Lola Conching is an extremely busy mananambal (local folk doctor). She has a steady flow of patients coming from all over Siquijor and beyond, all wanting to get healed by the famed bolo-bolo healer. The waiting patients sit on a long bench in a small receiving area in front of the kubo. To keep them entertained while waiting for their turn, Lola Conching set up a videoke machine in the room, so that bored patients can drop a five-peso coin and choose the songs they wanted to sing.
When I first met her, Lola Conching was taking a brief recess between healing sessions. While preparing her healing implements for her next patient, she was dancing to the tune of “Paparazzi” being sung in the videoke machine by one of her waiting patients. She was, indeed, not your everyday kind of “Lola.”
In 1967, Lola Conching claimed that the Senyor Santo Nino visited her and gave her a black magic stone. The Senyor Santo Nino instructed her to use the stone to heal people of their illnesses. Lola Conching let me hold the black stone for a while. I inspected it closely – it looked just like any batong buhay, although it was very round, very smooth, and very black. Possibly, it was a tektite that had become smooth through much handling. I wanted to feel its energy, and I closed my eyes. But before I could feel anything, Lola Conching took it back as she was about to use it for her next patient.***
Mang Francisco Cruz, 82 years old and a resident of Zamboanga del Norte, traveled hundreds of kilometers to consult Lola Conching about his illness. He was accompanied by his wife, Aling Zeny, 80 years old. Mang Francisco has been suffering from chronic itching all over his body. He has taken powerful drugs prescribed by medical doctors, but the itchiness that afflicted him persisted.
I observed how Lola Conching proceeded to treat Mang Francisco.
First she prayed to the images of the Virgin Mary, the Santo Nino, the Holy Family, and the statue of the crucified Christ enshrined in her altar.
Then she got her implements ready: the black magic stone, a drinking glass, and a small six-inch bamboo tube called bagacay. The drinking glass of Lola Conching was also special: a Colt 45 glass given to her by a dealer of the beer company.
Lola Conching put the black magic stone inside the Colt 45 drinking glass and then poured visibly clean water from a pink plastic pitcher into it until it was half-full. Next, she inserted the bamboo tube into the half-filled glass. Then, as if to show that there was no trickery involved in her healing, she sipped some water, gurgled it in her mouth, and spat it out of the window. She opened her mouth for us to see that it contained nothing.
Turning to her patient, Lola Conching blew air into the water so that it became bubbly, all the while hovering the Colt 45 glass all over Mang Francisco’s body. As if by magic or some other mysterious cause, the water became extremely dark and murky. Shaking her head, she threw away the dirty water through the open window. She cleaned the glass and again poured clear water into it and repeated the procedure several times. At last, after the fourth repetition, the water remained clear. Lola Conching smiled, visibly pleased with the result. It meant that all the bad elements from Mang Francisco's body had already been removed. She then rubbed an oil potion on the forehead and stomach of Mang Francisco. The healing session lasted about five minutes, after which Mang Francisco declared he no longer felt itchy. It was a success. He has been healed by Lola Conching.
Aling Zeny, Mang Francisco’s wife, pulled money from her purse, folded it a few times and placed the bill into Lola Conching’s palm, thanking her profusely. Lola Conching smiled as she called the next patient. From what I witnessed, Lola Conching does not charge a specific amount for her healing services. Any amount of donation will do.
I cannot tell exactly if the healing was merely a placebo effect, brought about by the power of auto-suggestion, or one that can truly be attributed to Lola Conching’s healing power. But I met many former patients of the bolo-bolo healer who testified in their honor they had been cured of their ailments.
My friend and fellow blogger Sidney Snoeck traveled to Siquijor two years ago and documented the work of Lola Conching. Snoeck referred his back pain to Lola Conching for bolo bolo healing and described it in his blog:
“Having some back pain from riding my motorbike, I asked Manang Akay if she could cure me. She told me she would try and she put first some 'magic oil' on my painful lower back while mumbling things I didn't understand. Then she started the bolo-bolo procedure. To my horror the first glass of water turned into extremely dirty water. Luckily, after the third time, the water remained clear. To be honest I felt much better and my back pain disappeared for several days. Maybe it was just a placebo effect. I really don’t know but honestly I felt better.”
Meanwhile, I had to say goodbye, too, to Lola Conching. I thanked her for her kindness. I felt that I needed to give a donation for taking up some of her time, so I pulled some money from my wallet and gave it to her. She waved it away but I insisted, out of gratitude for allowing me to document her work, because I might have witnessed one of Siquijor’s last remaining bolo-bolo healers.
The house of Lola Conching. You can see here some of her patients, waiting to get healed by the famed Bolobolo healer
Lola Conching set up a videoke machine so that waiting patients can sing songs while waiting for their turn. Oh that's my habal-habal driver Johnson singing "Faithfully", one of Journey's signature songs. He also consulted Lola Conching for his headaches (see first photo). By the way, Johnson scored 99 in the videoke, which made him extremely happy.
Lola Conching Achay with her Bolobolo implements: a six-inch bamboo reed; the black magic stone (inside the Colt 45 glass) given to her by the Santo Nino in 1967; and the Colt 45 drinking glass (given to her by the beer company dealer).
Lola Conching's Black Magic Stone. It was given to her by the Santo Nino, circa 1967.
Mang Francisco Cruz, 82, of Zamboanga, traveled hundreds of kilometers to Siquijor to be treated of the chronic itchiness of his body.
Before each healing session, Lola Conching asks the blessings of the saints in her altar.
Lola Conching's altar. The presence of other non-religious objects in her altar relates to the fact that Lola Conching is maintaining a Sari-sari store in her room.
Pouring visibly clear water on the Colt 45 drinking glass.
Applying the healing potion and blowing air into the patient.
Hovering the Colt 45 glass while blowing bubbles into it. Bolobolo in Visayan means "bubbles".
The water became extremely murky and dirty, indicating the presence of the bad elements in the patient's body.
The process was repeated a few times, until on the fourth time, the water remained clear, an indication that the impurities causing the disease were gone.
Applying the last ritual.
Mang Francisco: "The itchiness is gone!"
A gallery of the healed patients of Lola Conching, found on the wall of her house._____________________________________
*Bolo-bolo, in the old Visayan language, means “bubbles.” In the course of my sojourn to this island province, I visited two other bolo-bolo healers to compare their techniques. Unfortunately I could no longer interview and observe these other two. One has moved to Cebu, and the other named Juan Caguyom has been incapacitated by a stroke.
**Mananambal is the Visayan word for manggagamot or healer.
*** Apparently, all the bolo-bolo healers use a black stone in performing the bolo-bolo ritual of healing, although I have no idea if the other healers in Siquijor claim to have received the stone from the Santo Nino, too.
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