Sto. Niño came to her in a dream.

When she awoke, Conching Achay found a small black stone beside her bed. And she understood her calling.

Her healing instruments are rudimentary: a small, black stone, a half-foot bamboo tube, and a glass. With these, she performs the bolo bolo, a healing ceremony that is unique even to her province, where strangeness is commonplace.

The black stone is dropped into the glass, half-filled with water. Using the bamboo tube, Nang Conching blows air into the water and presses the glass against the afflicted part of the patient. The water turns murky, and dirt and debris appear in the water from nowhere.

The glass is emptied, refilled with clear water, and the procedure is repeated. Again and again, until the water finally stays clear. All toxins have been purged from the ailing patient’s body.

Nanay Conching attributes her healing powers to the supernatural. The stone is a gift from beyond. She had lost it once on a visit to Manila. She prayed to St. Niño. When she returned to Siquijor, she found the stone waiting for her on her bed. Once, an unbeliever attempted to split it into two with a cleaver. The stone was not damaged, yet the bolo-wielder was struck down by an unknown force and died on the spot.

She prays constantly. A large altar with religious images is a distinct feature of her humble home. When she fails to pray, she is weakened significantly.

She is soft-spoken; her words are sparse yet potent. “Do not forget the Lord. Above all things.”

Project Larawan is an initiative of Gabriel “Gabby” Malvar, a documentary filmmaker, writer and photographer, whose narratives are nuanced with unique, inventive perspectives to provoke an inquisitive look at his favorite subject, the Philippines.

“We travel far and wide, traversing great distances and seeking out new experiences in far-off lands only to realize that the real journey lies in human encounters, where we rediscover the compassion and humanity that is common in all of us. There should be no strangers really.”

Become a part of Filipino identity every Saturday on the DAILY TRIBUNE.