Anting Anting, Orascion

[Balisong]

Does anybody here believe in, or use Anting Anting or Orascion as part of their Kali?

I know may people do and do not believe in such things.

I always knew that Antonio Ilustrisimo was a very good eskrimador who firmly believed in Anting Anting and Orascions. I saw some videos of him, and I could see that he must have practiced very hard.

But then I saw another video of him practicing eskrima with Edgar Sulite and this time his Kali looked much different. He looked like a man possessed. His technique and ability did not look natural. It looked like witchcraft or something. After seeing this video of him, I now have no doubt that there is a degree of magic in the arts.

Any thoughts?

[Chad W. Getz]

Balisong, hey what video was that with Tatang and Edgar?

[Guro Dave Gould]

Oracion...

Balisong,
Hello there, great question. I personally don`t believe in oracion or anting-anting per se as it is described. Having said that I do believe that many believe in it and are more than willing to place their lives at stake as to prove that it exists within them. I feel that it is more of a state of mind than anything mystical or magical.
I`ve seen many different forms of anting-anting, if you will in various cultures around the world. Although it is always called something different from one language to the next but by definition it remains the same thing. I`ve seen it demonstrated in many places in the philippines, Indonesia, India, New Zealand (Maori tribes), upper Amazon basin (peru), and a few other areas.
I feel that a person can get so involved that through heavy meditation and concentration they can achieve such a mental state whereby they can overcome overwhelming pain and stress through total mind control. I believe this to be true, however I don`t think that a person has the ability to "bounce bullets off of their chest" or prohibit a bolo from cutting through their limbs or body with only mind control.
I`ve seen many demonstrations but have never been allowed to take part in them. I am totally convinced that if you stand in front of me and allow me to cut into your arm with full power I will cut your arm off. If you allow me to cut into your midsection with a bolo I will cut you in half. This is my belief, so maybe by definition you could argue that my belief and conviction to cut you in half would be considered as being anting-anting in itself.
Now to address the strength of anting-anting. Whether I believe it to exist or not if you believe it to be true than you have the potential be a fearless warrior and nothing short of death itself will stop you from killing your opponent on the battlefield. This and only this kept the spanish conquistadores and many other foreign invaders from occupying Mindanao.
When you have 100,000 warriors standing in front of you and not one of them fear dieing then you have a huge problem to contend with. If any one warrior dies on the battlefield the other warriors will only accept that he died because he doubted himself and therefore renigged on the ability of his anting-anting to protect him. In their minds they believe that anting-anting will protect them so death will not touch them.
I think that the "concept" of anting-anting is a great force to rekon with as belief in oneself is a powerful tool in itself. Mindset is 80 percent of the battle, so to this end I believe that the concept of anting-anting can be quite powerful, although I feel that no man is bullet proof... This is only my opinion and each person is free to his own... Be well guys.
~ Guro Dave Gould.

[Chad W. Getz]

Great post David.

Anting-Anting is something that may have died with the old days. Basically I agree with everything you stated about the mindset. Often times I believe men can believe so much that they have anting-anting that they actually have the belief in themself without giving credit to their mind.

I do believe in black magic, though. Meaning dealing with darker side. I believe that things come only from two sources. God or Lucifer. I don't believe that God hands out "power", but I do believe that our minds and our own will power are gifts from Him. This is something that we can sharpen and control though practice/meditation/whatever. Now if power can come from the other side, it will probably come with a catch or a deal with the other side as well. Anting-anting, the term, is used alot today and described by todays definitions, but back in the days, definitions were different. If someone were possessed, one may consider that person to have anting anting. Remember the Philippines is a place where religions have melted together uniquely. Here is a story written by my Grandfather-in-law. His father was a chief in the Southern Philippines before they moved to Kauai. It explains how the Catholic religion and beliefs affected their methods of getting anting-anting.

BEGIN:
And so it continues. What lies ahead is just as bad as the first encounter....the World of "Abat"....is still with us to this day. No one can escape it. No matter how far your Homelands lies. As you grow older and had past experience, it gets even worse. To all newcomers or Kwai-lo, meaning foreigners, "Abat" in our terms means Evil Spirits from beyond our dimensions, that is quite unrested. Most of our ancestors used this type of spirits to their advantage, and sometimes get caught into it, and used it into the World of Escrima. Holding a Third Eye gives you the advantage over your "Kalaban", meaning the enemy. This usually happens on the Lenten Season....Where all the Secret powers are given to them in mind, body and soul....This is the Wicked side of Escrima.

