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Situating the Narrative of Supernatural in The TABI-TABI PO: SITUATING Introduction THE NARRATIVE OF The steady flow of population, which is SUPERNATURAL IN THE usually brought about by the diaspora- CONTEXT OF THE oriented behaviour of some people due to PHILIPPINES COMMUNITY socio-economic reasons, paints a complex DEVELOPMENT picture of any locality. As a result, it is inevitable to rethink the concept of “community” because of the ever- 1 Paolo Miguel Vicerra changing composition of the geographic Jem R. Javier2 space. From the sociolinguistic notion of community (Labov 1966 and Corder 1973), which indicates a spatial Abstract interconnectedness among members through a shared speech tradition, the Folklore, such as the narratives of the definition of community has been supernatural, functions as a vehicle for reshaped to mean a social group that is elements of culture such as belief systems, held together by a “shared dimension of ideologies and shared memories. This experience” (Saville-Troike 2003: 15) and study explores the changes undergone by “frequency of social interaction patterns” Philippine narratives of the supernatural (Gumperz 1968: 463). This reappropriation vis-à-vis the urban development of the responds to the recent phenomenon community where they thrive. It is whereby advancements in technology have demonstrated that the characters of the not only hastened communication but have narratives of the supernatural are also bridged the geographical gaps among perceived to be of equal or even higher different peoples and, consequently, stature than those of members of the rural various cultures. communities. With the locality experience changes brought about by urbanisation, Seeing culture as an adaptive mechanism this folklore is inevitably modified to suit of human beings that becomes their way of the people’s environment and sensibilities, life, it is interesting, then, to explore how by reappropriating new functions and roles the elements of culture respond to rapid in the community. A different impression is and constant changes in the social and observed in the context of the urban geographic space. Shared memories, for community; but, the collective sense of instance, are assimilated because of the respect evoked by the urban dwellers has incorporation of new knowledge and endured. This is the form which the latent experience. These memories, which are belief system among Filipinos has taken, encapsulated in various material and one that forges their common identity. immaterial cultural artefacts, such as rituals and folklores, are in effect, a rich 1 ASEAN Scholar, College of Population source of data as regards the people’s Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand beliefs, customs, traditions and value 2 Assistant Professor, Department of systems. With this in mind, this paper Linguistics, University of the Philippines attempts to investigate the interrelationship Fellow, Southeast Asian Studies Regional between community development, packaged Exchange Programme (SEASREP), Universiti within the term urbanisation, in the Malaya Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 09:28:12AM via free access MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities Regular 16.2, 2013 Philippine milieu and how some ethnolinguistic picture. It is within this dimensions of shared memory among its area that the development of horror members have been reshaped by changes narratives has become consequential but in their lifestyle. Emphasis will be given to with the curious lingering of a latent current narratives which are considered conceptual belief of man, nature and ‘folkloric’. spirits being co-existent. Folklore consists of narratives which are Folklore as an expression of common to a community and are retold shared belief between members. Often, through word of mouth, these narratives are passed on from Animism, or anitism, is a persistent belief one storyteller to a listener, who later on among the different ethnolinguistic groups becomes the new storyteller. One theme of in the Philippines (Delbeke 1928; Covar folklore are narratives of the supernatural, 1998; and Tatel 2005). It is a belief system tales in which the plot typically includes that perceives the elements of nature to human beings interacting with those from contain a spirit that coexists with a the other-world. physical body, similar to the nature of the human being. This facet of Filipino The corpus that is to be analysed for the cosmology is expressed through its urban folklore is from the True Philippine concept of kaluluwa, or the life spirit. The Ghost Stories (TPGS) series published death of a person, based on pre-colonial between 2002 and 2006. It is a collection cosmology, entails his spirit departing of narratives of the supernatural from its corporeal counterpart and most experienced or retold by contributors from likely traveling along a river into the all over the country. It should be noted that afterlife (Alcina 1668; Magos 1986). It is most, if not all the stories published in the also noteworthy that the term