
, also known as ''anting'' or folklorized as ''anting-anting'', is a
Filipino word for "
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
" or "
charm".
["Tagalog-English Dictionary by Leo James English, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Manila, distributed by National Book Store, 1583 pages, ] ''Anting-anting'' is also a Filipino system of magic and sorcery with special use of the above-mentioned talismans, amulets, and charms. Other general terms for include ''virtud'' (Virtue) and ''galing'' (Prowess).
The practice is part of a wider Southeast Asian tradition of tribal jewelry, as ''gantung'' ("hanging") in
Indonesian/Malay and ''anting-anting'' ("ear hanging—ornament") in
Javanese, originating in the polytheistic mythology that such supernatural ornaments were worn by the gods in their ear hook or earlobes, where it is allegedly most potent.
Description
In the Philippine occult tradition, there is usually a corresponding agimat to deal with in a particular area in a person's life. The most frequent types of agimat are used for removing hexes and exorcism of evil spirits. An agimat, also called a ''gayuma'', serves as a love
charm which makes the owner more attractive to the opposite sex. Although typically a cross, a flat, round or triangular golden pendant accompanying a necklace or a necklace-like item, it is also depicted as an enchanted stone that came from the sky or a
fulgurite
Fulgurites (), commonly called "fossilized lightning", are natural tubes, clumps, or masses of sintered, vitrified, or fused soil, sand, rock, organic debris and other sediments that sometimes form when lightning discharges into ground. Whe ...
"fang" left by a
lightning strike
A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...
(''pangil ng kidlat'') or even a drop of liquid from the heart of a banana tree at midnight (''mutya''). If the latter, it is usually ingested. An agimat is usually accompanied by a small book of magic incantations which must be read during
Good Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
or a certain special date to attain the amulet's full power and benefit. An agimat could also be in the form of clothing with magic words inscribed on it, or even in the form of edible enchanted mud (''putik'' in Tagalog).
[Galang, Reynaldo S. "Anting anting, the Filipino Warrior's Amulet"]
, Bakbakan International, Bakbakan.com (1994, 1997)
Other methods of obtaining an agimat is by getting the liquid that is drained from an exhumed body of an
unbaptized child or aborted fetus or offering food and drink to the spirits in a cemetery at midnight on Holy Wednesday or Holy Thursday. Most of the amulets bear Latin inscriptions. Like those in
Quiapo
Quiapo may refer to:
* Quiapo, Chile, a location in Arauco Province
*Quiapo, Manila, a district in the Philippines
** Quiapo Church
The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (), commonly known as Quiapo Church and canonically ...
district in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, most of the agimat merchants are near churches (such as in its courtyard or in the marketplace nearby). Filipino freedom fighters also wore ''anting-anting'' to battle against the Spaniards and the Americans. Filipino hero
Macario Sakay
Macario Sakay y de León (March 1, 1870 – September 13, 1907) was a Filipino general who took part in the 1896 Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire and in the Philippine–American War. After the war was declared over by the Un ...
wore a vest that has religious images and Latin phrases to protect him from bullets. Former
President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...
, claimed that he was allegedly given an anting-anting by
Gregorio Aglipay
Gregorio Aglipay Cruz y Labayán (; Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gregorio Labayan Aglipay Cruz''; pronounced ; May 5, 1860 – September 1, 1940) was a Filipino former Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Priesthood (Catholic Church), priest ...
that could supposedly make Marcos invisible.
[ Karnow, Stanley. '' In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines'', Ballantine Books, Random House, Inc., March 3, 1990, 536 pages, ] Marcos said that the agimat is a sliver of wood that was inserted into his back before the
Bataan campaign on 1942.
Earliest reports of anting-anting are from the records of Spanish priests in the early colonial period.
Pardo de Tavera defines the anting-anting as ''amuleto que salva la vida, da poder sobre natural'' ("an amulet, of super natural power, that saves lives"). With the Christianization of the Philippines, anting-anting appropriated the forms of the new religion, and incorporated as well the esoteric symbols of
Freemasonry
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
. An
Islamic
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
version of anting-anting exists in the Southern Muslim islands.
Depictions in films
In Filipino films, the wearer of the gains superhuman strength, invisibility, heightened senses, self-healing, and elemental powers. With it, the person can also be able to shoot or fire lightning via hands, or generate electricity throughout one's body. The person can also perform telekinesis, stop a live bullet, can have premonitions, flight, morphing abilities, camouflage abilities like a chameleon, can have extreme good luck, possess invincibility, or perform miracle curative powers. In his Filipino films, actor
Ramon Revilla, Sr., as ''
Nardong Putik'' has an anting-anting that renders him invulnerable.
''Anting-anting'' are mentioned and seen several times in the 1939 film
The Real Glory
''The Real Glory'' is a 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Productions adventure film starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds and Broderick Crawford released by United Artists in the weeks immediately following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Based ...
, where the
Moro people
The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro (lit. ''Moro nation'' or ''Moro country''). As Muslim-majority ...
claim they will protect them from bullets and knives.
Subtypes
may be further classified into different types based on their purported sorcerous powers, they include:
*''Kabal'' (or ''kunat'') - that supposedly make the skin invulnerable to cuts and sword slashes.
*''Pamako'' - or ''orasyon'' (magical prayer) that supposedly nail down entities to keep them from moving
*''Tagabulag'' - that supposedly turns the wearer invisible against their enemy
or blind them
*''Tagaliwas'' - that can supposedly deflect bullets
See also
*
Bali-og
Bali-og, also spelled baliog, are traditional layered necklaces of various ethnic groups in the islands of Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines. They consist of chokers and necklaces with a fringe of beads and other ornaments. More than one ...
References
{{Superstitions
Austronesian spirituality
Tagalog words and phrases
Types of jewellery
Superstitions of the Philippines
Agim
Amulets
Talismans