Hilot is an ancient Filipino art of healing, commonly used today to relax stressed muscles. Manghihilot as well as Ambularyos are usually cheaper alternatives to medical doctors in the Philippines, especially in very deep rural areas. Hilot employs chiropractic manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoligamentous and musculoskeletal ailments. They also have been known to reset dislocated and sprained joints such as the knee, ankle, fingers and metacarpal bones. Hilot tend to be chiropractors while albularyo are tend to be herbalist. Midwives are also called hilots. The word albularyo derives from herbolario, a Spanish word meaning herbalist.
Alternative Tagalog names include hilot, which literally means massage in Tagalog and mangagamot. Mangagawa is a term found in both Tagalog and Bisaya languages-is also used, particularly regions in the Visayas. Arbularyo, another variation of the word Albularyo, is a misspelling often brought about by mispronunciation and is technically incorrect.
Hilot is also used in Kulam, is a Tagalog word meaning "magic spell or curse". Often, the same word is used as a term for witchcraft. Kulam is actually a Tagalog noun which literally means bewitchment or hex. Although the word is often used to mean "witchcraft".
Folk medicine refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.
Hilot, the Filipino healing arts, are the oldest and the most secret arts in the Philippines. Due to secrecy of the arts, vary rarely do Hilot Masters teach this art to the general public. Most Hilot in the Philippines is either learned from the relatives, through hands on practice, or inherited from their forefathers, passing the arts from one generation to the next.
Most Filipinos are exposed to the curative value of Hilot. The art survives through family, relatives, and friends. Hilot apprenticeship is taken seriously by the “manghihilot” to absorb as much of the knowledge as possible from his/her “Hilot Priest/Priestess”.
Hilot records date back to the first civilization of the Philippines (approximately 5th century). Due to the fact that there is no written history of this healing art, numerous new generation Hilot masters failed to document the origins, dates, facts, where the healing art was originated and who developed these effective and intriguing healing art. There is no doubt that Hilot was practiced in the Philippines to varying degress or levels, nationwide, but now it is found in many parts of the world, carried by the Filipino Hilot.
Hilot is a popular massage method that originated in the Philippines which is commonly used in its provinces. It uses traditional Filipino herbal medicines and ointments as a part of the healing practice.
This type of massage therapy was the only source of medical care for the Filipinos many centuries ago. Even today, in the rural areas of the Philippines, hilot is still used by many people especially the poor people who have no money in getting their sick loved ones to the hospital for treatment.
Hilot is a combination of many types of medical care from healing, setting the bones in place, and delivering babies from pregnant women on rural areas. Most massage therapists are known as "manghihilot" which almost all of them are fond of using herbs and ointments during the massage therapy. Like most Asian style of massage therapy, Hilot focuses its healing ability by clearing the energy pathways all over the patient's body which is believed to be responsible in providing a healthy condition to the human body. Most of the massage therapists that are good in this method can sense what is wrong with the patient's body by looking at him or her. Hilot, unlike most massage therapy needs communication from both parties as the massage therapist works on the patient's body. This type of massage therapy is a light therapeutic massage that can relax and comfort the patient's body.
During a massage therapy session, the massage therapist asks the patient to lie down on a massage table or bed and remove the upper clothing as he or she starts working at the back part of the patient. Heated banana leaves and other herbal leaves are used and placed on the different areas of the patient's body to help him relax which is similar to the use of hot stones. Herbal ointments are then applied on the back part of the body as a lubricant for better maneuvering of the hands for the different massage strokes. Pressure then is applied as the massage therapist works in relieving back pain and removing stress out of the patient's body. In case the patient experiences painful strokes or too much pressure applied by the massage therapist, he or she should let the massage therapist know how he or she is feeling so that the therapist can adjust and reduce the pressure and effort being used on the patient.
