traditionally in the Philippines, only women could be the magic users / spirit-callers (“babaylan”). however, people born male could become women (“asog”) and those women could be babaylan! some notable AMAB babaylan leaders included Dios Buhawi (“Whirlwind God”) and Papa Isio (“Isio the Pope”), who led revolutionary insurgencies against Spanish colonial powers; contemporary photos show them in women’s clothes but they also had wives, as they were pre-1900s indigenous trans lesbian witch revolutionaries.
fun fact: babaylanes continued to fight the US Army after the surprise US takeover of the Philippines. the spirit-worshipper rebels wore magic charms (“anting-anting”) that they believed protected them from bullets, which was somewhat true because cultists with swords successfully ambushed and charged on American positions. the concept of “stopping power” developed specifically to fight tribal warriors (especially “juramentados”) who could otherwise take a few bullets and keep charging - the Colt 45, for example, had enough stopping power to immediately incapacitate a target, and the US Army made sure to supply soldiers with them after shifting armies from the Philippine-American War to the Boxer Rebellion
precolonial philippines history, mythology, and (trans)gender
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traditionally in the Philippines, only women could be the magic users / spirit-callers (“babaylan”). however, people born male could become women (“asog”) and those women could be babaylan! some notable AMAB babaylan leaders included Dios Buhawi (“Whirlwind God”) and Papa Isio (“Isio the Pope”), who led revolutionary insurgencies against Spanish colonial powers; contemporary photos show them in women’s clothes but they also had wives, as they were pre-1900s indigenous trans lesbian witch revolutionaries.
fun fact: babaylanes continued to fight the US Army after the surprise US takeover of the Philippines. the spirit-worshipper rebels wore magic charms (“anting-anting”) that they believed protected them from bullets, which was somewhat true because cultists with swords successfully ambushed and charged on American positions. the concept of “stopping power” developed specifically to fight tribal warriors (especially “juramentados”) who could otherwise take a few bullets and keep charging - the Colt 45, for example, had enough stopping power to immediately incapacitate a target, and the US Army made sure to supply soldiers with them after shifting armies from the Philippine-American War to the Boxer Rebellion