Research: Filipion (Interesting to explore the Philippians culture)

http://www.filipiknow.net/true-stories-from-philippine-history-creepier-than-any-horror-movie/ 

1. Early Filipino tribesmen literally feasted on human brains ala Zombies.

If you think eating brains is something only  zombies find appetizing, then wait until you read Paul de La Gironière’s best-selling mid-19th century travelogue.

Gironière was a French explorer who arrived in the Philippines in 1820. The  adventurer  in him thought it was a good idea to stay in the country for a while to practice his profession (he was an eye doctor). Soon, he founded the town of Jala Jala in the present-day Rizal province and managed it for almost 20 years until the death of his wife and son.

One day, accompanied by his assistant (aptly named Alila), Gironière decided to explore the mountainous provinces of the north.  This was to see for himself what exactly  the head-hunting “savages” looked like and  how they survived on a daily basis.

First stop was the Tinguians of Abra. Save for their weird odor (which Gironière attributed to the Tinguians’ habit of not removing their clothes), the two visitors found the  ethnic group nicer than they expected. And then came the biggest surprise of their lives: A few  days after their arrival, Gironière and Alila were invited to take part in a “brain feast”–a traditional celebration held every time the group won a battle against a rival tribe.

As described by Gironière, the bizarre tradition starts with the Tinguian chiefs and warriors sitting around a “sacred” space where a  large vessel of basi (sugar cane wine) was placed, along with several decapitated heads of their enemies. After giving a short victory speech, each of the warriors would then get a severed head for himself, crack it open using a hatchet, and take out the brain. As if it’s not gory enough, the young Tinguian girls would then pound the brains until they were fine enough to be mixed with the sugar cane wine.

When the concoction is ready, all the participants would each get a taste of it and pass it around for the whole tribe to enjoy.  Fearing that the Tinguians would kill them, Gironière had no choice but to partake in what he would describe as an “infernal beverage.”

Although some scholars dismiss the “brain feast” as a possible work of fiction, history suggests otherwise. American explorer Dean Worcester described similar ritual among the Kalinga, while William Alexander Pickering–in his book “Pioneering in Formosa” (1898)–commented that Formosan savages “mixed the brains of their enemies with wine, and drank the disgusting mixture.” 

2. Strange events foretold the gruesome murder of an Augustinian friar in 1617.

Via augustinianchurches.wordpress.com

If all else fails, kill your boss. This was probably the motto of the Augustinian friars who conspired to kill their superior in 1617. Fray Geronimo de Salas, the newly-elected Augustinian provincial in Intramuros, became the first target of these secret assassins. Only twenty days after his appointment, Salas was poisoned to death.

His successor, Vicente de Sepulveda, was not likable either; the new provincial’s  rigid leadership didn’t sit well with his enemies who then came up with an assassination plot against him. But Sepulveda, unlike his predecessor, couldn’t be put down by simple poisoning. In fact, the lucky friar managed to survive eight poisoning attempts during which a ground glass was mixed with his chocolate, food, and even the wine he consumed at Mass.

And then came a disturbing omen: visitors of San Agustin church had seen a white cat suckling three mice. Once they had grown fat enough, the poor animals were devoured by the feline. The superstitious believed that the three mice symbolize death, and since Salas and an archbishop of Manila recently died, it wouldn’t take long before another one bites the dust.

A few months later, their predictions turned out right.

Upon realizing that his initial plans were not working, Fray Juan de Ocadiz–the mastermind–sought the help of three accomplices to ensure the death of Sepulveda. After the provincial’s secretary provided them with a duplicate key to Sepulveda’s cell, the assassins proceeded with their agenda. They allowed the hapless victim to repent of his sins before strangling him and twisting his head to ensure he had no chance to survive.

Investigations by the Royal Audiencia ensued, and all Augustinians were asked to kiss the hand of Sepulveda’s corpse. When it was Ocadiz’s turn to pay his last respects, the guilty friar trembled at the sight of Sepulveda’s finger that seemed pointing towards him. In the end, Ocadiz confessed his crime. He and the other two accomplices were hanged, while the fourth suspect escaped to Rome.

Interestingly, Ocadiz’s execution was predicted by his own mother twenty years earlier. In the book “The Governor-General’s Kitchen” by Felice Prudente Sta. Maria, it is said that as Doña Ana of Austria “watched the hanging of an Augustinian friar who wanted to marry her off  to a pastry cook who would then become King of Portugal, she fancied that it was her son as an Augustinian in the noose instead.”

3. The chilling history  behind Malabon’s demonic tombstone.

 

Don Simeon Bernardo didn’t believe in God. He wanted everybody to know about it, so much so that he built a hair-raising monument of a devil triumphing over an angel. This sculpture now guards the tomb of Don Simeon who died of  heart attack in 1934 at the age of 65. Since then, the now-famous tombstone in Tugatog, Malabon has been the subject of a lot of legends perpetuated by people who never even knew its real origins.

It only took an interview with one of Don Simeon’s surviving children to figure out the history behind the bizarre tombstone. In a traumatizing episode (at least for me) of the ’90s TV show Magandang Gabi Bayan, Atty. Sumilang Bernardo said that her father was a victim of Spanish oppression. Accused of being a revolutionary, Don Bernardo was arrested by the Guardia Civil and subjected to unimaginable punishments like forcing him to drink a pail of water containing human excreta.

One day, Don Bernardo realized he’s had enough. He turned his back on the Catholic religion that had completely penetrated the Filipino society. For him, the good didn’t exist in the world anymore and the Catholic religion was a mere tool of the colonizers to put Philippines under its control.

Aside from creating the now-infamous statue, Don Bernardo also made all his 10 children promise to never believe in God. Out of these 10, only three remained atheists–including Atty. Sumilang–while the rest converted to Roman Catholicism upon marriage.

4. The Exorcism of  Clarita Villanueva.

In 1953, 18-year-old Clarita Villanueva of Bacolod City hit the headlines both here and abroad. But unlike movie stars, the probinsyana became famous for what would turn out to be one of the most ‘legit’ cases of demonic possession in recorded history.

Villanueva came to Manila after her parents died. She first worked as a maid before eloping with her lover. When she found out that her partner was already married, she immediately broke off with him and worked as a dancer. One night, while she’s on her way home after watching a late-night movie, Clarita was picked up by the police who suspected her of being a vagrant or homeless. That became her ticket to the Bilibid Prison.