Oh that is a really good question. Let me think on this and get back to you. But honestly a great question. 

To keep the ball rolling while I wait to hear everyone’s practices, I was just thinking about how many of these are pure muscle memory.

Verbal Wards & Protections

* Bari-bari, apo (or tabi-tabi po): Uttered when passing anthills, old trees, or unfamiliar paths to request passage and avoid stepping on the lamang-lupa or unseen spirits.

* Pwera usog / Pwera bati: Spoken immediately after receiving a compliment or strong attention to deflect the unintentional energetic transfer that causes sudden nausea or headaches.

* Agawid ka (Calling the soul back): Calling out a person’s name (especially a child’s) and telling their spirit to “come home” after they experience a sudden shock, scare, or fall, preventing spiritual detachment.

* Biting wood / Knocking on wood: Biting a finger or a wooden surface immediately after mentioning a bad dream, a fear, or an illness to cancel out the omen and prevent it from manifesting.

Energetic Cleansing & Boundary Setting

* The Atang: Preparing a small, dedicated plate of food (often rice, chicken eggs, native rice cakes, local liquor, black coffee, tobacco, betel nuts, coins) left in a quiet corner to appease ancestors, passing spirits, or to calm a heavy atmosphere.

* Suob: Involves dropping dried medicinal leaves—such as guava, lime, calamansi, pomelo, or hibiscus flowers—along with local resins like kamangyan from almaciga tree onto hot charcoal or smoldering coconut husk in a clay pot. This process produces smoke used to dispel stagnant energy, clear a room, or aid in a sick person’s recovery.

* Rock salt, ginger and abrus seeds: Positioning coarse rock salt, sliced ginger, abrus seeds at thresholds, windowsills, and doorways to create an immediate, grounding barrier against malevolent entities.

* Sprinkling salt at dusk: Throwing a pinch or handful of rock salt around the outside perimeter of the house right as the sun sets to spiritually lock down the property for the night.

Navigation & Spatial Awareness

* Reversing clothes: Turning your shirt inside out when feeling suddenly lost, walking in circles, or experiencing severe disorientation in rural or unfamiliar areas to break the illusion set by trickster elementals.

* Declaring “Tao po”: Announcing human presence loudly before entering a dark, unoccupied, or wooded space to warn resting spirits to clear the way.

* No sweeping at night: Strictly avoiding the use of a broom after sundown, as the act of sweeping dirt out the door is believed to also sweep away the household’s accumulated luck and wealth.

Household Superstitions & Wards

* Inverted broom by the door: Standing a walis tambo or tingting upside down behind the main entryway to either ward off negative energy or subtly encourage overstaying guests to leave.

* Scissors under the mattress: Keeping a pair of open scissors beneath the pillow or mattress to cut through nightmares, ward off sleep paralysis (bangungot), and protect against nocturnal spiritual interference.

* Mirrors facing away from the bed: Ensuring no mirrors reflect the bed directly while sleeping to prevent the soul from being startled or trapped if it wanders during the night.

Here are a few more common Ilocano customs. These reveal more about standard practices—especially when it involves building, outdoor activities, or family safety.

Construction & Gear

* Padugo (The Earth Toll): If you’ve ever been around a provincial construction site, you know the foreman isn’t pouring the first concrete foundation until some blood gets spilled—usually a chicken. You’re digging into the earth and disrupting whatever lives down there, so you have to pay the toll. It’s treated exactly like getting a building permit from the unseen locals so the site doesn’t get plagued with accidents.

* Blessing the New Ride: You don’t just buy a new truck or motorcycle and hit the highway. You splash a little gin or beer on the tires, or leave a quick atang (food offering) by the wheels. It’s basic road safety. You’re introducing the machine to the spirits of the road so you don’t get into a wreck.

Night Shift & The Outdoors

* No Whistling at Night: If you’re walking a dark province road or working a late shift, you keep quiet. The older guys always say whistling calls the spirits or invites them to follow you home. Practically speaking, it also invites snakes and signals your location to anyone else out in the dark. The rule is simple: keep your head down and stay quiet. 

* Asking for the Forest’s Permission: When taking a leak in the woods or cutting down overgrown trees, you always throw out a quick “kayo-kayo, apo” or “bari-bari.” You don’t just act like you own the place. You give a heads-up so you don’t piss off whatever is resting in the brush.

Household Defense & Protocols

* Palina (Smoke Decontamination): Whenever you go to a wake or a funeral, you never walk straight back into your house. There is always a small fire of dried rice stalks or woods from mango or bamboo trees burning by the gate, and you have to step over the smoke before going inside. It’s literal spiritual decontamination so you don’t drag that heavy, dead energy back to your wife and kids.

* Turning the Plates: If you are eating a meal as a family and someone has to leave the table early to drive or travel, everyone still eating has to physically spin their plates. It’s an automatic reflex to ensure the person leaving has a safe trip and doesn’t get into an accident on the road.

* Biting a Leaf for Bad Dreams: If you wake up and accidentally tell someone about a bad dream before eating breakfast, you immediately bite your finger or knock on wood. It’s a quick, physical way to cancel out the omen before it can take root in the real world.