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58-447: Ancient Filipinos and Filipinos who continue to adhere to the indigenous Philippine folk religions generally do not have so-called "temples" of worship under the context known to foreign cultures. However, they do have sacred shrines , which are also called as spirit houses . They can range in size from small roofed platforms, to structures similar to a small house (but with no walls), to shrines that look similar to pagodas, especially in

116-471: A " common structural framework of ideas " which can be studied together. The various Indigenous Philippine religious beliefs are related to the various religions of Oceania and the maritime Southeast Asia, which draw their roots from Austronesian beliefs as those in the Philippines. The folklore narratives associated with these religious beliefs constitute what is now called Philippine mythology , and

174-506: A long life to the body. Ghosts or ancestral spirits, in a general Philippine concept, are the spirits of those who have already died. In other words, they are the souls of the dead. They are different from the souls of the living, in which, in many instances, a person has two or more living souls, depending on the ethnic group. Each ethnic group in the Philippine islands has their own terms for ghosts and other types of souls. Due to

232-646: A popular hiking destination. The two major trails begin at the UPLB College of Forestry and Brgy. San Miguel, Santo Tomas, Batangas . The UPLB trail is more commonly used, taking 4–5 hours to reach the summit (Peak 2). This trail was closed in October 2007 due to trail damage wrought by Typhoon Xangsane in September 2006. The trail was closed again in December 2012 after two students were found drowned in

290-570: A restricted area on the mountain. The trail was re-opened most recently in March 2013. The second trail, known as Maktrav, starts in Santo Tomas. This route is more difficult and requires 6–7 hours to reach the summit. Both trails are generally established and safe, although throughout the years there have been occasional reports of fatal accidents and injuries, especially on the Santo Tomas side. Climbers also frequently encounter leeches along

348-802: A small house (but with no walls), to shrines that look similar to pagodas, especially in the south where early mosques were also modeled in the same way. These shrines were known in various indigenous terms, which depend on the ethnic group association. They can also be used as places to store taotao and caskets of ancestors. Among Bicolanos, taotao were also kept inside sacred caves called moog . During certain ceremonies, anito are venerated through temporary altars near sacred places. These were called latangan or lantayan in Visayan, and dambana or lambana in Tagalog. These bamboo or rattan altars are identical in basic construction throughout most of

406-564: Is a common subject among Filipino artists, ranging from painters and sculptors to graphic novelists . Prior to the conversion of the natives to Christianity, Maria Makiling was already known as Makiling , an anito sent by Bathala in Mount Makiling to aid mankind in their daily tasks. The 'Maria' was added by the Spanish in a bid to 'rebrand' her as Catholic and to further subjugate the natives into Spanish imperialism. The contour of

464-991: Is adorned with statues home to anitos traditionally-called larauan , statues reserved for future burial practices modernly-called likha , scrolls or documents with suyat baybayin calligraphy, and other objects sacred to dambana practices such as lambanog (distilled coconut wine), tuba (undistilled coconut wine), bulaklak or flowers (like sampaguita , santan , gumamela , tayabak , and native orchids ), palay (unhusked rice), bigas (husked rice), shells, pearls, jewels, beads, native crafts such as banga (pottery), native swords and bladed weapons (such as kampilan , dahong palay , bolo , and panabas ), bodily accessories (like singsing or rings, kwintas or necklaces, and hikaw or earrings), war shields (such as kalasag ), enchanted masks, battle weapons used in pananandata or kali , charms called agimat or anting-anting , curse deflectors such as buntot pagi , native garments and embroideries, food, and gold in

522-416: Is an important aspect of the study of Philippine culture and Filipino psychology . Historian T. Valentino Sitoy, in his review of documents concerning pre-Spanish religious beliefs, notes three core characteristics which shaped the religious worldview of Filipinos throughout the archipelago before the arrival of Spanish colonizers. First, Filipinos believed in the existence of parallel spirit world , which

580-446: Is believed that black magic in cases of injustice does not affect the innocent. Ancient Filipinos and Filipinos who continue to adhere to the indigenous Philippine folk religions generally do not have so-called "temples" of worship under the context known to foreign cultures. However, they do have sacred shrines , which are also called as spirit houses . They can range in size from small roofed platforms, to structures similar to

638-572: Is one of the primary reasons why indigenous belief systems continued to exist despite the Spanish-imposed all-out destruction of shrine structures. Due to colonization, majority of the indigenous shrine practices have been lost, fragmented severely, or absorbed into Christian practices, such as the case in pilgrim devotion practices in Mount Makiling , which has Catholic and indigenous practices involved. The unaltered shrine practices of

