Mambabarang
In Philippine folk belief, a sorcerer said to send illness through insects, one of several feared figures of harm.
Also: barang, mangkukulam, manggagaway
In Visayan and some Tagalog-speaking communities, a mambabarang is a person believed to practise barang, a form of sorcery said to afflict a victim with illness through insects or other small creatures, sent through the practitioner's skill. The mangkukulam and the manggagaway are related figures in other areas, each described slightly differently. Belief in them lives alongside Catholicism and is cited when a sickness seems unusual. The remedy sought is a visit to an albularyo or a priest. Anthropologists note that such accusations tend to follow quarrels over land or relationships, and that the figure of the sorcerer gives a community a way to explain misfortune. No description here is a guide to harming anyone.