WHITE SAND, PAGAN MAGIC

THE PHILIPPINE ISLAND OF SIQUIJOR HOSTS AN ANNUAL 'HEALING FESTIVAL'

- STORY: AIE BALAGTAS SEE / NYT

Ivy Haddon-Silver handed her phone to an onlooker before lowering herself onto a pan of smoking charcoal. “Can you take a video of me?” she asked, adjusting her sundress near the embers.

The ritual was meant to fumigate bad spirits, one of many practiced on Siquijor, a Philippine island that is known as much for its white sandy beaches as it is for its long association with mysticism. It is considered a place of healers and witches, elixirs and potions, and traditions both Christian and pagan.

For centuries, people here have treated fevers, colds and aches with herbal remedies, potions and other enchantments. This knowledge is said to be passed down through bloodlines and sometimes even through dreams. Most practitioners accept only donations as payment, saying that greed severs their connection to the gift of healing. Long done quietly, their work has now become a draw for tourists.

For nearly two decades, local authorities have organised an annual healing festival that coincides with the last week of Lent. In mid-April, residents handpicked by the government gathered near the island's highest peak to mix oils and herbs in cauldrons, recite prayers and concoct love potions. Visitors hopped from one tent to another, lining up under the punishing heat for palm readings, traditional massages and cleansing rituals.

“I feel so lucky and blessed, almost a bit emotional, to be experiencing this,” Haddon-Silver, a Briton, said after the charcoal ceremony. “So many people would love to be here.”

She also sought out a bolo-bolo healer, a practitioner who blows through a bamboo straw into a glass of water set on sacred stones. If the appearance of the water changes or particles appear in it, then the subject is thought to be cursed.