Gabâ

Gabà (Cebuano: /ˈgabaʔ/) or gabaa, for the people in many parts of the Philippines particularly among Visayans, is the concept of a non-human and non-divine, imminent retribution. A sort of negative karma, it is generally seen as an evil effect on a person because of their wrongdoings or transgressions. The word has later been recycled for translating "divine retribution" or "divine fury" in the translations of the Bible to many local languages in the Philippines. It is also translated as nemesis. The opposite of gaba is grasya, literally grace and from Spanish gracia, which pertains to blessings from Heaven. The English word which is closest to or best describes the word gabà is comeuppance.

Background

Gabà can be characterized through various Cebuano proverbs:

• It is not necessarily immediate in its effect. (Ang gabà dili sama sa sili nga mohalang dayon.)
• It may come unexpectedly. (Ang gabà dili magsaba.)
• It is not limited to transgressions against fellow human beings: objects considered holy can also cause gabà, such as dropping on the ground a sacred root crop of taro or ubi. (The concept was later extended to religious icons such as bibles or rosaries). Even the least-valued object may cause it. (Bisan ang ubi makagabâ.)
• It could happen to persons who are important to the transgressor. For example, people would say "gigabáàn" of a womanizing father whose daughter has a child out of wedlock.

Sources

The source of gabà is not a god or God or an absolute karmic principle, but in the spirits of nature. It must have arisen out of the animism of pre-Spanish Cebuanos. With the coming of Christianity into the Islands, gabà became "absorbed" in the Roman Catholic Church. In-depth examination, however, would show that it is incompatible with Catholic dogma.

Applications

Gabà and panghimaráòt

Gabà is distinct from panghimaráòt or túnglo (curse) whereby a transgressed person pronounces a maldisyon against the transgressor. In panghimaráòt, evil is asked to befall on the sinner; with gabà, evil is sure to befall on the sinner, even if it is not asked. Sometimes Cebuanos blurt out threats of gabà, "Gabáàn ka gyod!", but it is not taken to mean that gabà is being asked; it is only a reminder to the transgressor that no one is excluded from it. Sometimes sinners also ask for exclusion in pidgin Spanish: Puyra gabà! or Pwira gabà (Fuera gabà)

Gabà and karma

Gabà is not synonymous with the Hindu-Buddhist law of karma: gabà is only in the negative (a punishment), unlike karma which may be good or bad. Both concepts are known to the Visayan peoples, although gabà is considered purely indigenous, while karma was historically imported.

Gabà and divine retribution

Gabà is not, strictly speaking, the same as punishment from a godhead, such as the monotheisms' God or the Greek goddess Nemesis: gabà does not presuppose an Ultimate Being.

Ill-doings to one's fellowmen does not alone cause gabà but actions like wasting food, disrespecting elders, abusing animals, desecrating holy places or objects, cursing God, and destroying Nuno sa Punso cause gabà as well. An expression also common among the Bisaya and Hiligaynon is purya gabà which is believed to ward off evil when one walks in an eerie place.

Social effects

Some sociologists believe that gabà is one of the causes of the complacency of Cebuanos: because of their belief in it, they prefer to be silent on abuses. It gives hope to the oppressed that someday the abuses will be paid for.

In popular culture

The concept of gabà features prominently in the 2022 Irish-Filipino horror film Nocebo, which revolves around a Cebuana Ongo hexing an exploitive European fashion designer in revenge for her daughter's death in a sweatshop fire.

See also

• Anito
• Karma in Buddhism
• Philippine mythology

References

• Fernandez, Guiraldo C., "The Understanding of Gabà and its Relation to the Doctrine of Karma", USC Graduate Journal, University of San Carlos (Cebu City), 2004. Vol XXI, No. 1, pp. 33–45. Online: http://research.usc.edu.ph/research_journals/tools/process_specific_request.jsp?table=theses&search=4
• Garcia, Lilian, "Some Observations of the Gabà Phenomena", Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, 1976. Vol. XV, No. 1, pp. 309–410.
• Lomoljo, Luz, "Gabà in the Christian Perspective: Suggested Themes for Religious Education", unpublished master's thesis, University of San Carlos, 1994.