Last year on Good Friday, I posted:
Well it's Good Friday today. I felt it appropriate to delve into
Orascion more. You may recall that an orascion is like a prayer that provided the possessor/reciter special powers. I transcribed some info from 2 books by Amante P. Marinas, Sr. and Mark Wiley below for your edification.
Enjoy!
Another librito had orasyones that provided protection before a fight, during a fight, after a fight and during flight. Fourteen of these are presented so that we may gain insight into the mental state of the possessor as he recites the orasyones. These are:
- Sa paghasa ng patalim: For sharpening a weapon
-
Sa paglakad sa daan: While walking on the road
-
Upang hindi mabigla ng kaaway: Against ambush or surprise
-
Sa paglapit ng kaaway: At the enemy's approach
- Laban sa nagpapagalit: Against one who incites to anger
-
Laban sa naghahamon: Against the challenge to a fight
-
Upang hindi matakot: For courage, to conquer fear
-
Pagsira ng loob ng kaaway: To weaken the enemy's will
-
Laban sa doce pares: Against the doce pares (twelve attacks)
-
Pagbali sa armas de mano: To break the enemy's weapon
-
Pagagaw sa armas: To disarm the enemy
- Laban sa sugat: Against wounds
-
Upang hindi abutan: Against pursuit
-
Upang hindi makita ng kaaway: For invisibility
SOURCE:
Panananadata Knife Fighting
by Amante Marinas, Sr.
Pages 99-100
Copyright 1986
Paladin Press
The Filipino warrior places a great deal of faith in the power of
orasyon to provide his ability to control the spirits for his benefit.
He is practically close to them prior to engaging in mortal combat.
Orasyones are words, phrases or sentences considered
to possess mystical powers when recited mentally or verbally. Considered
divine acts of protection and power manifestation, their possession is
not limited to practitioners of martial arts. These prayers also serve
to bestow good luck on newlyweds for a happy
marriage or to farmers for a bountiful harvest. These general
orasyones
can be found in little books known simply as
libritos. These booklets
contain many prayers devoted to the martial arts on various levels, such
as to obtain skills in sharpening a sword,
for protection against an ambush, to maintain a clear and focused mind
in combat, for the ability to disarm an opponent, to break his weapon,
or cloud his mind when engaging in duel.
The following is a list of seven of the more common or "generic"
orasyones (relevant to the Filipino warrior) and their intended
meanings:
- Licum salicum solorum - A prayer for disarming an opponent
- Oracion de S. Pablo contra armas de foigo ip. Ntro. y Aw. - A prayer against firearms and other projectile weapons
- Sa paghasa ng patalim - A prayer for skill in sharpening a weapon
- Upang hindi mabigla ng kaaway - A prayer against being ambushed
- Upang hindi matakot - A prayer for courage or for conquering fear
- Pagsira ng loob ng kaaway - A prayer to weaken the enemy's will
- Jesucristo maria bedreno et curo tenaman - A prayer to weaken the enemy
It must be noted that for these prayers to be effective they must be
inherited like the ancient martial arts of silat or kali, the Filipino
warrior's
orasyones, too, are considered to be
mana (an inheritance or
family heirloom to be handed down from parent
to child, or from master to disciple). When a possessor is on his
deathbed he assigns an heir to take over the practice of the
guham
(power or force) and
kalaki (manly prowess or virility). If no inheritor
is appointed or available, the possessor must then
tear the orasyon into small pieces and devour it in a serving of
samporado, a rice porridge mixed with chocolate milk and sugar. It was
only then that the
anito or
engkanto would be set free.
Orasyones have been preserved by tattooing them on the possessor's body
or weapon in ancient Filipino Baybayin script, Latin, Sanskrit, Jawi, or
any combination thereof. Cato notes: "The Moros did, at times, add
talismanic symbols and phrases from the
Qur'an,
written in Jawi script, to the surfaces of their
krises. To confuse
their meaning if the wrong person attempted to translate these prayers
(and hence use them for his own gains) abbreviations were often used for
many of the words. While this method of preservation
prevented the wrong person form using one's
orasyon, it was not uncommon
for the rightful heir to not understand the various dialects in which
the prayer was encoded, thus being unable to interpret its meaning and
invoke its power.
According to folk beliefs the
mandirigma also engaging in specific acts
in an effort to counteract
orasyones his enemy might possess. For
example, prior to facing an opponent who is believed to possess an
orasyon that makes him impervious to being cut, the
warrior would rub his sword with boiled rice to render his opponent's
orasyon useless.
SOURCE:
Filipino Martial Culture
Mark V. Wiley
Pages 74-75
Copyright 1996
Tuttle Publishing
NOTE: I apologize in advance for any transcription errors.
