When we were in elementary, I was able to witness my three friends Butch, Manny and Leonard who undergone “Batakan” (a term for circumcision). I was a nice Saturday morning them when I accompanied them going to the house of “Apung Juan” (Lolo Juan) who will do the “Batakan.” They were actually wearing huge shorts without brief because this is what “Apung Juan” told them. As soon as we arrive in the house, they soak their bodies on the huge water container for at least 30-40 minutes without wearing their shorts. They said that by doing this, it will not be difficult to cut the skin of their penis.
While soaked into the water, the three of them are chewing the “Tulud ng Bayabas” (young guava leaves) because they will later on use this after cutting the upper cover skin of their penis. I was the turn of Manny to undergo the circumcision and I saw a guava stem positioned on the ground, which “Apung Juan” will use to circumcise their penis using a sharp “Labaha” (a kind of sharp razor). Manny is actually looking upward when they start the process to avoid watching when cutting the upper skin of his penis.
As soon as the old fellow positioned the razor and stroked it with a wooden stick, I saw the blood coming from the skin but not that scary. He then instructed Manny to spew out the chewed “Tulud ng Bayabas” to his penis, which serves as the medicine to treat the wound naturally. After positioning the skin of his penis upwards, he then wrapped the penis with a clean piece of white cloth. Although Butch and Leonard looked worried when watching Manny, they were able to overcome their fear to undergo “Batakan.” They also experience the same process like Manny and it took “Apung Juan” about 2 hours to complete their circumcision. Afterwards, they joked to me if I want to undergo “Batakan” that time, which I refused.
Before we left, the old fellow told them to get fresh guava leaves and boil them to use as the natural treatment care for their penis. “Apung Juan” told them than they need to cleanse their penis using the boiled extract and damp it while warm to make the healing process more effective and faster. They need to repeat the cleaning process at least twice a day and must avoid eating foods that can trigger the infection such as fish, chicken and eggs. The old fellow also told them that they do not need to take medicines because the boiled guava leaves can heal their wounds naturally.
Due to my curiosity about the chewing of the “Tulud ng Bayabas”, I did ask “Apung Juan” about the benefit of this kind of natural treatment. He immediately responded to me saying that the young guava leaves have impressive anti-inflammatory substance that can heal wounds naturally and prevent any kind of infection. Moreover, he revealed to me that the boiled guava leaves could help my friends to eliminate the pain of their penis by thorough cleansing for at least 3-5 days.
Do you know that captured my interest about this kind of natural home remedy? It is when he told me that one of her daughter who undergone surgery because of appendicitis used the boiled guava leaves to treat her wound on the stomach. Janet uses the boiled water to cleanse her wounds and completed the process for a month until her wound dried out. Although she needed to take her medicines, they believe that the healing power of the guava leaves made it possible to cur her wound faster.
When we got home before lunchtime, I helped my friends gather guava leaves and we washed them properly before boiling them in a huge casserole and divided the extract into three so they can cleanse their penis in the afternoon. I was certainly amazing to see my friends treating their wounds by only using natural home remedies. They were actually among the third class family units and so they do not have enough money to buy medicines or visit a doctor for their circumcision. I am a little lucky that time because I undergone circumcision with my brother from a doctor and not experiencing “Batakan.”
Of course, I am proud of my friends because they defeated their worries and pain to complete their manhood. Lastly, I am very fortunate because I learned the by using both young and old guava leaves, it is possible to cleanse and treat the wounds in a natural way.