mysiquijor.com/manlulukmit

Manlulukmit

Through the years of promoting the province of Siquijor, MySiquijor.com has won its share of internet awards (180 at last count) and I have been presented with letters of appreciation and various other forms of recognition. While I sincerely appreciate them all, none have ever had such a profound effect on me as the one that I was recently given.

While preparing to celebrate my birthday at the Coral Cay Resort this past June 30th, Junel Tomaroy approached me carrying a wooden sculpture. He read the words that he had written on the bottom; “For the father of Siquijor Tourism, I salute you because you serve as the open book for the Siquijor tourist. Happy Birthday & God Bless you.”

Junel continued giving me a description of the sculpture which he had hand carved and painted. “The sculpture is a Manlulukmit; he is the person who will trace or identify the cause of the disease or the source of it. He will determine if the illness is a natural ordinary disease or if it is being caused by spirits; human or by a sorcerer. He is not a faith healer but through his six strings or rope he will help guide you to the right faith healer for proper treatment.”

Junel told me that he used wood from a Jack Fruit tree to create the head, the body was crafted from Juava and the base is Mahogany.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to Junel for this gift. He is an extremely talented young man and I can't help but wonder what he could create if he had the tools. I feel as though Junel is destined to create something quite remarkable for Siquijor.

(Clicking on an image below will open a larger view in a new window)