Palawan Indigenous Peoples' Health and Culture

Palawan Indigenous Peoples' Health and Culture

• Health Challenges: Providing healthcare in remote areas, particularly to Palawan tribes living in caves, presents significant challenges. Transportation issues (water buffalo) and limited access to hygiene (water, sanitation, handwashing) are major concerns. Malnutrition due to limited access to protein and vitamin-rich foods is also widespread.
• Common Illnesses: Cholera, dengue fever, fungal skin infections (buni), and malaria are prevalent. Limited awareness of hygiene contributes to these issues. Indigenous people may attribute illnesses like mosquito bites to "evil spirits."
• Traditional Practices: Palawan communities practice swidden cultivation, growing crops like cassava, sweet potato, sugarcane, and other vegetables and fruits. They also hunt and gather for sustenance. Important trading practices include 'sambi' (barter) and 'dagang' (monetary exchange). This includes exchanging marine fish for forest products.
• Food Acquisition: Obtaining meat, particularly pigs, involves rituals and requests to spirit masters. Traditional ceremonies (every 7 years) aim to cleanse the environment and maintain cosmic balance. The communities harvest and sell resin, rattan, and wild honey.
• Maternal and Child Health Concerns: Palawan women experience pregnancy symptoms like loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, weakness, and sleepiness. Traditional beliefs related to 'bad spirits' and specific restrictions during pregnancy (nighttime outings, rain, rainbow) exist. Sexual activity during pregnancy is strictly forbidden. The Molbog tribe specifically fears particular types of spirits and their possible harm to pregnant women and newborns.

Palawan Indigenous Beliefs

• Ingasiq: The principle of "compassion" governs Palawan life, emphasizing generosity and sympathy towards others.
• Adet et kagurangurangan: "Customs of the ancestors" encompass ceremonies, prayers, chanting, and healing dances integral to their culture.
• The Universe (Cosmological beliefs): Palawan worldview envisions a vertical universe divided into fourteen layers. Shamans (beljans) can travel to these layers to heal and restore cosmic balance.
• Traditional Medicine:
  • Medicinal plants like garlic (allium sativum), tsaang gubat (approved by the DOH in the Philippines for medicinal use), and guava are central to folk healing practices.

Hygiene and Sanitation

• Coastal Communities: Disposal of human waste directly into surface water (drinking source) is a widespread practice in coastal settlements, affecting sanitation and hygiene.
• Pollution: Increased density within the communities and stagnant surface water leads to heightened pollution, exacerbated by domestic solid and wastewater disposal (both biodegradable and non-biodegradable).

Explore the health challenges faced by the indigenous peoples of Palawan, including access to healthcare and common illnesses they encounter. Learn about their traditional practices in agriculture, trade, and how cultural beliefs influence their understanding of health. This quiz delves into the critical issues of malnutrition and hygiene in remote communities.