Just Weird!

Being here almost 4 years few things seem to take me by surprise. I often forget at times that I am a foreigner in this land. A week ago I had a strange and somewhat scary experience with my new landlord.

Tita (Tea-ta local word for Aunt) is a wonderful woman from the countryside, simple life and old fashion in her ways. Tita with the help of her son who works in Chicago built a home with 2 additional apartments attached to it. She moved to Iloilo City about a year ago. Life as she would put it is fast and complicated. A week after I moved into my new apartment I started having problems with the water pressure tank. I went and explained to her son in-law about the problem and he agreed to take a look at it even though it was 9pm and they are usually all in bed by then. (People from the countryside sleep early and wake early) After inspecting it he said they would put a new one the next day. 6am they were ringing my doorbell to replace the water pump. Shortly after they started working on it Tita came over to check up on the workers, she brought with her a paint brush and a small can of red paint. She explained to me that she was going to paint the pump when they where done. A little confused why she was going to repaint a brand new pump I just said ok and went inside. I came out later to find her painting little red crosses all over the pump and tank.
I asked why she was doing that she explained that since it was a new pump that she wanted to pray for it so the new one wouldn’t break. I would consider that a little weird but brushed it off as superstitious. A couple day later Tita came over and wanted to inspect the pump. I explained that it was working fine but to go ahead. I went inside to put on my flip-flops only to return to find anther woman outside on her knees chanting and rubbing a weird red substance on the ground around the tank. I quickly explained that it was fine and didn’t need this ladies prayer. I inquired if it was blood and she said "no it is chicken…Chicken blood!" A bit scared and weird'd out by the situation I went in and got my roommate Nomil.
I said "Nomil wake up! There's a witch doctor outside praying for our water pump and wiping blood all over things.




We went outside again as she was finishing her prayers. He later explained that it is a catholic belief here that anything new should be prayed for, only thing is that Catholicism here has been mixed with years of ancestral worship and superstition.
The next day I went out with oil and prayed over our water that God would bless our water and keep us healthy!