30/09/2025
FEATURE | ๐จ๐ป๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ โ๐๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒโ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ: โ๐ฆ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎโ
๐ธ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ช ๐ ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ด ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐บ ๐๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ฑ๐ข
โ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช ๐ฏ๐ช ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ,โ you heard as you stepped inside.
But you were already strangers to the landscapeโbeyond the tall shadows cast by the sugar canes, a faint mellow glow spilled from your last source of light, the โlampara.โ Already encircled by doubt, you had no choice but to approach the threshold of bamboo and plywood. Yet this was no ordinary โkubo,โ from that small home, the silence of the sugarfield was shattered by a chorus of screams and pleading noises. The moment itself is stitched in pure dread, but while an open mind might welcome the unknown, it could not overcome the weight of inherited truths.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, a figure approaches you in the middle of this โbaryo.โ As darkness swiftly chases, the only path is to enter the hut-like structure. Thus began this narrative where Filipino culture meets mental health. Through "Sumpa," the University of St. La Salleโs (USLS) Psychological Society (PsycSoc) tells a truth-woven tale of the age of shadow sicknessโa time when disorders in the mind were mistaken for curses. In this booth, participants play an immersive role as the โbisita,โ unraveling the unseen realities of mental illnesses in a bygone era.
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฏ๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป-๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ. The only interpreter of their family's pain, Hesus embodies the role of the "normal one" often found in dysfunctional families. Acting as the bridge for visitors seeking shelter at dusk, he serves as the voice of his household, tending to members who are unable to move or distinguish between living and non-living things. Despite numerous warnings and the prevailing word-of-mouth that his kin should be abandoned because they are cursed, Hesus rejected the notion and decided to keep his love for his family aflame.
๐ฅ๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ. At first glance, it may seem like a mother being wary of unfamiliar faces within the walls of her residence. Not only that, but Rolanda spares no chances for the guests and asks them to leave immediately, especially in the time when Spaniards conquered the lands; she was paranoid that the people visiting at ungodly hours were one of those. Furthermore, she does not lose the essence of a mother, continuing chores and caring for her children with mental needs. But that overbearing trait and her constant irritability and unsettlenessโtriggered once she cannot see her childrenโcaused her to be warped by panic. Her heart houses the "Borderline Personality Disorder"; one moment she is the dutiful caretaker, the next she is a relentless tide of emotion, constantly swinging between anger and crippling despair.
๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป. Her greatest joy is also her greatest sorrow. Rolanda is not the only mother under the roof; Rosal is, too. She suffers from โpostpartum psychosis,โ where her lens sees actuality while we cannot: to her, the โbukoโ is her baby, a conviction she manifests through the singing of a lullaby to a coconut and the act of comfort towards an inexistent infant. This profound delusion stemmed from her gut-wrenching experience of a stillbirth.
๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ. In the devastating period of blaring missiles and bullet wails. He is a product of conflict, where guilt is his partner and the past is his prison. When the lamp illuminates his room, he is seen hugging himselfโa physical manifestation of his need to hide from the bombs he still perceives. This reaction is driven by the fresh, paralyzing memory of his strife, the one where he could not save his ally. Ultimately, he is shackled by a heavy depression.
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ฎ๐ข, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ,โ remarked Avril Junsay, Assistant Cultural Committee Head and Actor of Hesus of PsycSoc.
As the curtain falls, the story of the Mahilum family was based on the account of real-life events that were featured in โMaalala Mo Kayaโ during 2006. Thus, the truth it seeks to unveil is the deep-seated lack of knowledge within Filipino heritage that leads to labeling psychological illnesses as weakness or monstrosity. The club intended to utilize that blend of tradition while actively debunking it.
"๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ. ๐๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ'๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ ๐ช๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง," commented Gwendale Elardo, partaker of Sumpa.
The old ways have loomed large for decades, and their threads are still woven in the presentโbut a mind without a border opens its windows to an empathy for the wounds that leave no visible scars.