Malay Magic in Colonial Manila

This seminar will explore Spanish Inquisition records to uncover the biographies of a group of notorious Ternaten spellcasters and hostages of war who were present in Manila from 1606–1627. 

Grouped around the captive Sultan Saïd Berkat Syah, who was taken hostage during the Spanish invasion of Ternate in 1606, these Ternatens used magical practices as a way of overcoming their subordinate status as captives of the Spanish. They provided love and luck charms to various members of Manila’s elite and military classes, eventually coming to the attention of the Inquisition. 

Their stories offer insights into social worlds and political intrigues rarely seen in official colonial records, while revealing in fine detail the role of folk magic in the porous cultures at the heart of the early modern colonial frontier.