I named my brand after a slur. Here's why 👉
"Bruha" means witch in Filipino culture. For centuries, the term was used by the Spanish colonizers to silence women who healed, led, and refused to submit. Before the Spanish took over, our ancestors were called the babaylan: spiritual leaders and warriors. Colonizers called them "bruha" to demonize them and break their influence. Now we're reclaiming it 🖤
Where "Bruha" Comes From
In Tagalog, the official language of the Philippines, "bruha" means "witch." The word comes directly from the Spanish "bruja," which carries the same meaning. Spain's colonization of the Philippines lasted over 300 years, and during that time, the Spanish language heavily influenced Filipino culture and vocabulary. Today, approximately 4,000 Filipino words are borrowed from Spanish, and "bruha" is one of them.
But the word came with a purpose. It wasn't just linguistic exchange. It was a weapon.
Before "Bruha": The Babaylan
Before Spanish colonizers arrived, our ancestors didn't need a word for "witch" because the concept didn't exist in our culture. Instead, we had the babaylan.
The babaylan were revered spiritual leaders, healers, and community guides, predominantly women. They held positions of power and respect in pre-colonial Philippine society.
The Babaylan were:
✨ Healers who understood plant medicine and traditional remedies
✨ Spiritual mediums who communicated with ancestors and spirits
✨ Community leaders who guided important decisions
✨ Keepers of indigenous knowledge and rituals
✨ Warriors who fought alongside men to protect their communities
The babaylan were not feared, they were honored. Their wisdom shaped communities and their healing saved lives. Their spiritual guidance connected people to their ancestors and the natural world. They were everything colonizers couldn't control. And to them, that meant they were dangerous.
How "Bruha" Was Used Against Us
Spanish colonizers didn't just bring their language, they brought their fear of powerful women. When they encountered the babaylan, they saw a threat to their colonial and religious authority. They needed a way to delegitimize these spiritual leaders and break their influence over the community. They labeled them "bruhas" and systematically destroyed them.
The colonizers silenced the babaylan through:
Forced conversion and persecution: Babaylan were forced to convert to Christianity or face execution. Many were killed, tortured, or burned for refusing to abandon their spiritual practices.
Banning traditional practices: Indigenous rituals, healing ceremonies, and spiritual gatherings were criminalized. Practicing traditional medicine could result in imprisonment or death.
Destroying sacred spaces: Colonizers destroyed indigenous temples, sacred sites, and spiritual artifacts, replacing them with Catholic churches to erase the physical spaces where babaylan held power.
Social demonization: By branding babaylan as "bruhas," colonizers turned communities against their own healers. What was once respected became feared. What was once sacred became shameful.
Replacing indigenous leadership: The Spanish installed colonial and church authorities in place of the babaylan, stripping women of their leadership roles and pushing them to the margins of society.
They term "bruha" was systematically used to describe:
✨ Someone who practices "dark magic"
✨ A healer whose methods they didn't understand
✨ A spiteful or mischievous woman
✨ A woman with a "bad attitude" or sour disposition
✨ Any independent woman who refused to conform
According to Spanish language teacher Carlos Valverde Ochando, "una bruja" was a disrespectful way to refer to an ill-intentioned older woman in Spanish culture. This same contempt was weaponized in the Philippines to suppress female spirituality, healing practices, and autonomy.
"Bruha" became a derogatory label meant to shame, isolate, and control. It could mean someone who does dark magic, a spiteful woman, or a healer. It was also used to describe a "hag," an "ugly" woman, a "repulsive" woman, essentially any woman who didn't fit colonial standards of femininity and obedience.
By rebranding babaylan as bruhas, colonizers transformed respected spiritual leaders into feared outcasts. The message was clear: women who trusted their intuition, practiced ancestral healing, or refused to submit were dangerous. They were bruhas. And they would be punished.
The Reclamation
In recent years, Filipino women have been reclaiming "bruha" as a badge of honor. No longer an insult, it now celebrates the ancestral power of female spirituality, healing, and intuition that colonizers tried so hard to destroy.
To be a bruha today means:
✨ Trusting your intuition like the babaylan did
✨ Honoring your ancestors who survived genocide
✨ Healing yourself and your community
✨ Refusing to dim your light for anyone
✨ Carrying forward the legacy of our spiritual leaders
When I named my brand Bruha, it was intentional. This word was used to silence our grandmothers, to burn our healers, to shame our spiritual leaders. Now we wear it as jewelry. We speak it with pride. We own it.
Because the women they called bruhas? They were babaylan. They were healers. They were leaders. They were women who knew plants. Women who trusted themselves. Women who wouldn't be controlled.
Bruha isn't a curse word anymore. It's a crown. Wear it proudly. 🖤✨
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