COCKFIGHTS AND ENGKANTOS

The Spain manage to conquer the Philippines through Religion. Filipinos have their own old
traditions, ceremonies, rituals and other spiritual activities long before the Spaniards conquered the
country. Conquista espritual means spiritual conquest or to conquer in spirit. The art of dominating the
indio spirit. The native believe that importance of asking guidance from the unknown spirits that lives in
the environment to give them protections and provision. In 17 th and 18th century’s popular:
Ensalmadores (caster of spells) Saludadores (healers).

Engkanto are mythical environmental spirits that are said to have the ability to appear in human
form. They are often associated with the spirits of ancestor in the Philippines. They are also
characterized as spirit sorts like sirens, dark beings, elves and more. During Rizal time, Engkantos are
said to be used as a weapon by the Spaniards in conquering the Philippines. Through religion, Spaniards
had been able to convince those uneducated Filipinos to have faith, go to church, for it will make the
bad spirits go away, in which it favors Dominican Friar who dominates and govern the Churches in the
country. This makes the illiterate Filipino easily be under the hand of the Spaniards. Throughout the
years, those beliefs and mythical environmental spirits had been considered as a part of our religions
and traditions, Filipinos had been accustomed to it. Philippine myth still has an active role in the lives of
Filipinos, everyone knows about it and some firmly believe in their existence. Belief in their existence
has likely existed for centuries and continuous to this day.

Thus as times past by, it develops fear and uneasiness to the Filipinos to the point that it
became a hindrance and basis to reach some goals in life. A certain little thing like walking outside
through a big tree at night or stumbling in a mountain of soil would be in need to say “tabi po” in fear to
anger those environmental spirit living in it.

What is “Preternatural”?
3 domains:
1. Supernatural – God’s unmediated actions
2. Natural – what happens always or most of the times
3. Preternatural – what happens rarely but nonetheless by the agency of created
beings and spirits such as angels, demons, ghosts and other terrestrial beings.

These Preternatural entities are:

 Engkanto, engkantu or ingkanto – generic spirit – being

 Dwende – elf
 Multo – ghost
 Muerto – dead
 Maligno – evil spirit
 Kapre – a dark, hairy, otherworldly giant
 Santilmo – spirit or soul in the appearance of fire
 Sirena – sea nymph or mermaid
 Tag – lugar – environmental spirit

But years after the establishment of colonial rule and the atrophy of the preconquest datu’s
charisma in the face of Friar Power, there is a decline of ancient debt peonage. The ties that bound had
loosened such as:
• The “conquista espiritual” had broken the unitary canopy that subsumed economic relations of
production.
• Indio’s release from the debt peonage revitalized the dungan and freed surplus labor from the
elite’s control.
• Indio became subordinated to an external overlord and a peasant.
• The new rules of the social game affected the totality of interpersonal relations, and one
colonial edict was to the issue of debt.
• With the loss of the datu’s magical mystique and with the law on debts, old native elite lost
legitimate grounds for imposition of debt peonage.
 • For the first time, indio being subservient to Friar Power, experienced a liberation of sorts from
tradition.

Colonial society and its relative peace made room for the possibility that natives could stake a claim
on a parcel of land to become an independent cultivator. Natives did imbibe the concept of private
proprietorship and of land as inheritable property. Indios’ smallholdings were demarcated from lands
owned by the native elite. The native peasants also engaged in land disputes and the idea old peasant
autonomy had been born.

Natives learned that, as long as they complied with the routine performances of attending mass and
the compulsory rituals at life’s passages, Friar Power could somehow be held at bay. Peasants were left
to their own devices to negotiate with spirits, a process deemed imperative to enhance good fortune in
agricultural production. Native’s strategy of negotiating with the spirit-world was the anting-anting.
Anting-anting was also relied upon in cockpit. Native learned to use anting-anting in cockfighting for the
belief that it will bring fortune. State’s use of the game is to effect native incorporation into the
expanding money economy.

Gambling is sugal, from the Spanish jugar (to play or gamble), while tahur meaning gambling as well
as cheating. Reconfiguration of indigenous society and the indio’s own gambling response gave currency
to the concept of suwerte (suerte) for good luck and malas (de malas) for bad luck. Spanish tahur was
suggestive of routes to success where corruption was endemic. Flouting the law (of Spanish officials)
with impunity became a principal strategy of the native planter class that emerged in Negros.

Cockfight – bulang or sabong or juego de gallos describe as colonial cockpit and cultural
entrapment. Natives loves to have “siesta” in the afternoon after working in the farm. Others play
cockpit which became popular among the farmers. Spaniards became interested and enjoyed to this
activity and allowed this gambling as past time and later on became gambling. But in Rizal’s perspective,
this gambling becomes a way for Filipinos to at least become superior (Llamado) not to be inferior
(Dehado) to them through this game.

Suwerte was believed to emanate from a variety of sources like what had earlier been seen as
misfortune converted to good luck. Indios believe that to be in the employ of Friar Power was to bask in
the magic and protection of the Hispanic shamans, as though the monastic states were a reincarnation
of the barangay under the leadership of men of prowess. To be within the penumbra of Spanish magical
men also meant added protection from colonial state exactions. Attachment to the monastic estates
was also a source of pride and privilege. Landless natives couldn’t endure conditions in the friar estates
so they rebelled by fleeing beyond reach of the colonial state.