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. These indigenous folk religions include a set of local worship traditions that are devoted to the anito or diwata, 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 colonizers have claimed that the natives did not have religious writings, but records show otherwise. Accounts, both from Chinese and Spanish sources have explicitly noted the existence of indigenous religious writings. There are also Spanish records of indigenous religious books and scrolls, along with indigenous statues of gods, being burned by colonizers. In some sources, the Spanish claim that no such religious writings exist, while within the same chronicle, they record such books being burned on their own order. The writings were written on native reeds and leaves using iron points and other local pens, similar to how things are written on a papyrus, and fashioned either as scrolls or books. Some were written on bamboos. 0.23% of the population of the Philippines are affiliated with the Indigenous Philippine folk religions according to the 2020 national census, an increase from the previous 0.19% from the 2010 census.
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 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 is an important aspect of the study of Philippine culture and Filipino psychology.

Religious worldview

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 was invisible but had an influence on the visible world. Second, Filipinos believed that there were spirits 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.
The indigenous religions in the Philippines are the ancient beliefs and traditions of various ethnic groups in the country. Most of them believe in animism, where it is believed that all things people, animals, plants, and even nature have a spirit or soul called Diwa. In these religions, there are two main types of spirits:
Diwata – This refers to deities, gods, and nature spirits.
Anito – These are wooden statues and the spirits or souls of the dead, especially those of ancestors.
The word diwata has many forms in different Filipino languages, such as dewatu, divata, duwata, ruwata, dewa, dwata, or diya. In Tagalog, a related word is diwa, which means "spirit" or "essence."
Anito or the ancestor spirits, and nature spirits and deities in the Indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines.
Anito can be also divided into two main categories: the ancestor spirits, and deities and nature spirits.
Pag-anito is a séance, ritual where people communicate with the spirits of the dead or their ancestors. It is often done with the help of a shaman called a babaylan in Visayan or a katalonan in Tagalog who acts as a medium to connect with these spirits. This ritual is usually accompanied by celebrations or other ceremonies. If the ritual involves talking to nature spirits or deities instead, it is called pagdiwata. The word anito can also mean worship or making an offering 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, the meaning of the Spanish word idolo has been further conflated with the English word "idol", and thus anito has come to refer almost exclusively to the carved figures or statues of ancestral spirits.
The belief in anito or ancestor worship is sometimes referred to as anitism in scholarly literature. literally means veneration of the spirits of the dead. The word anitism, or the Hispano-Filipino form anitismo, though not in current usage, it was a precolonial Tagalog religion, a continual invocation and adoration of the anitos, the souls or spirits of their ancestors. From its original meaning of "ancestral spirit".

Deities and spirits

Creator gods

Many Indigenous Filipino cultures assert the existence of a high god, creator god, or sky god. Among the Tagalogs, the supreme god was known as Bathala, who was additionally described as Maykapal or Lumikha. 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, 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.

Lower gods

Lesser deities in Filipino religions generally fit into three broad categories: nature spirits residing in 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.

Concept of the soul

Each ethnic group has their own concept and number of 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 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 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 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 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 the dead are traditionally venerated and deified in accordance to ancient belief systems originating from the Indigenous Philippine folk religions.

Important symbols

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 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:
  • okir – a distinct mark of cultural heritage of the now-Muslim peoples in specific portions of Mindanao; the motif is notable for using only botanical symbols which enhance a variety of works of art made of wood, metal, and even stone
  • vulva – an important symbol of fertility, health, and abundance of natural resources; most myths also associate the vulva as the source of life, prosperity, and power
  • lingling-o – special fertility ornaments which specific symbols and shapes; notably used by the Ifugao people today, but has been historically used by various people as far as the people of southern Palawan
  • moon and sun – highly worshiped symbols which are present as deities in almost all mythologies in the Philippines; portrayals of the sun and moon are notable in the indigenous tattoos of the natives, as well as their fine ornaments and garments
  • human statues – there are a variety of human statues made by the natives such as bulul, taotao, and manang; all of which symbolize the deities of specific pantheons
  • serpent and bird – two notable symbols of strength, power, creation, death, and life in various mythologies; for serpents, the most notable depictions include dragons, eels, and snakes, while for birds, the most notable depictions are fairy blue-birds, flowerpeckers, eagles, kingfishers, and woodpeckers
  • phallus – a symbol associated with creation for various ethnic groups; in some accounts, the phallus was also a source of both healing and sickness, but most myths associate the phallus with fertility
  • flower – many tattoos and textile motifs revolve around flower symbols; each ethnic group has their own set of preferred flowers, many of which are stated in their epics and poems
  • crocodile – a symbol of strength and life after death; crocodile symbols are also used as deflectors against bad omens and evil spirits
  • mountain and forest – many mountains and forests are considered as deities by some ethnic groups, while others consider them as home of the deities such as the case in Aklanon, Bicolano, Hiligaynon, Kapampangan, and Bagobo beliefs
  • bamboo and coconut – symbols of creation, defense, sustenance, and resilience; many creation myths depict the bamboo as the source of mankind, while in others, it was utilized by mankind along with the coconut
  • rice and root crop – various mythologies magnify the rice stalk, rice grains, and root crops as the primary cultural associations with agriculture; many stories have stated that such crops are gifts from the divine and have nourished the people since ancient times
  • betel nut and wine – betel nuts and wines serve important ritual and camaraderie functions among many ethnic groups; these two items are notably consumed by both mortals and deities, and in some myths, they also lead to peace pacts
  • tattoo – tattoos are important status, achievement, and beautification symbols in many ethnic beliefs in the country; designs range from crocodiles, snakes, raptors, suns, moons, flowers, rivers, and mountains, among many others
  • aspin – dogs are depicted in a variety of means by many mythologies, with many being companions of the deities, while others are independent guardians; like other beings, myths on dogs range from good to bad, but most associate them with the divinities
  • sea, river, and boat – symbols on seas, rivers, and other water bodies are notable depictions in various mythologies in the Philippines; a stark commonality between various ethnic groups is the presence of unique boat-like technologies, ranging from huge balangays to fast karakoas.