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Anito
''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associations depending on the Filipino ethnic group. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the ''taotao'', made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. ''Anito'' (a term predominantly used in Luzon) is also sometimes known as ''diwata'' in certain ethnic groups (especially among Visayans). ''Pag-anito'' 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''. The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit is also sometimes simply referred to as ''anito''. The belief in ''anito'' a ...
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Philippine Shamans
Filipino shamans, commonly known as (also ''Balian'' or , among many other names), were shamans of the various ethnic groups of the pre-colonial Philippine islands. These shamans specialized in communicating, appeasing, or harnessing the spirits of the dead and the spirits of nature. They were almost always women or feminized men ( or ). They were believed to have spirit guides, by which they could contact and interact with the spirits and deities (''anito'' or '' diwata'') and the spirit world. Their primary role were as mediums during ''pag-anito'' séance rituals. There were also various subtypes of specializing in the arts of healing and herbalism, divination, and sorcery. Terminology The most common native terms for shamans among Austronesian groups in Island Southeast Asia are ''balian'', ''baylan'', or cognates and spelling variants thereof. They are all derived from Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian ''*balian'', meaning "shaman" (probably originally female, trans ...
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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 the more modern and less ethnocentric Dayawism.Almocera, Ruel A., (2005) Popular Filipino Spiritual Beliefs with a proposed Theological Response. in Doing Theology in the Philippines. Suk, John., Ed. Mandaluyong: OMF Literature Inc. Pp 78-98Maggay, Melba Padilla (1999). Filipino Religious Consciousness. Quezon City: Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture. Around 0.2% of the population of the Philippines were affiliated with the so-called "tribal religions", according to the 2010 national 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 ...
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Ancestor Spirit
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain sects and religions, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, venerate saints as intercessors with God; the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin. In European, Asian, Oceanian, African and Afro-diasporic cultures, the goal of ancestor veneration is to ensure the ancestors' continued well-being and positive disposition towards the living, and sometimes to ask for special favours or assistance. The social or non-religious function of ancestor veneration is to cultivate kinship values, such as filial piety, family loy ...
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Tagalog Language
Tagalog (, ; ; ''Baybayin'': ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as a second language by the majority. Its Standard language, standardized form, official language, officially named Filipino language, ''Filipino'', is the national language of the Philippines, and is one of two official languages, alongside Philippine English, English. Tagalog is closely related to other Philippine languages, such as the Bikol languages, Ilocano language, Ilocano, the Bisayan languages, Kapampangan language, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan language, Pangasinan, and more distantly to other Austronesian languages, such as the Formosan languages of Taiwan, Indonesian language, Indonesian, Malay language, Malay, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian, Māori language, Māori, and Malagasy language, Malagasy. Classification Tagalog is a Central Philippine languages, Central Phi ...
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Hantu Demon
Hantu is the Malay and Indonesian word for spirit or ghost, sometimes it is also the Tagalog word for ghost . In modern usage it generally means spirits of the dead but has also come to refer to any legendary invisible being, such as demons. In its traditional context the term also referred to animistic nature spirits or ancestral souls. The word is derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ''*qanitu'' and Proto-Austronesian ''*qaNiCu''. Cognates in other Austronesian languages include the Micronesian ''aniti'', Lio language ''nitu'', Yami ''anito'', Taivoan ''alid'', Seediq and Atayal ''utux'', Bunun '' hanitu'' or ''hanidu'', Polynesian '' aitu'' or ''atua'', and Tsou ''hicu'' among the Formosan languages. In terms of concept and place in traditional folklore, it is most similar to the Filipino anito. Types Aside from generic spirits of the dead, there exist various forms of Hantu including both the benign and malevolent. * Hantu Air: spirit inhabiting the water * Hantu Beru ...
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Tao People
The Tao people are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the tiny outlying Orchid Island of Taiwan. They have a maritime culture, with great ritual and spiritual significance placed on boat-building and fishing. Their ways of life have been threatened by the continued emigration to the mainland of Taiwan in search of jobs and education. As a result, the continuation of past traditions has been hindered. Despite being linked to both other Taiwanese indigenous peoples and Filipino populations, the Tao people remain unique in their customs and cultural practices. The Tao people have been more commonly recorded under the exonym "Yami people" by official documents and academic literature, following Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryuzo's coining of the name in 1897. However, as a collective, these Orchid Island inhabitants typically prefer "Tao people" as their group identifier. Recently, they have successfully petitioned the Council of Indigenous Peoples of the Taiwanese government ...
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Austronesian People
The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austronesian languages. They also include indigenous ethnic minorities in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Hainan, the Comoros, and the Torres Strait Islands. The nations and territories predominantly populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples are sometimes known collectively as Austronesia. Based on the current scientific consensus, they originated from a prehistoric seaborne migration, known as the Austronesian expansion, from pre- Han Taiwan, at around 1500 to 1000 BCE. Austronesians reached the northernmost Philippines, specifically the Batanes Islands, by around 2200 BCE. Austronesians used sails some time before 2000 BCE. In conjunction with their use of other maritime technologies (notably catamarans, outrigger boats, lashed ...
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Visayans
Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group, they are both the most numerous in the entire country at around 33.5 million, as well as the most geographically widespread. The Visayans broadly share a maritime culture with strong Roman Catholic traditions integrated into a precolonial indigenous core through centuries of interaction and migration mainly across the Visayan, Sibuyan, Camotes, Bohol and Sulu seas. In more inland or otherwise secluded areas, ancient animistic-polytheistic beliefs and traditions either were reinterpreted within a Roman Catholic framework or syncretized with the new religion. Visayans are generally speakers of one or more of the Bisayan languages, the most widely spoken being Cebuano, followed by Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) and Waray-Waray. Terminology ...
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Taivoan People
The Taivoan (; ) or Tevorangh (; ) people or Shisha (), also written Taivuan and Tevorang, Tivorang, Tivorangh, are a Taiwanese indigenous people. The Taivoan originally settled around hill and basin areas in Tainan, especially in the , which area the Taivoan called ''Tamani'', later transliterated into Japanese and later borrowed as Chinese ''Yujing''. The Taivoan historically called themselves ''Taivoan'', ''Taibowan'', ''Taiburan'' or ''Shisha'' as endonyms. According to some scholars, there should be more than 20,000 Taivoan people nowadays, estimated based on the records during Japanese rule of Taiwan, ranked as the second largest non-status indigenous people in Taiwan, only second to Makatao people. Many scholars propose that the name of the island Taiwan actually came from the indigenous people's name, as the pronunciation of ''Taivoan'' is similar to ''Tayovan'', the people that the Dutch met around the coast of Anping or the bay around Anping, which later became the ...
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Aitu
In Polynesian languages the word ''aitu'' refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ''aitu'' or ''eitu'' are lesser gods, many being patrons of specific villages and families. They often take the form of plants or animals, and are often more cruel than other gods. These trouble-making gods are regarded as having come from Samoa. The Tongan word ''tangi lauaitu'' means to cry from grief, to lament. In Māori mythology, the word ''aitu'' refers to sickness, calamity, or demons; the related word ''aituā'' means misfortune, accident, disaster. In Tahitian, ''aitu'' (syn. atua/raitu) can mean 'god' or 'spirit';Fare vana'a dictionary ('raitu' is also an affectionate word given to a cherished child/ref> in other languages, including Rarotongan, Samoan, Sikaiana, Kapingamarangi, Takuu, Tuamotuan, and Niuean, ''aitu'' are ghosts or spirits. In Cook Islands ''Aitu'' is also t ...
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