White Vs Black Dwarves

I'm new here but I've been visiting the website ever since I found a saved file on our work computer during those time we have less call (I'm a call centre agent). I was very fascinated and entertained on the stories I've read since some as well happened in my country, Philippines. And I would love to share my stories as well.

This one is my own story although I don't have a memory of it since I was still a baby when this happened. During black outs in our place which happens really often my family would love to gather on one corner and listen to my parents as they share some tales. We love to listen since it's actually their actual experience. But one of those tales actually involves me. My father was separated from his first wife with 2 daughters before he married my mother and had 5 children, me being the first born. It was during my early months which was way back 1986 or early 1987. Location: our house Time: every 6pm

We've been living in the same place ever since my parents got married in a small city in Samar. We are near a river and with man-grooves in front our house and as well as the right side which is just a few steps to the river. At the time that I was born we only had a few neighbours, so it was silent during night times with a few who can avail electricity which means it's also dark. They said that a place like ours is a likeable place to stay for the elemental beings or engkantos! And a lot of our folks believe on such beings and the fact that both of my parents were born in small towns almost near the mountainous areas makes this belief stronger.

Anyway, let me go with my story. I was pretty cute when I was still a baby, big brown eyes with a very curly hair and a cute smile as well. This is maybe why THEY got attracted to me. My mother would always feed me on time and would put me on a "duyan" or a cradle and rock me to sleep. That's a habit almost every day to put me to sleep.

There was one time while mama went to the kitchen to get my bottle of milk when she heard me laughing and giggling. But when she came back to me I was with no one and found nothing that might have amused me and the weird thing is the cradle was still rocking as if someone had just move it. But she was alone at that time; my father was late fixing someone's car that got stranded somewhere and my step sisters where all outside playing with my cousins. She shrugged it off but it happened again but it was with my Aunt who witnessed it. There were also times that I would cry on the same time 6pm for no reason, they would give me the bottle but I would ignore it, I'm not hungry or anything at all. They took me to the doctor and found nothing wrong with me. But it always happened every 6pm. They would witness two contradicting scenarios, first is I would be giggling as if someone was playing with me but everyone would be talking and not paying any attention to me and other times I would cry and look scared or as If I'm in pain.

So, they finally decided to bring me to a witch doctor since they couldn't find anything wrong with me medically. We call it in our own dialect "albularyo", and the process he does to find out what's happening is pagtatawas or just TAWAS. Allum is the English word for Tawas.

In these process, they use is ritualistic. The TAWAS is used to 'cross' (sign of the cross) the forehead and other suspicious or ailing parts of the body as prayers are being whispered. It is then placed on glowing embers, removed when it starts to crack, then transferred to a small receptacle of water. As it cools, its softened form spreads on the water surface and assumes a shape that may suggest the cause of the illness, often one of several indigenous forces: dwarfs, devils or other evil spirits (na-nuno, na-kulam, na-demonyo). The water in the vehicle is then used to anoint the ailing part or parts of the body to counteract the evil forces or illness. The Tawas is then discarded and thrown westward, preferably into the setting sun.

On this case what formed are 6 figures which the witch doctor or albularyo confirmed as "unglo" in our dialect or dwarves. He said there were 6 of them, 3 whites (the good ones) which may be the cause why I was giggling and the other 3 the blacks (the bad ones) which were the one who was scaring me, as their way of playing with me I presume! The albularyo advised my parents to give offerings to request the dwarves not to disturb or harm me anymore and a way to ask an apology in case they were disturbed as well.

My father did this. He offered one inahing manok or a mother hen but as a ritual my father will have to slit the chicken's throat, I forgot why. I might have to ask my father again since I'm no longer with them at the moment. But I think it was really the blood that was offered and not the chicken itself. Anyway, after that the 6 dwarves never bothered me again or any family members. Maybe they just love to trouble small and cute babies. But they actually turned up again, it was my cousin who saw them but that was years after still in our house. I'll share that one soon.