Anito

Religious objects and places

Taotao figures

Ancestor spirits were usually represented by carved figures. These were known as taotao ("little human", also taotaohan, latawo, tinatao, or tatao), bata-bata ("little child"), ladaw ("image" or "likeness"; also laraw, ladawang, lagdong, or larawan), or likha ("creation"; also likhak) in most of the Philippines. Other names include bulul (also bulol or bul-ul) among the Ifugao; tinagtaggu (also tinattaggu) among the Kankanaey and Tuwali Ifugao; lablabbon among the Itneg; manaug among the Lumad; and tagno among Bicolanos. Among Tagalogs, taotao were also sometimes referred to as lambana ("altar" or "sacred place"), after the location in which they are usually kept.

Taotao were usually austere roughly-carved figures made from wood, stone, or ivory. Some taoatao encountered by the Spanish were made from precious metals or ornamented with gold and jewelry, but these were very rare. Taotao were almost always depicted in the squatting position with the arms crossed over the knees, which is reminiscent of the fetal position, the everyday conversing posture, and the position bodies are arranged during death among Ancient Filipinos. Some figures, however, are depicted standing or doing everyday activities like dancing, pounding rice, or nursing infants.

Most taotao represent an actual deceased person, usually carved by the community upon their funeral. As such, there can be hundreds of taotao in a single village, some of them centuries old.

In very rare cases, diwata can be depicted as taotao in anthropomorphic form, as chimeras or legendary creatures, or as animals. These include a special class of figures called hipag among the Igorot which depict war deities, as well as kinabigat (carved houseposts) and hogang (carved tree fern posts used as boundary markers and as wards against harm). As a rule, however, diwata are not usually depicted as taotao or by any man-made representations.

Taotao were not intrinsically sacred. They were representations of the spirits, not the actual spirits themselves. They only became sacred during their use in a pag-anito ritual. Without the spirit they represent, they are treated as mundane carved pieces of wood or sculpted stone. The anonymous author of the 1572 Relación de la conquista de la isla de Luzón describes pag-anito rituals of the Tagalog people as such:

When any chief is ill, he invites his kindred and orders a great meal to be prepared, consisting of fish, meat, and wine. When the guests are all assembled and the feast set forth in a few plates on the ground inside the house, they seat themselves also on the ground to eat. In the midst of the feast (called manganito or baylán in their tongue), they put the idol called Batala and certain aged women who are considered as priestesses, and some aged Indians—neither more nor less. They offer the idol some of the food which they are eating, and call upon him in their tongue, praying to him for the health of the sick man for whom the feast is held. The natives of these islands have no altars nor temples whatsoever. This manganito, or drunken revel, to give it a better name, usually lasts seven or eight days; and when it is finished they take the idols and put them in the corners of the house, and keep them there without showing them any reverence.

Regardless, very old taotao handed down through generations are prized as family heirlooms. Among the Igorot, pieces of taotao may also be chipped off and boiled into a medicinal tea.

Taotao were commonly kept in corners or small shelves inside houses or granaries. Spanish missionaries recorded that taotao were present in every Filipino household, no matter how poor.

When Spanish missionaries arrived in the Philippines, the word "anito" came to be associated with these physical representations of spirits that featured prominently in pag-anito rituals. During the American rule of the Philippines (1898–1946), the meaning of the Spanish word idolo ("a thing worshiped") was further conflated with the English word "idol". Thus in the modern Filipino language, anito has come to refer almost exclusively to the carved taotao figures, instead of the actual spirits themselves.

Shrines, altars, and sacred areas

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 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 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.

Spirit animals and plants

Some animals like crocodiles, snakes, monitor lizards, tokay geckos, and various birds were also venerated as servants or manifestations of diwata, or as powerful spirits themselves. These include legendary creatures like the dragon or serpent Bakunawa, the giant bird Minokawa of the Bagobo, and the colorful Sarimanok of the Maranao.

