Make the Pig « Squeal »
After a brief review of the various connections that different societies establish between humans and pigs, this paper describes the pansula practice, a divination ritual observed in 2012 among the Alangans of Mindoro, Philippines. The author shows how the ritual continues to be practised in the context of Christianization. Here, the pig appears as a mediator between different traditions. Endowed with a divination capacity, but not yet a full-fledged agent, his body and his entrails may inform people of their future destiny, provided that they listen to the signs that the pig will offer them. This explains the injunction participants always reiterate prior to the pig’s death : one must know how to make the pig « squeal ». The pig’s death does not affect the Alangans very much. They rather expect him to facilitate communication between living people, non-human beings and ancestors.