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696-466: Is sacred to many pilgrims and is widely believed to be the home of an anito named Maria Makiling . It is one of the most known bundok dambanas in Calabarzon . It was declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2013, with the title of "Mount Makiling Forest Reserve". Maria Makiling was the protector and guardian of Mount Makiling. Thus, modern sightings of her were even reported. Maria Makiling

754-578: Is the highest feature of the Laguna Volcanic Field . The volcano has no recorded historic eruption but volcanism is still evident through geothermal features like mud spring and hot springs. South of the mountain is the Makiling–Banahaw Geothermal Plant. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) classifies the volcano as " Inactive ". Mount Makiling is a state-owned forest reserve administered by

812-537: Is usually taken care of by the Philippine shamans , the indigenous spiritual leader of the barangay (community), and to some extent, the datu (barangay political leader) and the lakan (barangay coalition political leader) as well. Initially unadorned and revered minimally, damabanas later on were filled with adornments centering on religious practices towards larauan statues due to trade and religious influences from various independent and vassal states. It

870-545: The Philippine witches , which include different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations depending on the ethnic group they are associated with. They are completely different from the Western notion of what a witch is. Examples of witches in a Philippine concept are the mannamay, mangkukulam , and mambabarang . As spiritual mediums and divinators, shamans are notable for countering and preventing

928-573: The University of the Philippines Los Baños . Prior to its transfer to the university, the mountain was the first national park of the Philippines. Mount Makiling National Park was established on February 23, 1933, by Proclamation No. 552. However, it was decommissioned as a national park on June 20, 1963, by Republic Act No. 3523 when it was transferred to the university for use in forestry education and information. The mountain

986-466: The indigenous Philippine folk religions . Some examples of the many traditional sacred places today are as follow: Today's practices are notably influenced by modernity, due to an array of inevitable religious dynamisms. Although no expansive shrine structures have yet to be built, natural shrines such as Mount Makiling, Mayon Volcano, Pinatubo Volcano, Mount Pulag, Kanlaon Volcano, Mount Madja-as, Mount Apo, and many others are thoroughly used to preserve

1044-548: The national religion , but the proposal did not prosper. The Philippine Statistics Authority notes in the 2020 national census, that 0.23% of the Filipino national population are affiliated with indigenous Philippine folk religions, which they wrote as "tribal religions" in their census. This is an increase from the previous 2010 census which recorded 0.19%. Despite the current number of adherents, many traditions from indigenous Philippine folk religions have been integrated into

1102-696: The Bicolano religious epic, Ibalon, namely Baltog, Handyong, and Bantog. In accordance to the National Cultural Heritage Act , as enacted in 2010, the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PReCUP) was established as the national registry of the Philippine Government used to consolidate in one record all cultural property that are deemed important to the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, of

1160-512: The English word " idol ", and thus anito has come to refer almost exclusively to the carved figures or statues ( taotao ) of ancestral and nature spirits. The belief in anito is sometimes referred to as anitism in scholarly literature (Spanish: anitismo or anitería ). Many Indigenous Filipino cultures assert the existence of a high god, creator god, or sky god. Among the Tagalogs,

1218-532: The Filipino ethnic groups are similar to shrine practices in Asia, such as the shrine practices in Japan , Bali , and India . Most of the remaining sacred places are natural, and not man-made, as majority of the man-made shrines were completely destroyed by the Spanish during a 300-year Catholic-colonial period from the 16th century to the 19th century. However, remnants of man-made shrines have been rediscovered since

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1276-523: The Indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines . Pag-anito (also mag-anito or anitohan ) refers to a séance , often accompanied by other rituals or celebrations, in which a shaman ( Visayan : babaylan , Tagalog : katalonan ) acts as a medium to communicate directly with the spirits. When a nature spirit or deity is specifically involved, the ritual is called pagdiwata (also magdiwata or diwatahan ). Anito can also refer to

1334-423: The Philippines has their own terms concerning their shrines and sacred grounds, which are diverse in number. The shrine can be a sacred structure built with different materials, depending on the locality, but the usual shrine structure is made from indigenous wood with nipa roofs. No metal nails are used in its construction. The wood pieces are shaped in a way that each block would stick tightly to each other. At

