Tandok is a healing practice that uses horn tips of carabaos that was cut to form a cone. The cone was bored on its tip to create a pin-size opening.
First, the bitten area was slashed with skin-deep incision. Then the cone was stuck into it. From the tip the of the cone a man will suck the air from inside of the cone and the cone will burrow on the skin tightly. Then the opening will be covered with hardened beeswax to seal the vacuum.
From the oral account of Michael Realino of Central Luzon, Philippines
It was early in the morning when me and my friends decided to explore the farm road leading to a low-rise hill. As we jogged along the road with grassy ground on its both side, I saw a firewood lying on my path. few meters in front of me. As I approached on it I simply kicked it thinking that it was just a piece of firewood.
To my surprise it sprang back and snapped my right leg.
"Snake!" I shouted as I tried to shake it from my legs for its pangs buried deeply on my skin.
It was a venomous snake. Immediately I was brought to a local shaman. He told me that my veins were not hit by its pangs. If it was, I only have 30 minutes to live. I'm lucky when he told me that the poison travels on the skin and flesh slowly before it reached the brain. Then he slashed my bitten leg with many small slits in order to intercept the poison to be drained by the slits. Later the slits were topped with horn tips and the shaman started to suck the horns and sealed it with beeswax.
After he was through, my legs were full of sucking horns seemed like leg with full of spikes.
Later the horns lose its suctions and fell down. From the slit wound I saw bubbling blood with white foam atop. The shaman said those were the rising poisons that was sucked by the horns.
I survived the snake bite because of those sucking horns.
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