In the Bible....Jesus, the Son of God dies on the Cross for our Sins and the Sins of the World. But he doesn't go to Heaven right away, he goes to Hell, and on the third day he is risen....which is Heaven....the day between Good Friday and Easter, Jesus (the Son of God) is nowhere on Earth....so these are the days that are concentrated on....meaning their secret powers and secret rituals. And at that time no woman or women are allowed at those special days. There are many things that they unfold.... like making special Coconut Oil and other things. When I say other things, there's so much that they can do, it's unimaginable. Here is one....this one Escrimador practitioner looks at a pebble the size of a quarter and it bears a face of some sort, he picks it up, and takes it home. He makes a special ritual, and when it's done he cuts the inside of his knee, above of course, and places this pebble in it, and sews it up, believing that this will protect him from the enemy and also from witchcraft. Others believe that the first blossom of a young banana juice is captured with his tongue, before it hits the ground, will give him certain powers and even the Third Eye. Using that to his advantage over his enemy. And still others go beyond that. These are the days that Christ is not present on this earth, building their power of "Anting Anting", secret powers and protection of that three important days. The good Catholics of course wears a medallion of The Blessed Virgin, or other Saints and of Jesus Christ, these of course are called the Amulet of the Church. Others will tatoo the inside of their leg with the Orascion, a special prayer, believing that he is well protected. The oil that they make on Good Fridays are boiled over a fire and stirred with bare hands. Oil of this nature is usually put in a bottle with special Latin words in it and mutya. Kalaki, meaning a special gift from nature is what they believe in. All in that three days they build their strength thru magic and witchcraft. Hoping that their gift from Mother Nature is stronger than the others. And this is happening here in Hawaii, not only the Philippines. Whatever they brought here, they brought their Spirits, their Witchcraft and Escrima. And just imagine, when Jesus, just before he dies, he forgives them saying "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." I say he foresees everything, before it happens. Like Peter's betrayal, and the cock crows three times denying Jesus that many times.

I say unto you, "Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus....meaning, "May the blessing of the Lord be upon us all, in the the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost....more to come, as it is revealed for the first time the secrets of far beyond Escrima. And the real Abat on our shores of Hawaii, I was There as it Happens....

END.

This is Part 2 under Datu's Corner at the web site, there are currently 4 pieces up that he wrote for us.

[sikal]

Personally, I feel that these concepts are valid ... but not magic. The practice/use of them gives you something to focus on. It increases your ability to concentrate. It can be used as a gateway to "no-mind" (a philosophy common to many martial arts). I don't know about magic ... but the results capable of a mind brought to a pinpoint focus are not all that mysterious (though this does little to make them any less amazing).

I've not personally had any experience with anting-anting or orascion ... but these are my humble opinions about it based on what little I've read and heard about them.

Whether it's "magic" or not depends on your definition of "magic." Results are what count, regardless of what label you put on it :-)

Mike

[Balisong]

Chad W Getz,

It is a home video. Basically, Tony Diego is getting Edgar Sulite up to date in the art, and every so often, Tatang joins in on the fun and uses his magic.

[Chad W. Getz]

Wow, sounds like a cool vid.

[ILONGGO]

I won't discount it...

[Kyoshu]

Not sure if we are talking about the same thing

In Cebu, anting anting is a seed from the heart of the banana tree that falls every full moon and then you catch this in your mouth, you will be the holder of great power and demons will try to kill you for this, for is they have it they will be unstoppable. Same with ngipon sa kilat, were if you immediately go to a tree were lighting has struck you will find the teeth of that lighting bolt and it you make a cut in your arm and insert the teeth, your arm will instantly heal and you will have great powers. There was another form of what we describe in the Visayas as Agimat, but these described super human, some nearly demonic, powers that are a lot different to the ones the has been explained on these posts.

Most of these stories come from the province, IE: Danao, etc, were many cases of black magic, monsters, evil spirits and demonic possession has been reported. There was once on the news footage of a whole high school class being possessed by demons and levitating. I have never tried any of the above mentioned was of obtaining Agimat, for I was too scared as a child and have not really thought about it in recent years.

Kyoshu

[ILONGGO]

I've heard about the heart of the banana tree, which, to be more specific, it has to be the one that has the heart pointing towards the sky. Watch out for the Kapre, tho...
Incidentally, agimat is the visayan term for anting-anting, which is tagalog...

[Kyoshu]

Ilonggo

We use the term anting anting in the Cebu as well, but instead of using it as a word to descibe these thing, we use it soley to name the seed that comes out of the banana tree.

Maybe it might be the difference between Cebuana and Tagalog, ie: langam means bird in Cebu, but to Tagalog folks it means ant.

Kyoshu

[ILONGGO]

Kyoshu, my bad! Should have been more specific... I meant to say in ilonggo, rather than visayan (cebuano)...

[Kyoshu]

That's cool.

Kyoshu