LONTAR issue #1 (6 page)

"Usually we don't consider your outside life our business," she said. "But some things have impact on the rest of the office. We want decent people of all stations to work here, and that means everybody must respect the order of society. If the
bangsawan
feel threatened here, they will go elsewhere, and then how will the company survive?"

Feisal tried to swallow, but his mouth was too dry. "Do you want me to resign?"

"No, no," said the manager. "The problem is not so bad yet. This is just friendly advice. We are lucky to be in a company that doesn't play favourites. If you work hard, you can go far, even if you are just
rakyat
. But work is not enough. We can find plenty of people who are willing to work. What's important is our staff care about the reputation of the business."

But she was trying to be kind.

"I know it's hard to be young in this world," she said as Feisal made to leave. "Maybe you should sign up for the affability events."

The next evening he printed off a betrothal application from the network. Xinya had forgotten him; there was no reason to hold back. To be partnered was to be safe, and it was very important just then that Feisal should be safe.

*

Feisal was cheerful on the morning of his wedding. It was something to do and he'd done it.

Muna still could not bring herself to say anything good about his decision, but his mother had come around to the idea. She explained it to others on the basis that: "Feisal was always shy, difficult for him to make friends with people. But he is a good boy. Good that he wants to settle down."

To be so approved of made Feisal feel secure. Surely now he'd done the correct thing, he would be protected from future upheavals.
 

This sense of well-being lasted until Muna came in to announce the bride. Feisal rose, anticipatory, but Muna wouldn't meet his eyes. She came up and touched his face.

"Maybe it's a joke. Try your best. Mak and I are behind you."

Feisal opened his mouth but he didn't speak. His partner was following Muna into the living room.

She was dressed in a neat blue dress and had a filmy scarf wrapped around her hair. She was not much changed from when he'd last seen her. She had put on some weight; her face was fuller. But her eyes were as amused and her mouth as melancholy as ever.

"I am sorry," said Xinya without preamble. "I was going to ask, will you take me? But now you don't have a choice."

Everything seemed to have slowed down, as in a dream or a nightmare. The initial shock of joy was succeeded by confusion. Feisal said helplessly, "But how—?"

"I didn't have the chance to tell you before," said Xinya. She took Feisal's hand. "My parents are in the administration. That's why they couldn't fire me. They could only give me what I wanted. I heard you were assigned a partner and I told my parents I'd come back if they fixed the assignments."

Even after everything that had happened, this revelation about the administration shocked Feisal. It ran against everything he'd understood about the way the world worked. Of course the elect were granted privileges, but this was different; this was like
corruption
.

He put the thought away. It was too big an idea for him to deal with right then.

"You should have stayed away," he said, not really knowing what he was saying. He'd spent so much energy working himself up to the betrothal, invested so much in the idea that it would protect him and his family. His plan hadn't accounted for Xinya in his living room, bearing the administration's blessing—and the promise of unknown chaos.

"It wasn't as good as I thought it'd be," said Xinya distantly. "I guess they're right. The New Federation is the best place after all."

"How did you know about my application?"

Xinya didn't seem to hear the question.

"If you ask me why I came back, I'd have to ask you why you did it," she said. "Maybe both of us shouldn't ask so many questions."

"But your career," said Feisal. "Won't you suffer?" He thought wildly of scholarships, housing quotas, job prospects, everything people talked about. Admission to the nice restaurants Feisal would never enter. State honours. The way
bangsawan
greeted each other in the street.

If you were not of the elect you were not encouraged to have more than one child. The state withdrew special rights from the whole family if you failed to comply. Perhaps Xinya did not like children, but the other things she must care about. Who would sacrifice such privileges for something as slippery and wayward as the heart?

"You can say you changed your mind," he said, but Xinya laid her fingers on his lips.

"Let me have this last rebellion," she whispered. "They've left me nothing else."

She never told him about what it was that had disillusioned her in her time overseas. He never told her about the fear that had moved him to apply for the betrothal: fear that he would lose his job; fear of chaos, and a corresponding longing for the order he'd enjoyed before. Now that she was back, the chaos would be justified—and in any case, there was no way out of it.

"All right," said Feisal gently.

Philippine Magic: A Course Catalogue

Paolo Chikiamco

Paolo Chikiamco (Philippines) runs Rocket Kapre, an imprint and blog (rocketkapre.com) dedicated to publishing and promoting works of the fantastic by Filipino authors.
 
Once an associate at a top Philippine law firm, he came to realize that while fact is often stranger than fiction, it's not quite as creatively fulfilling. He is the editor of
Alternative Alamat
(Flipside, 2011), and is a writer for prose and comics. His fiction has been published in venues such as
Scheherazade's Façade
,
Philippine Genre Stories
,
Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution
,
Lauriat
, and the
Philippine Speculative Fiction
series.

Note: The world of Philippine magic is deep and wide—something that is to be expected of a land with anywhere from sixty to a hundred indigenous cultures, each with their own cultural heritage and oral traditions. I've limited my scope to the three general categories of magic that are most well known in Philippine pop culture (although I tried to shed some light on some of the more obscure aspects of each). The rich worlds of magic of particular indigenous communities, as well as magical feats performed in regional epics, are not considered here.

I'm presenting my discussion of magic in the form of a "course catalog" for an imagined school of Philippine magic (named after the Visayan goddess of charms). I'm doing this for two reasons. First, I'm not an expert or a scholar, merely an enthusiastic amateur with a penchant for compiling sources, and a straight up article would appear too authoritative for my comfort (I have, however, cited my sources as the "textbooks" in each Major). Second, well, it was more fun this way.

