the bakunawa (or naga), usually depicted as a gigantic serpent or dragon with a looped tail. The movements of the bakunawa affected the physical world, from the phases of the moon, to eclipses, the weather, floods, and earthquakes. The bakunawa was central to a sixteen-point compass rose. It faces a different cardinal direction every three months; facing north (aminhan), west (katungdan), south (bagatnan), and east (sidlangan) in a given twelve-month lunar year. The mouth of the bakunawa is believed to bring misfortune and evil, and various points in the compass all had different aspects depending on where the mouth was facing. These were consulted when making future plans like travel, trade, or marriage. When building houses, shamans were also often consulted to determine the most propitious placement of the foundations to avoid the ill luck brought by the bakunawa. Sorcery Some shamans were believed to be able to control the physical world through incantations, talismans, potions, or their spirit intermediaries. Healers are more strongly associated with sorcerers than mediums. In most cases, a healer is also a sorcerer. In order to cure or counteract sorcerous illnesses, healers must themselves know sorcery. This relationship is most apparent in Siquijor Island, where healer-sorcerers are still common. In some cultures like the Manobo people, shamans are entirely differentiated from sorcerers. Shamans deal with the spirit world and supernatural beings but do not have magical powers of their own; while sorcerers were regarded as human beings with powers gained from magical spells or objects. Illnesses believed to be caused by sorcery are treated differently from illnesses caused by spirits. The former are treated with counter-spells, simple antidotes, and physical healing; while the latter requires the intervention or dialogue with the spirits and thus a shaman ritual. In contrast, in Visayan societies, the most powerful shamans were sorcerers known as dalagangan (also dalongdongan or busalian). They could purportedly command the elements through magic spells and the strength of their kalag (or dungan) which was equated with "[spiritual] power". Their alleged powers include conjuring fire or water, flight, shape-shifting, invisibility, invulnerability, and the ability to call down disasters. The dios-dios leaders of the Visayan peasant revolts in the late 19th century often claimed to possess these kinds of powers. A more common use of the power to command elements is rainmaking. A notable example was Estrella Bangotbanwa, a Karay-a ma-aram from southern Iloilo. According to local