Abstract
The bulul—Ifugao human-like woodcarvings—are made in a series of rituals that concludes with ensouling. Kept in the granary, they are thought to guard and magically increase rice according to current scholarship. In this article I use primary data to show that they are also crafted to serve as healing vessels under a cross-cultural class of figures in substitution rituals. I also argue that Euro-Christian traditions have led to their misidentification as deity, something that has been internalized by locals. The Ifugao view the bulul in a continuum—empty wooden objects on one end and family members on the other.
Recommended Citation
Camhol, Armand Nicod-am
(2025)
"Beyond the Mythical God Label: Healing and Multifunctionality in the Bulul,"
Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints: Vol. 73:
No.
2, Article 12.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13185/2244-1638.5104
Available at:
https://archium.ateneo.edu/phstudies/vol73/iss2/12
