Before Holy Paradise Resort: How My Elders Blessed the Land

Preparing the Land Before Construction

Before my home was built, before the pools were constructed, and before Holy Paradise Resort became what it is today, we first prepared this land spiritually through traditional Siquijor practices.

These photographs were taken on June 8–9, 2020, here in Cangmatnog, Siquijor, Siquijor, on the same land where I now live and where Holy Paradise Resort stands.

At that time, I was still learning from my elders.

Traditional healers performed a land blessing and ritual offering for the Engkantos, nature spirits, and other spiritual beings believed to have authority over this land.

The beliefs I describe here were passed on to me by my elders. Over the years, many of their teachings have also coincided with my own experiences as a healer and practitioner, giving me personal reasons to continue believing in and practicing this tradition.

The Offering and Blessing

A cow was prepared as the principal offering.

The purpose of the ritual was to acknowledge the spiritual beings believed to have authority over the land, present an offering to them, seek blessing, and establish peaceful relations before we developed the property.

I have chosen not to publish photographs of the sacrifice itself, but I also do not want to hide what occurred.

The cow was sacrificed and prepared as part of the traditional ritual.

My elders taught me that before making major changes to a place, we should first acknowledge the spiritual beings connected to it and show proper respect.

An offering is presented. Blessing is sought. The ritual seeks peaceful relations between the people who will live on the land and the visible and unseen beings already connected to it.

After the ritual, we gathered together and shared food on the land.

The photographs show fruits, cakes, drinks, and other foods prepared for the gathering.

One of the cakes carried the words:

“Blessed Land.”

At that time, there were no swimming pools or resort facilities here.

Holy Paradise Resort came later.

What I Was Taught About the Spiritual World

We believe in God Almighty, and we believe in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

But the tradition passed on to me does not teach that every spiritual being must automatically be regarded as a demon.

My elders taught me that there are Engkantos, nature spirits, and other spiritual beings connected to particular places.

My elders also taught me that some of these beings possess authority and responsibilities within creation.

I came to describe this larger spiritual order as a form of spiritual government.

God Almighty remains supreme, while other beings are acknowledged according to their place within creation.

For us, legally owning the land was not the end of our responsibility toward it.

The land existed before I arrived.

The springs were here before me.

The trees, animals, and other living beings were here before me.

Other people had lived on this land before me.

And according to the teachings passed on to me, spiritual beings may also have had relationships with this place long before I arrived.

Before developing the property, we chose to acknowledge them.

Making an offering to these beings did not mean placing them on the same level as God Almighty. Neither did recognizing their existence mean trusting, following, or worshipping every spirit.

Discernment remains necessary.

From Student to Healer

I watched my elders.

I participated.

I asked questions.

And I learned.

Years later, I became a healer and practitioner myself.

Through my own experiences, I began to understand their teachings differently.

They were no longer only beliefs passed on to me by my elders. Many of them coincided with what I encountered and experienced for myself.

I continued questioning, learning, and exercising discernment. But I chose to continue these traditions not simply because I inherited them.

I continue them because my own experiences have given me reasons to believe in them.

For me, this is what it means to inherit a living tradition.

I did not simply inherit prayers, rituals, and knowledge.

I inherited responsibility.

Responsibility to remember my teachers, preserve what they taught me, and care for the relationships between the people who live here, the land, and the spiritual beings I believe are connected to it.

Later that year, another ritual was performed on this land—this time for the souls of former owners and inhabitants, as well as those believed to have died here or remained connected to the place.

I will document that Halad separately.

Today, my home and Holy Paradise Resort stand here.

People come here to swim in the spring water, spend time with their families, rest, celebrate, and enjoy nature.

But when I look at these old photographs, I remember what this place was before any of that existed.

The history of this place did not begin with the resort.

And it did not begin with me.

Before the pools, buildings, and development came, my elders performed the traditional rituals of the land.

Today, I continue what they taught me.

Holy Paradise Resort was built afterward.

The spiritual foundation came first.