Juan Ponce. Siquijor Mananambal.

I sat in the sala of Mang Juan Ponce, the oldest mananambal (healer) in Siquijor, with his years approaching a century. His wooden house stood at the edge of a forest shrouded in mist, deep inside the mountains, in the municipality of San Antonio.

Mang Juan, the gatekeeper of mythical secrets handed down from generations past, appeared frail but exuded immense wisdom and subdued power. He sat Churchill-like in the corner of the sala, his hands resting on the shaft of a cane, his sunken eyes studying me intently. Mananambals are the good guys. They heal the afflicted and ease their pain. April 2010

(Mang Ponce passed away not long after that visit).