Description:Mixed media."Pagtatawas" is a ritual in psycho-medicine considered just as a Filipino superstition in Western Psychology, where an affliction or psychological disorder is diagnosed by interpreting the form produced in a basin of water as heated alum or molten wax drop from a lighted candle. Alum (i.e., hydrated aluminum potassium sulfate or "tawas") is ritualistically used by the albularyo or medicine man for diagnosis of a variety of health conditions: a child's incessant crying, frequent fatigue, or even failure to conceive. The tawas is used to 'cross' (sign of the cross) the forehead and other suspicious or ailing parts of the body as prayers are being whispered (bulong or oracion). It is then placed on glowing embers, removed when it starts to crack, then transferred to a basin of water. As it cools, its new form spreads on the water surface and assumes a shape that may suggest the cause of the illness, often one of several indigenous forces: dwarfs, devils or other evil spirits (na-nuno, na-kulam, na-demonyo). The water in the vehicle is then used to anoint the ailing part or parts of the body to counteract the evil forces or illness. The tawas is then discarded and thrown westward into the setting sun.
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File uploaded:7.23.2008 02:04 Copyright:Artist retains full copyright of any and all works he or she has created. Please contact this artist before using any of the artist's work in any way.
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