Filipino Agimat Tradition Goes Global! Cavite’s Hidden Mystics Take Center Stage

DASMARIÑAS, Cavite—Filipino-Belgian anthropologist Aaron Raphael Ponce has conducted an exploratory ethnographic fieldwork on Philippine amulets (agimat/anting-anting) and the communities that produce, use, and disseminate them, the De La Salle University(DLSU)-Dasmariñas said in a statement.

The Filipino-Belgian doctoral fellow has arrived in October 2025 in Dasmarinas, Cavite to collaborate with the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, particularly to discuss possible collaborations for research in the social sciences.

“Philippine amulet culture is actually sophisticated and complex; as a Belgian with Filipino roots, it would be my honor to pioneer the subject among Belgian audiences”, Ponce said.

Ponce, who is a member of the ULB’s Laboratory of Anthropology of Contemporary Worlds and the Centre for East Asian Studies, has focused on how the anting-anting face issues of modernity, mobility, and social structures in an increasingly digitized world.

In photo: (from left) Prof. Gladstone Cuartos, Aaron Raphael Ponce, Prof. Jeffrey Alfari Lubang

His research stay is funded by a European Research Council grant co-organized by the ULB in Belgium and Tallinn University, Estonia.

“I am surprised that there is curiosity in Belgium and beyond for Philippine mystical culture; we are in the best position to responsibly share this knowledge,” DLSU-Dasmariñas Professor Jeffrey Alfaro Lubang said, whose career of 20 years has been dedicated to the subject.

The DLSU-Dasmariñas delegation included Br. Dan Sanding, FSC, Vice President for Administrative Services, museum director Mary Ann Salvador, and Prof. Gladstone Cuartos of DLSU-Manila.

In photo: Aaron Raphael Ponce (L) and Prof. Jeffrey Alfaro Lubang (R) with a statue of the Sanctissima Trinidad

The visit started with a private viewing of the amulet collection and archives of the Museo De La Salle which included specimens dating back to two centuries, culminating in expressions of interest for possible cooperation, including archival access, logistical support for fieldwork in the amulet-producing province of Cavite, and the desire to organize exhibitions to be held in Brussels.

Ponce will present the initial results of his research in January 2026, starting with an exclusive lecture to members of the Royal Numismatic Society of Belgium.

Meanwhile, the amulet exhibition is ongoing at the Museo De La Salle and is open to the public.

Photos courtesy: DLSU-Dasmariñas