kaluluwa is a series, have been extracted from the larger cognate of the term dalawa ‘two,’ which corpus of stories of the said type on the implies co-existence with the corporeal World Wide Web. The question of a body. Apart from the spirits of nature and story’s authenticity as "folklore" and not of men, there are also supernatural having been simply "written" by a writer creatures which ‘co-dwell’ with the may be debatable but it is arguably an former. Together they belong to an endless effective means of relaying horror maintenance of balance through a process narratives. This is expounded below whereby of give and take. For this reason, believers the series relevance to the landscape of folklore perceive eventualities as blessings or studies in the Philippines is significant. punishments, depending on how they have Although it has to be questioned that this behaved in the eyes of the supernatural. A particular series has as great an impact as balance is normally kept through the the whole genre the TPGS series had been process known as ritual, which, in this selected due to the length of its publication context, is defined as “...a transactional period while others were discontinued or event that binds the individuals of a given had irregular intervals of release. community and the inhabitants of the spirit As this is a contextual study, the milieu of world together in a web of memory, with urbanisation in the Philippines is presented notions of responsibility and the primary as is a subsequent discussion of the effect value of survival and well-being or in a on the multicultural nature of Philippine continued existence via ideas or 2 Downloaded from Brill.com10/01/2021 09:28:12AM via free access Tabi-tabi Po: Situating the Narrative of the Supernatural conceptualizations of “balance”” (Hussin is, furthermore, equated to banal na takot; 2013: 1). The established relationship a kind of fear that is fuelled by the between humans and the spirits of the inability to act in accordance with the elements of their community is manifested spiritual exchange of benevolence and as follows: harm. “The relationship between humans The social control of the narratives that and spirits is governed by explicit contain the abovementioned world-view is rules, primarily regarding land use. consequently bound by tradition. Viewing Humans must first ask their the world as something that also has life permission before cutting down, has had an impact on Filipino medical their tree-abodes, burning their ideology. Tan (1987) classifies this into mountains, or destroying their three categories: (1) personalistic, which anthills. In order to plant or build involves sickness due to soul loss; (2) on their territory, or even to pass mystical, which involves sickness that is through it, one has to recite a caused by sorcery and spirits; and (3) formula or perform a ritual. naturalistic, which involves sickness due According to native theory, failure to stress and infection. Medical ideology to observe these rules will result in not only involves how people view the physiological illness, insanity, or causes of sickness it is a way of seeing death.” (Ramos 1971b: 64) how a community views the world itself and this point to the acknowledgment of The Filipinos’ respect to their communities in the Philippines that the surroundings is manifested in their regard world is alive and can affect humans, of themselves as mere co-inhabitants of sometimes in ways that can cause harm. the locality, along with nature and supernatural beings (Hussin and What is observable in this reading of Santamaria 2008). They acknowledge history and culture is that there is a sort of territories even of those which they cannot a struggle between humans and the spirits see. This high regard of nature is and supernatural creatures. There is a sometimes seen by others as paganism power relation for everything that is in this (Tatel 2005), or the worship of inanimate world and even beyond it. Cannell (1999) things but the belief that spirits lurk inquired into this relationship. What was around one’s surroundings results in their observed with the Bicolanos was that in revering, and not venerating, nature. order for them to live in harmony with the spirits, whether the latter are of lower or What this reflects is the relationship higher origin, people had to pay respect to between man and nature: parts of nature, them. Rituals are a large part of the paying animals and plants, become the dwelling of respect, e.g., offering prayers, having places of spirits where they manifest their séance conversations with the dead to let a influence. Filipinos acknowledge the forces spirit and its family make peace with each that surround them and on whom they depend other so as to vanquish whatever it is that for their well-being and/or misfortune might hinder the spirit from going on to (Delbeke, 1928). Acknowledgment of these the afterlife. If these rituals are not forces drives Filipinos to pay utmost respect to accomplished, the spirits and creatures nature and the spirits that live within it.
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