1392-472: The Philippines. The registry safeguards a variety of Philippine heritage elements, including oral literature, music, dances, ethnographic materials, and sacred grounds, among many others. The National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Law, as enacted in 1992 and expanded in 2018, also protects certain Anitist sacred grounds in the country. The indigenous Philippine folk religions were widely spread in

1450-636: The Philippines. They were either small roof-less platforms or standing poles split at the tip (similar to a tiki torch ). They held halved coconut shells, metal plates, or martaban jars as receptacles for offerings. Taotao may sometimes also be placed on these platforms. Other types of sacred places or objects of worship of diwata include the material manifestation of their realms. The most widely venerated were balete trees (also called nonok , nunuk , nonoc , etc.) and anthills or termite mounds ( punso ). Other examples include mountains, waterfalls, tree groves, reefs, and caves. Each ethnic group in

1508-644: The Philippines. They were either small roofless platforms or standing poles split at the tip (similar to a tiki torch ). They held halved coconut shells, metal plates, or martaban jars as receptacles for offerings. Taotao may sometimes also be placed on these platforms. Other types of sacred places or objects of worship of diwata include the material manifestation of their realms. The most widely venerated were balete trees (also called nonok , nunuk , nonoc , etc.) and anthills or termite mounds ( punso ). Other examples include mountains, waterfalls, tree groves, reefs, and caves. Many ethnic peoples in

1566-548: The Spanish colonialists between the 15th to 19th centuries, and were continued to be looted by American imperialists in the early 20th century. Additionally, the lands used by the native people for worship were mockingly converted by the colonialists as foundation for their foreign churches and cemeteries. Examples of indigenous places of worship that have survived colonialism are mostly natural sites such as mountains, gulfs, lakes, trees, boulders, and caves. Indigenous man-made places of worship are still present in certain communities in

1624-542: The Spanish until the 19th century, leaving no shrine structures left throughout areas subjugated by the Spanish Crown. In addition, not all shrines are house structures. Some shrines may be traditional non-Western cemeteries ( libingan ), ancient ruins or old places ( sinaunang pook ), rivers ( ilog ), mountains ( bundok ), mounds ( burol ), seas ( karagatan ), caves ( yungib ), lakes ( lawa ), forests ( gubat ) giant trees ( malalaking puno ) such as balete (one of

1682-696: The Tagalog goddess of lost things, Anagolay. In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) named star Wasp 34 as Aman Sinaya, the Tagalog deity of the ocean, while planet Wasp 34-b was named as Haik, a Tagalog sea god. On the same year, the world's largest caldera was named as the Apolaki Caldera , after the god of sun in various indigenous religions in Luzon. In 2021, three bridges in Albay were named after three heroes from

1740-514: The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit. When Spanish missionaries arrived in the Philippines, the word " anito " came to be associated with the physical representations of spirits that featured prominently in paganito rituals. During the American rule of the Philippines (1898–1946) , the meaning of the Spanish word idolo ("a thing worshiped") has been further conflated with

1798-471: The ancient religions. Home altars continue to be one of the abodes of specific sacred objects depicting or attributed to the deities and ancestral spirits. Indigenous Philippine folk religions Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines , where most follow belief systems in line with animism . Generally, these Indigenous folk religions are referred to as Anito or Anitism or

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1856-473: The archipelago, prior to the arrival of Abrahamic religions. The majority of the people, however, had converted to Christianity due to Spanish colonization from the 16th to the late 19th century, which continued through the 20th century during and after American colonization. During the Philippine Revolution , there were proposals to revive the indigenous Philippine folk religions and make them

1914-435: The country have a shared "mountain worship culture", where specific mountains are believed to be the abodes of certain divinities or supernatural beings and aura. Mythical places of worship are also present in some mythologies. Unfortunately, a majority of these places of worship (which includes items associated with these sites such as idol statues and ancient documents written in suyat scripts) were brutalized and destroyed by

1972-436: The curses and powers of witches, notably through the usage of special items and chants. Aside from the shamans, there are also other types of people who can counter specific magics of witches, such as the mananambal, which specializes in countering barang . Shamans can also counter the curses of supernatural beings such as aswangs . However, because they are mortal humans, the physical strength of shamans are limited compared to

2030-489: The dead are traditionally venerated and deified in accordance to ancient belief systems originating from the Indigenous Philippine folk religions. Throughout various cultural phases in the archipelago, specific communities of people gradually developed or absorbed notable symbols in their belief systems. Many of these symbols or emblems are deeply rooted in indigenous epics, poems, and pre-colonial beliefs of

