfortunate villagers to be cured is the Kambabas, an intricate
ritual of driving out the spirits, which is performed by the
patotonong or the medicine man. It aims to cleanse the body
from the tonong. During the Kambabas, a chicken is set free, a
fire called Tudtugan is lit, coconut water, oil, grasses and thread
of different colors are used.
Different kinds of sweets and
delicacies called lalag are offered. These are all means to
appease the anger of Bai Sa Sagay.
The patotonong and his companions perform the kambabas near
the river. If there are evil spirits, there are also good ones and
they also abound everywhere and come to the aid of those who
are in need. With the help of the good spirits called the Bidadari,
the patotonong successfully drives out the evil spirits and the
villagers regain their health. After a dark and desolate situation,

the people in gratitude and exuberance proceed with the Kanduli,

a thanksgiving ritual which ends in a festival of merriment,
rejoicing and jubilation.