UNIVERSITY OF ABYANG DURUNUUN

COLLEGE OF MAGIC

COURSE CATALOG for SY 2013-2014

MAJOR in PHILIPPINE SORCERY

A major in Philippine Sorcery involves the study of the principles behind
da-ut
, a term used here to denote forms of sorcery, without a specific cultural lineage, primarily intended to effect harm on other living creatures (or "Malign Magic" as Lieban might put it).
 
It also entails the application of the principles of at least one of the recognized Sorcery Techniques in real life, in a manner befitting a strict code of ethical conduct. To acquire these skills, students will be sent on regular field work rounds, and we will be bringing in an array of guest lecturers who are actual practitioners. Sparring will take place in a controlled laboratory setting, with professional mananambal on stand-by.

Primary textbook: Cebuano Sorcery: Malign Magic in the Philippines
, Richard W. Lieban, University of California Press, 1967.

Secondary textbook:
Encyclopedia of Folk Beliefs and Customs
, Fr. Francisco Demetrio, S.J., Xavier University, 1991.

FLK 101 Introduction to Da-ut

An introduction to sorcery, focusing on the role and view of sorcerers in society today, distinguishing between the public perception in the provinces and in the cities, as well as the forms of da-ut that require spirit sponsors (as not all require them). The course will provide a brief overview of the different techniques, which will be dealt with in greater detail in the succeeding courses.

FLK 102 Ethics and Efficacy

While the debate still rages as to whether or not sorcery is effective at all on an innocent, studies show that the success of any technique is increased dramatically if it is applied in retaliation for a wrong done to the client. This course teaches students to determine the guilt or innocence of the prospective target, as well as detailing the obligation to the soul of the victim, if killed, and the difference between letting the client take responsibility for the soul, or the sorcerer taking on that responsibility.

FLK 201 Awog

Awog is a kind of magic used in Central Panay to guard homes. It prevents an intruder from leaving when he enters a specific place, acting like a magnet. Students will not only learn the spell requirements, but the manner by which to choose the most likely areas of intrusion.

FLK 202 Sampal

Sampal is a spell that causes extreme swelling of the victim's stomach. This ritual involves the hair of a dead woman and a particular class of creature that has the ability to expand, such as the sea cucumber. The course details the proper means of inserting the representation into the creature, and the binding with the hair before it is returned to sea.

FLK 203 Dungan Techniques

Dungan techniques involve practices that inflict harm due to the strong willpower of the sorcerer, coupled with some action toward the victim. In Buyag/Usog this action is a verbal compliment; In Sumpa it is a curse or insult; In Mantala the effect is caused merely by staring at the victim. All three will be discussed in this course.

FLK 301 Hilo

Hilo is the creation of a magical poison that can infect anyone who steps atop the ground on which it is buried. It is distilled from the blood of poisonous snakes. The course walks students through the selection of the place for the ritual, the crafting of the bamboo blades, the right offering for the spirit sponsor, and the best types of snakes to lure.

FLK 302 La-ga

La-ga is a ritual that causes severe illness. Something from the body of the victim
—
clothes, hair, blood
—
is mixed in a cauldron and boiled with a "noxious potion" called igdalaut. The course details the intricate material requirements for the spell, including the preparation of the igdalaut, and the seven trees whose wood must be used to heat the cauldron.

FLK 303 Paktol

This course covers the distinct techniques of either using a skull to summon a spirit, or using a representation of the victim (such as a baptized doll, or a photograph) in order to cause harm or death. The two methods are distinguished and the ritual ingredients (such as the nito vine), including the spoken commands, are detailed.

FLK 401 Barang

Barang is a type of magic where the sorcerer sends insects or animals to appear inside the body of the victim. The sorcerer needs to use special insects and animals (also called "barang") usually raised by a sorcerer, to make the magic work. The course details the identification of barang animals (for instance, the insect-type have seven legs), their breeding and upkeep, the preparation of the special bamboo tube in which they are stored, and the proper means of commanding them during the period called himatayon ("the dying moon").

FLK 402 Usik

This course deals with the special, alternative forms of barang. It will detail the use of animals which are smaller than those used in barang (such as the usik daginut, which uses insects small enough to enter through pores), as well as the introduction of non-living things
—
for instance, needles, or glass
—
into the victim.

FLK 403 Sorcery Defense

This course deals with possible counter-measures to sorcery which do not involve the use of anting-anting. These include the use of the wood of the balikbalik tree and the leaf of the badyang plant, or the use of hand gestures or ritual phrases to defend from sorcerous attacks. Also discussed are retaliatory measures, such as the extraction of the barang animals from the victim to send back against the sorcerer who used them.

MAJOR in RELIC MAGIC

While other forms of magic require years of intense training, to avail of relic magic one need only be in possession of an active anting-anting. Most often visualized as medallions with religious/mystical iconography, most anting-antings are a part of a complex belief system which must be understood if the full potential of the anting-anting is to be realized. Students will be given a grounding in the mythology of the anting-anting, as well as in the language of the oracion, before being instructed as to the manner by which individual anting-antings may be empowered and maintained. Advanced courses will break down the multifarious types of anting-anting (at least those common in the Tagalog parts of Luzon), based on the Pambid Categories.