2088-485: The environment, such as a mountain or a tree; guardian spirits in charge of specific aspects of daily life such as hunting or fishing; and deified ancestors or tribal heroes. These categories frequently overlap, with individual deities falling into two or more categories, and in some instances, deities evolve from one role to another, as when a tribal hero known for fishing becomes a guardian spirit associated with hunting. Each ethnic group has their own concept and number of

2146-408: The form of adornments (gold belts, necklace, wrist rings, and feet rings) and barter money ( piloncitos and gold rings). Animal statues, notably native dogs , guard a dambana structure along with engravings and calligraphy portraying protections and the anitos . In 2014, the international astronomical monitoring agency Minor Planet Center (MPC) named Asteroid 1982 XB 3757 Anagolay , after

2204-458: The local practice of Catholicism and Islam, resulting in " Folk Catholicism " and " Folk Islam ". Mount Makiling Mount Makiling (also spelled Maquiling ) is an inactive stratovolcano located in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas on the island of Luzon in the Philippines . The mountain rises to an elevation of 1,090 meters (3,580 ft) above mean sea level and

2262-631: The middle of the 20th century, such as the Angono Petroglyphs in Rizal which was rediscovered in 1965 and the Limestone tombs of Kamhantik in Quezon province which was rediscovered in 2011. Prominent natural shrines or sacred grounds vary, but the most notable are the mountains and volcanoes. Additionally, mythological shrines and sacred places also abound within the diverse concepts known in

2320-406: The more modern and less ethnocentric Dayawism , where a set of local worship traditions are devoted to the anito or diwata (and their variables), terms which translate to Gods, spirits, and ancestors. Many of the narratives within the indigenous folk religions are orally transmitted to the next generation, but many have traditionally been written down as well. The Spanish have claimed that

2378-475: The mountain is said to be that of her in a reclining position. In some accounts, Maria Makiling, while serving as an anito of Bathala in Mount Makiling, was heartbroken by a mortal man, and thus chose to remain hidden from mortal view thereafter. The following are the proclamations, Republic Acts , and Executive Orders relevant to the Makiling Forest Reserve (MFR): Mt. Makiling is

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2436-459: The natives did not have religious writings. The profusion of different terms arises from the fact that these Indigenous religions mostly flourished in the pre-colonial period before the Philippines had become a single nation. The various peoples of the Philippines spoke different languages and thus used different terms to describe their religious beliefs. While these beliefs can be treated as separate religions, scholars have noted that they follow

2494-591: The natives. Each ethnic group has their own set of culturally important symbols, but there are also "shared symbols" which has influenced many ethnic peoples in a particular area. Some examples of important Anitist symbols are as follow: Indigenous shamans are the spiritual leaders of various ethnic peoples of the Philippine islands from the pre-colonial era to the present era. These shamans, many of whom are still extant, are almost always women or effeminate men ( asog or bayok ). They are believed to have spirit guides , by which they could contact and interact with

2552-644: The person's life is relinquished. In some cases, the souls are provided by certain deities such as the case among the Tagbanwa, while in others, the soul comes from certain special regions such as the case among the Bisaya. Some people have two souls such as the Ifugao, while others have five souls such as the Hanunoo Mangyan. In general, a person's physical and mental health contribute to the overall health of

2610-462: The person's souls. In some instances, if a soul is lost, a person will become sick, and if all living souls are gone, then the body eventually dies. However, there are also instances in which the body can still live despite the loss of all of its souls, such as the phenomenon called mekararuanan among the Ibanag. Overall, caring for one's self is essential to long life for the souls, which in turn provide

2668-427: The provinces, notably in ancestral domains where the people continue to practice their indigenous religions . In traditional dambana beliefs, all deities, beings sent by the supreme deity/deities, and ancestor spirits are collectively called anitos or diwata . Supernatural non- anito beings are called lamang-lupa (beings of the land) or lamang-dagat (beings of the sea or other water bodies). The dambana

2726-407: The same time, the wood bonds are strengthened by rattan strips. Majority of these man-made shrine structures (along with the materials assigned to shrine traditions such as statues home to anitos, statues reserved for burial practices in the future, and documents with indigenous writings and calligraphy) were unfortunately destroyed by the Spanish in the 16th century, while transforming the land where

2784-498: The shamans, respect and revere their deity statues (called larauan , bulul , manang , etc.), which represent one or more specific deities within their ethnic pantheon, which includes non-ancestor deities and deified ancestors. More general terms used by Spanish sources for native shamans throughout the archipelago were derived from Tagalog and Visayan anito ("spirit"); these include terms like maganito and anitera . The "negative" counterparts of Philippine shamans are

