Cebuano Sorcery: Malign Magic in the Philippines

by Richard W. Lieban

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1967.

Genres: Anthropology

167 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1967

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leveling the Playing Field in Uncertain Times

Early Spanish visitors to the Philippines recorded certain kinds of sorcery being practiced. People attacked their enemies by getting a sorcerer to cast spells that would make the opponents sick. Centuries later, in the 1960s, Lieban found similar activity still very common in the Cebuano-speaking Visayan region of the central Philippines. Despite the impact of the long Spanish rule, several decades of American control, World War II, and the independent Filipino government's efforts to bring modernization, sorcery persisted. Why was this ?
CEBUANO SORCERY may not be long (150pp.), but it is definitely to the point. We not only learn how various sorcerers and witches operate in Cebuano society, and how they view their own role, but also investigate local folk beliefs about illness and health, the involuntary symbiosis between sorcerers and healers (who may be one and the same person), and the relation of sorcery to suspicion, aggression, and social conflict among Cebuanos in both rural and urban areas. Although this study is now over 50 years old, I found it very relevant. It also related well to experiences I had studying such individuals in Goa and Mauritius. Large numbers of societies in the so-called Third World still have trouble enforcing national law. Many people live outside the sometimes-impartial, but distant court system, relying on more traditional methods of social control. When quarrels arise over land, over love/sex relationships, or because of envy, sorcery---or mere fear in its efficacy---can either prevent violence or help those who feel powerless attain more power. Philippine sorcerers too practice their skills to obtain more power in society. Communities in Negros and Cebu back in the early 1960s had modern medical practitioners, but these were often felt to be too far off, too expensive, or too socially distant. People still felt more comfortable going to sorcerers, who also healed clients "attacked" by other sorcerers. Both clients and sorcerers distinguished between "natural" illness and "supernatural" illness, with the later being caused by sorcery. However, a large number of conflicting ideas and beliefs about sorcery existed among the Cebuanos interviewed by the author; there was by no means a unified, airtight concept as to what went on. As is proper in anthropological studies, the author did not discuss whether sorcery actually worked from an American's point of view. Rightly, he dealt exclusively with the way Cebuano people looked at it. The conclusion---that belief in and use of sorcery tended to diminish with the rise of new wealth and patterns of consumption, but increase in situations where people feared redistribution of a given size pie---leant towards political prophecy. Today, one wonders if sorcery may not see a rise in popularity due to the current situation in the Philippines. However with the rise in education and global connectivity, perhaps it will not. CEBUANO SORCERY combines a terse writing style with clear presentation of data, with a large number of interesting ideas about medical anthropology, Filipino society, and the nexus of sorcery, power, and social conflict. Readers may use it in conjunction with many modern works on Southeast Asia and religion, medical anthropology, or social conflict.

[Jamiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthropological study of Cebuano sorcery from an American's point of view is surprisingly very informative and precise. It explores how the Cebuano people perceive witchcraft.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you grew up in an American Evangelical missionary community in the Philippines you might have a particular view of sorcery and things like evil spirits. It might be something you heard about from time to time but was not necessarily a part of your experience. Yet, that didn't mean you didn't recognize the real hold "malign magic" might have on the people in "the provinces" but I lived in cosmopolitan Manila (circa 1954 to 1971.) I first encountered this book in graduate school in the United States in the early 1980's. It is a legitimate anthropological reading of the topic. I recommend it if you are interested in the topic but it may be a bit dated.

[waks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good and informational. Have read through most of it but will be using it as reference book.