Abstract

The Cebuano term palihi denotes a range of rituals to induce desired outcomes through analogical causation. It is predicated on the understanding that at inceptions - including the New Year, building, planting, and pregnancy - qualities may be transmitted from an entity or process to another that is in genesis or renewal. A type of sympathetic magic, palihi is intended to direct these forces to bring luck, such as prosperity, intelligence or vigorous growth. Drawing on ethnographic research on Siquijor Island and interviews with Filipino diaspora this article explicates key patterns and principles underlying palihi, situates these within an international scholarship on associative magic, and considers what palihi and related taboos illuminate about Visayan concepts of personhood, particularly the development, boundaries, connections and malleability of people. The article advances a case for anthropological conceptualizations of personhood whereby bodily boundaries/permeability are not necessarily fixed, but subject to sometimes dramatic temporal flux.

摘要

宿雾语术语palihi表示一系列通过类比因果关系引发期望结果的仪式。它基于这样的理解：在开始时——包括新年、建筑、种植和怀孕——品质可能从一个实体或过程传递到另一个正在发生或更新的实体或过程。帕利希是一种交感魔法，旨在引导这些力量带来好运，例如繁荣、智慧或蓬勃发展。本文借鉴锡基霍尔岛的民族志研究和对海外菲律宾侨民的采访，阐述了palihi背后的关键模式和原则，将它们置于国际联想魔法学术研究中，并考虑了palihi的含义以及相关的禁忌阐明了米沙鄢的人格概念，特别是人的发展、界限、联系和可塑性。这篇文章提出了一个关于人格的人类学概念化的案例，其中身体边界/渗透性不一定是固定的，但有时会受到戏剧性的时间变化的影响。