Pototan Iloilo is noted for its herbalists and healers. My grandma Claudia must be one of them. My mom and my sister can heal with their hands massaging our bodies like detox in the first degree.

Before entering a feast, visitors are welcomed by a basin of water with guava leaves to wash/disinfect their hands before eating with bare hands.  Yerba Buena leaves, rich in Vitamin C, is used together with ginger by my grandma for fever and flu and any condition. She would burn the yolk of the eggs as paste for my athlete’s foot and washed them daily from leaves of boiled guava. You can see my grandma chewing garlic when her blood pressure is high.

She can use her encantation and whisper on our head to bring us safe from any trips. She uses many healing herbs from leaves of banana and cooked yams. When there is no breastmilk, she used goat’s milk that is why my Aunt Monang has long life from a family with heart health issues.

Connie