What is/are the criteria/charateristics for determining a Babaylan?
A. Please see Questions for You below. If you read Katrin de Guia’s book on Kapwa: The Self in the Other, she refers to “tacit knowing” as a way to knowledge and wisdom. Babaylan practice/work is a life-long process and it cannot be acquired in a short cut “how-to-become a babaylan” manner. Our tendency to ask for a manual on “how –to” is also a cultural conditioning that we must recognize. Wisdom and the work of the spirit do not lend itself easily to such requirements. That is why we need a community in which to articulate our language and concepts and our practices related to the Babaylan tradition.
