𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘: “𝘉𝘢'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘭, 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘱?’: 𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢, the Filipino love potion” by Jasmine Fiona Sanchez

 

Published by: Aliyah Margareth Imbat

Date Published: February 14, 2023

Time Published: 7:46 AM

‘𝘕𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘬𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨, 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢'𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘭 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘱. 𝘗𝘢𝘨-𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘰 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘢 𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘱, 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘱, 𝘬𝘢𝘴𝘪 𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘬𝘰' were the lyrics uttered by Abra, a Filipino rapper, in his song entitled "𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢" that was released in 2012. However, as the song progresses, the audience discovers a haunting fact; the narrator, Abra himself, was under a trance all along, and the love he felt was not exactly real.

This, amongst many others, was an example of how the infamous 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 worked.

𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢, in simpler terms, is a type of black magic used to make a person fall in love. It may exist in the form of a ritual, a potion, or even an aphrodisiac. This practice is typically performed by witches or 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 in the Philippines. 𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 may also be performed by the person seeking it themselves in some cases.

𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻

Other than the Philippines, the Greeks and the Spanish were the ones to popularize the act of producing love potions in the early ages up to the 16th century. Their potions consisted of flowers, fauna, and some magical texts. Shortly after, these potions became even more known to the world.

In the case of the Philippines, however, due to the lack of hospitals and equipment needed to treat those who were sick, Filipinos seeked faith healers, also known as 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘰, instead. 𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘴 had an 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵 or 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 with Latin texts written all over, and they concluded that these were the objects that possessed the power to heal the sick.

As faith healing rises in popularity, so did the concept of black magic. Not to get confused with 𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘴—black magic, as mentioned earlier, was done by 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴, the Filipino counterpart for witches. Black magic or 𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 was known for causing harm onto others through the use of magical spells and incantations. Even so, 𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 wasn't only limited to the act of hurting—𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 also fell under this spectrum. Back in the day, 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 was used not only to make a person fall in love, but to catch cheating husbands as well.

𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗮𝘆𝘂𝗺𝗮

𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 comes in many shapes and forms. It may range from writing the person's name three times on a piece of paper and putting it under your pillow or mixing drops of your blood with their drink. Nevertheless, there are two main types of gayuma in Filipino culture.

First is the '𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 Love Spell', typically done by 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴. The 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 would ask for any tangible thing from the victim, such as a strand of hair, clothing, or a photo. It is rumored, however, that the closer the thing is to the person, the better, so the most effective ones are a strand of hair and the person's blood. The 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮 then weaves her magic into this thing and activates the spell.

Second is the '𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 Love Potion', which is bought from 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴. These commonly consist of herbs, plants, or parts of animals and insects that are rare. An incantation is muttered during the preparation of this potion to secure its magical qualities. In turn, the potion should be consumed by the person for its effectiveness.

𝗜𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀

Adorning the streets of Quiapo were endless assorted goods and services of 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘬𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴 and 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘩𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘴. These goods and services have a price range of 500 Php to 1,000 Php, depending on the type of aid the customer wishes to receive.

𝘎𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢, now, isn't only a type of black magic used for love—it is also a source of livelihood for many people.

In an article by Mario Alvaro Limos in Esquire, he interviews Ate Tessie, one of the people in Quiapo who sell goods and services related to witchcraft. Ate Tessie sells her 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 for 750 Php to 1,000 Php. On regular days, she earns about 500 Php, but her income skyrockets as February approaches, where she earns 1,000 Php a day.

A news report by GMA News also affirms that as Valentine's Day comes, the number of people who go to Quiapo and buy 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 increases.

Believer or not, this is proof that even if Science and technology have continued to evolve over time 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 is still a big part of Filipino culture today.

However, do remember that love isn't something that can be produced by force. As Ate Tessie says: "𝘈𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨-𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘨, 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢 '𝘺𝘢𝘯. 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘶𝘮𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘥'𝘺𝘢𝘯."

SOURCES:

https://www.esquiremag.ph/.../searching-for-gayuma-in...

https://www.google.com/.../thep.../docs/sugilanon/s/11645447

http://www.gagayuma.com/info/130/What%20is%20Gayuma

https://fb.watch/iEOguEZSpb/

PHOTO SOURCE: Kami PH