AGIMAT

amuleto

a·gí·mat

 
An apotrope is an object used to avert or combat evil.

The Tagalog word agimat refers to objects such as amulets or talismans that are intended to ward off evil or protect the owner from evil. These could be stones, pebbles, a necklace pendant as in the shape of a cross, or gun bullets.

There is a Filipino superstition that carrying a bullet (bála) protects a person from misfortune, physical danger or harm. The bullet serves as a lucky charm with protective powers.

The use of bullets as amulets may have originated during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines when the famous Macabebe Scouts used silver bullets as amulets, possibly influenced by the notion in American folklore that silver bullets can be used to combat werewolves.

In October / November 2015, there were widespread news reports of an extortion scheme at Manila’s international airport involving the discovery of bullets in the luggage of travelers. Since it is illegal under Philippine law to have bullets in one’s possession while at the airport, certain officials were using that law to demand bribes in return for letting passengers avoid arrest. The most reported twist on this scam is that the officials themselves were planting bullets in the travelers’ luggage. The whole scandal has been referred to as tanim-bala (bullet planting) or laglag-bala (bullet dropping, as in “surreptitiously dropping a bullet into the bags of unwitting victims”), although it is reasonable to assume the the original inspiration for the shakedown may have been the fact that quite a number of Filipinos do carry a lucky bullet with them, unaware that they can technically be prosecuted for “possession of ammunition” under the law. In the first ten months of the year, there were over 100 recorded cases of arrest on grounds of bullet possession at the airport.

A related word that many Filipinos wrongly interchange with agimat is anting-anting, the latter referring to the posession of special powers.

For example, ex-president Ferdinand Marcos supposedly was given the power to become invisible by Gregorio Aglipay.

Strictly speaking, agimat is a physical object while anting-anting is not.

KAHULUGAN SA TAGALOG

agímat: bagay na pinaniniwalaang may kapangyarihang magligtas sa nagmamay-ari laban sa anumang kapahamakan

KAHULUGAN SA TAGALOG

agímat: matipíd