Gabâ or gabaa, for the people in many parts of the [cebu] 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 dialects in the Philippines. It is also translated as nemesis. The opposite of "Gaba" is Grasya, literally Grace in Spanish, which pertains to blessings from the Heavens. Background The gabâ can be characterized through various Cebuano proverbs: It is not necessarily immediate in its effect. (Ang gabâ dili sama sa sili nga mohalang dayon.) It may come unexpectedly. (Ang gabâ dili magsaba.) It is not limited to transgressions against fellow human beings: objects considered holy can also cause gabâ, such as dropping on the ground a sacred root crop of ubi. (The concept was later extended to religious icons such as bibles or rosaries). Even the least-valued object may cause it. (Bisan ang ube makagabâ.) It could happen to persons who are important to the transgressor. For example, people would say "gigabâan" of a womanizing father whose daughter has a child out of wedlock. Sources The source of gabâ 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, gabâ became "absorbed" in the Roman Catholic Church. In-depth examination, however, would show that it is incompatible with Catholic dogma. Applications Gabâ and panghimaraot Gabâ is distinct from panghimaraot (curse) whereby a transgressed person pronounces a maldesyon against the transgressor. In panghimaraot, evil is asked to befall on the sinner; with gabâ, evil is sure to befall on the sinner, even if it is not asked. Sometimes Cebuanos blurt out threats of gabâ, "Gabâ-an ka gyod!", but it is not taken to mean that gabâ 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 gabâ! (Fuera gabâ) Gabâ and karma Gabâ is not synonymous with the Hindu-Buddhist law of karma: gabâ is only in the negative (a punishment), unlike karma which may be good or bad. Both