“Jilin, what is busung?” I asked.

“Well, for example, if you were playing a game and your playmate stepped over you or jumped over you, and you asked him, ‘Why did you step over me?’ Then he would have to step back over you again so that busung doesn’t cause something bad to happen to him.”

“How did you learn about busung? Has it ever actually happened to anyone?”

“Yes! My sister Mumul told me about it. One time I saw Andung step over Tali`. He had to go back and step over Tali` again so he wouldn’t get busung. They say my father died of busung.”

The Palawano believe busung is a type of curse that causes either the abdomen or the calf to swell and then burst. (One of our patients recently died of a liver tumor. His abdomen was swollen, so the people called it busung.) The Palwanos consider busung a terrible way to die, and they greatly fear it.

To avoid busung, the Palawano have five taboos:

(1) Don’t say the name of your family members, living or dead. (2) Don’t step over someone’s cooking pot or plate of food, or let your skirt swish near them. (3) Don’t step over any part of someone’s body, especially the lower body. It is particularly bad if you step over someone older and more respected than you. (4) Don’t disrespect the advice and commands of your ancestors, living or dead. (5) Don’t neglect to equally share your food, nice clothes or other things of which your relatives could be jealous. For example, if you’ve purchased food or harvested it in the jungle or from your garden, or if you have pounded new rice, you are expected to share it equally with your close relatives. If you have new clothes, make sure to give something to your close relatives in order to avoid busung.

What if you get busung? Is there any way to undo the curse? Yes, there are things you can do, and there is ubat (medicine) you can take. (1) If you have stepped over a part of someone’s body, you must step back over it to undo the curse of busung. (2) If you stepped over their pot or plate of food, you have to say a peribasa (specific phrases that comprise common courtesies) while you step back over the food. (3) You can drink ubat. To make the ubat, take the tapis (sarong) or ba`ag (G-string) of the woman or man you have wronged and rinse the part that was closest to their bottom in water. Then drink the water. (4) If a dead relative has been wronged, there is a tree that can be used, but unfortunately everyone seems to have forgotten which tree and which part of the tree is effective. Therefore many people still die of busung.
As I was reviewing Palawano beliefs about busung and the ways in which one can undo the curse, an analogy came to my mind, which I immediately shared with a new believer named Mentapang. I told this story to him in simple terms that would appeal to the way Palawanos think. As the story progressed, he got excited as new understanding flooded his mind:

“Jesus is the God of the Universe. He made people. He created us to look like Him, and He gave us life. We are born of mothers, but He is the source of all life. He is our eldest ancestor and therefore due our greatest honor and highest respect. His law is the oldest law and the highest law that ever has been or ever will be. It is an unchangeable law. He left us advice, telling us how to live our lives. He told us what would happen if we didn’t follow His way, but we did not follow His advice.

In the very beginning of time, our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, frequently enjoyed personal visits from the God of the Universe. They walked with Him, spoke with Him face to face, listened to His melodic voice and heard His teachings. But our ancestors were also the first to commit busung against Jesus. Defying His authority, they stepped over Him and went against His law. This caused busung that cut them off from the God of the Universe. They were sent away from the land He had given them for an inheritance (the Garden of Eden), and they were left to wander and toil on the Earth. Their busung led to death, but it happened very slowly.

We, too, have not followed His laws, instead following our own arat (character or cultural ways). We have used His name in blasphemous ways. Claiming to be good children, we have actually wronged Him. We have acted immorally. We have defamed His name and His character. We have committed busung against Jesus, the God of the Universe, our oldest ancestor. This ancient law demands death as the consequence. The curse of busung enters into our bodies and destroys us from within, causing us to live in fear of when we will die because of our wrongs against God. Since we all have busung, is there anything we can do to remove it?

Because of their separation from God, the first people were unable to cross back over God in order to clear themselves. So after many years, the God of the Universe crossed over again into their world in order to redeem them and thereby all mankind so that they need not suffer the misery and death they deserve. He does not desire their destruction, nor does He desire their suffering and death. He actually loves mankind. Because of this love, He knew there would need to be some way to undo the busung that had cursed humanity for so long. He knew that death was the penalty of busung, and there was no other way. He knew there would need to be a tree and blood. But He decided to do it for us. He said He would use the tree, and He would use His blood, and He would drink the bitter (dirty) cup of water that bore the busung of everyone. In this way, He would redeem us all so that we no longer needed to fear suffering and death from busung. And so He was hung on a tree, and His blood ran out, and He took the curse of busung upon Himself in order that we all could live and not die. In this way He became our ubat, our Redeemer.

Because of our busung against Jesus, we have been separated from Him. Humans can no longer see His face nor hear His audible voice. We can no longer stand in His presence nor have Him come and sit and chat in our houses or walk with us in the forest. We cannot even look upon His face, for His righteousness would destroy us. But through His death, He redeemed us. After His death He came back to life and lives again with His Father. He tells us that if we believe Him to be the God of the Universe and deserving of our honor and obedience, and receive His ubat in place of our deserving-of-death busung, we can enjoy eternal life as He intended it to be.

Jesus desires that we have the same clothing He has. He said He will clothe us with His righteousness and feed us from His table with food that will never run out.

Since Jesus has saved you from the death of busung that you deserve, don’t you want to honor Him by telling Him that you believe He is the God of the Universe and that you will receive His redeeming ubat, too?

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