2842-698: The sheer diversity of Indigenous words for ghosts, terms like espirito and multo , both adopted from Spanish words such as muerto , have been used as all-encompassing terms for the souls or spirits of the dead in mainstream Filipino culture. While ghosts in Western beliefs are generally known for their sometimes horrific nature, ghosts of the dead for the various ethnic groups in the Philippines are traditionally regarded in high esteem. These ghosts are usually referred to as ancestral spirits who can guide and protect their relatives and community, though ancestral spirits can also cast harm if they are disrespected. In many cases among various Filipino ethnic groups, spirits of

2900-400: The shrine structures were built upon into Catholic cemeteries or locations for Roman Catholic churches. The Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas of 1582 recorded the existence of ancient sacred structures that contained " one hundred or two hundred [idol statues]", which the Spanish all burned down and destroyed. These idols were the statues of departed loved ones, which the natives used to contact

2958-410: The soul of a being, notably humans. In most cases, a person has two or more souls while he or she is alive. The origin of a person's soul have been told through narratives concerning the Indigenous Philippine folk religions, where each ethnic religion has its unique concept on soul origin, soul composition, retaining and caring for the soul, and other matters, such as the eventual passage of the soul after

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3016-594: The south where early mosques were also modeled in the same way. These shrines were known in various indigenous terms, which depend on the ethnic group association. They can also be used as places to store taotao and caskets of ancestors. Among Bicolanos, taotao were also kept inside sacred caves called moog . During certain ceremonies, anito are venerated through temporary altars near sacred places. These were called latangan or lantayan in Visayan and dambana or lambana in Tagalog. These bamboo or rattan altars are identical in basic construction throughout most of

3074-531: The spirits and deities ( anito or diwata ) and the spirit world . Their primary role are as mediums during pag-anito séance rituals. There are also various subtypes of shamans specializing in the arts of healing and herbalism , divination , and sorcery . Numerous types of shamans use different kinds of items in their work, such as talismans or charms known as agimat or anting-anting, curse deflectors such as buntot pagi , and sacred oil concoctions, among many other objects. All social classes, including

3132-472: The spirits of their deceased ancestor or friend and the deities. Additionally, Amoroso and Abinales (2005) wrote that the Spaniards also ordered native children by force to 'defecate' on the native people's idol statues, in a bid to further mock the natives and their indigenous religions . The purge against shrine structures and all things related to the indigenous Philippine folk religions were continued by

3190-565: The strength of an aswang being. This gap in physical strength is usually bridged by a dynamics of knowledge and wit. Philippine witches are not necessarily evil, as they can also serve for the good of society. In cases where a crime was met by injustice as the instigator wasn't persecuted properly or was acquitted despite mounting evidences, the victims or their family and friends can ask aid from witches to bring justice by way of black magic, which differs per ethnic association. In traditional beliefs outside of mainstream Filipino movie renditions, it

3248-986: The supreme god was known as Bathala , who was additionally described as Maykapal (the all-powerful) or Lumikha (the creator). Among the Visayan peoples the creator God is referred to as Laon , meaning "the ancient one." Among the Manuvu, the highest god was called Manama. Among most of the Cordilleran peoples (with the Apayao region as an exception), the creator and supreme teacher is known as Kabuniyan . In most cases, however, these gods were considered such great beings that they were too distant for ordinary people to approach. People thus tended to pay more attention to "lesser gods" or "assistant deities" who could more easily approached, and whose wills could more easily be influenced. Lesser deities in Filipino religions generally fit into three broad categories: nature spirits residing in

3306-428: The three most sacred trees for the Tagalogs, the other two being kawayan or bamboo and buko or coconut tree), and other places known to the natural and spiritual world, except for swamps, which are called buhay na tubig (living waters) and are considered as sacred but dangerous to the Tagalog people in pre-colonial times due to the presence of life-threatening supernatural beings. The presence of these natural shrines

3364-477: Was invisible but had an influence on the visible world. Second, Filipinos believed that there were spirits ( anito ) everywhere - ranging from the high creator gods to minor spirits that lived in the environment such as trees or rocks or creeks. Third, Filipinos believed that events in the human world were influenced by the actions and interventions of these spirit beings. Anito were the ancestor spirits ( umalagad ), or nature spirits and deities ( diwata ) in

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