Socio-economic and demographic characteristics of folk-healers in Bingawan, Iloilo

Abstract

This is a study on the socio-economic characteristics of folk healers in Bingawan, Iloilo. The study attempts to know the different kinds of folk healers in Bingawan, the illnesses that are referred to them, how they treat these illnesses, and how they participate in the community. The findings of the study reveal that there are 53 folk healers in the town. Most of them are female and married. Most of them have low educational attainment and are poor. They rely mostly on farming as their source of income. As folk healers, they do not earn much from their practice. The different types of folk healers are hilot, manughilot, manug-luy-a, manugbutbut, herbolaryo, and manug-apuk. Sprains and broken bones are the usual illnesses that are brought to them. Community participation is very low among the folk healers. Only a few are members of any community organization. Giving more training and encouraging them to join in community affairs can be beneficial, not only for the development of their skills but for the community as a whole. Their services in healing illnesses have stood the test of time and they are helping many people in the village by providing service at a lower cost. Integrating them in modem medicine would legitimize and raise the quality of their service. With this they can reach out to more people and become more effective in their profession.