In the quiet village of Adela, located in the town of Poro on Camotes Island, Cebu, a renowned folk healer recently demonstrated the enduring power of local wisdom by solving a medical mystery that left hospital doctors baffled.
A Mysterious Illness Baffles Modern Medicine
The case began when a local couple, Manu Demok and his wife Mana Perina, desperately sought help from the esteemed elder, Manu Marcos. Mana Perina was in a severe state of weakness, struggling to breathe, coughing, and vomiting saliva mixed with blood. Her husband explained that doctors at a hospital in a neighboring island town could find no physical cause for her ailment. "They didn't see any sickness in her body," Demok recounted.
Upon examining the ailing woman, Manu Marcos perceived a reality invisible to the ordinary eye. He asked a critical question about recent activities on their land. Demok confessed that they had recently cut down a large 'dakit' tree (a species of Ficus) at the edge of their property to clear land for tobacco farming. The task was done by a man known as Manu Berto Bungol, who performed his own rituals before the cutting.
The Root of the Sickness: A Displaced Spirit Community
Manu Marcos's voice trembled as he delivered the diagnosis. "That's it! You have offended the beings not like us," he declared. He explained that the massive dakit tree was not merely a plant; it was the mansion of the 'engkanto' (nature spirits), housing a king, queen, children, and elders. The act of cutting it down without permission had provoked their wrath, which manifested as Mana Perina's inexplicable sickness.
Frightened, the couple watched as the healer began a ritual of atonement. He applied medicinal leaves to Mana Perina's forehead, prayed, and pleaded for forgiveness from the spirits. He made the sign of the cross on her temples and other parts of her body. After several minutes of prayer, Manu Marcos announced that the spirits agreed to forgive them, but on one condition: they could no longer live on the Demok family's land.
A Ritual of Relocation and a Miraculous Recovery
Manu Marcos immediately prepared his tools and journeyed to another large dakit tree on land owned by the Melendez family. There, through his spiritual sight, he witnessed the engkanto community moving out—carrying their belongings, livestock, and children, while their elders walked slowly away from their still-smoldering mansion.
As the ritual concluded, a fragrant and cool breeze swept through the area. Moments later, Mana Perina suddenly became alert, as if she had never been ill. The doctors and nurses at the district hospital were reportedly shocked, noting they had given no medicine that could explain her sudden recovery.
The event sent a powerful message throughout Barangay Mercedes, the town of Poro, and the entire Camotes Island. The community now firmly believes that large dakit trees are dwellings of the unseen world. "Do not cut dakit trees. Those are homes of the engkanto," the people say. "If we disturb them without their consent, they will retaliate, and we will suffer from illnesses that the science of doctors cannot see."
Since this incident, it has become common practice in the village for anyone who sees a dakit tree to pray and ask for permission before cutting or disturbing it, to avoid angering the owners of the unseen realm. Manu Marcos continues to help people, not only healing physical ailments but also protecting the island's residents from the displeasure of the spirits.