Omen birds were particularly important. The most common omen birds were doves with green or blue iridescent feathers called limokon (usually the common emerald dove, imperial pigeons, or brown doves). Other omen birds include fairy-bluebirds (tigmamanukan, balan tikis, balatiti, or bathala among Tagalogs; and batala among Kapampangans); kingfishers (salaksak among the Ilocano, Igorot, and Sambal); and flowerpeckers (pitpit, ichaw, ido, or labeg among the Igorot).

Certain animals (in addition to omen birds) are also believed to be manifestations of spirits, and there were taboos when interacting with them or speaking about them as their connections to the spirit world make them innately dangerous. This belief was universal among early Austronesian animism, existing not only in the Philippines, but also among the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, other Islander Southeast Asians, and Pacific Islanders. When spoken of, these spirit creatures are marked with a prefix, reconstructed as proto-Austronesian *qali- or *kali-, which still survive fossilized in modern languages in Austronesian cultures, though the beliefs may have long been forgotten. Only very specific creatures were regarded in this way, the most prominent being butterflies which are still widely associated with ghosts. The animals in this category include the following:

• Ants, winged ants, or winged termites, e.g. Cebuano alibusbus, Pinatubo Aeta alidakdak, and Maranao kalalapa
• Aphid, e.g. Bikol alusiwsiw
• Bats, e.g. Teduray kelimbungan, Bikol kulapnit, and Kapampangan talibatab
• Beetles, e.g. Hanunóo alutatip and Teduray kelefutey
• Birds (various), examples:

• Doves, e.g. Cebuano alimukun, Tagalog kalapati, ahd Maranao limoken
• Hanging parrots, e.g. Hanunóo kalusisi and Tagalog kulasisi
• Hornbills, e.g. Teduray kelimetan
• Coucals, e.g. Hanunóo balikaku
• Owls, e.g. Ilocano kolalabang
• Roosters (especially colorful fighting cocks), e.g. Tagalog alimbuyugin and Cebuano balakiki
• Swiftlets, e.g. Ilocano kalapini, Tausug kalasiyaw and Ivatan alpasayaw
• Woodpeckers, e.g. Cebuano balalatuk and Isneg kalittaxa

• Bumblebees, e.g. Hanunóo alibúyug, Ilocano alimbubúyog, and Itawis arabiyóngen
• Butterflies and large moths, e.g. Cebuano alibangbáng, Ilocano kulibangbang, Ivatan kulivaavang, and Tagalog aliparó
• Caterpillars, e.g. Ilocano alimbobódo, Bikol alaláso
• Centipedes, e.g. Cebuano aluhipan and Ivatan alipuan
• Crabs, e.g. Tagalog alimango, Cebuano alimasag, and Ilocano arimbukéng
• Dragonflies, e.g. Kankanaey alallaóngan, Cebuano alindanaw, and Ilocano alimbubungáw
• Earthworms, e.g. Bikol aluluntí, Hanunóo alukáti, and Pangasinan alombáyar
• Fireflies, e.g. Cebuano aniníput, Tagalog alitáptap, and Ilocano kulalantí
• Fish (various), examples:

• Spadefish, e.g. Casiguran Dumagat Agta kalibongbong
• Sailfin catfish, e.g. Cebuano alimusan
• Sillago, e.g. Cebuano alasuus

• Fleas, e.g. Ibanag aliffúngo and Kankanaey atilalagá
• Gecko, e.g. Ilocano alutíit and Kapampangan lupísak
• Grasshoppers, e.g. Cebuano alisiwsiw, Sangir kalimbotong, and Maranao karakeban
• Stingless bees, e.g. Cebuano ligwán, Hanunóo alibúbug, and Kapampangan anig-guan
• Leeches

• Land leech, e.g. Cebuano alimátuk, Tagalog limátik, and Ilocano alimátek
• Paddy (aquatic) leeches, e.g. Ilocano alintá, Tagalog lintá, and Isneg alimtá

• Snakes, e.g. Tagalog alimuranin, Bikol alibusógon, Ilocano alindáyag, and Isneg arimarán
• Mollusks

• Limpets, e.g. Cebuano alipadnu
• Windowpane oyster, e.g. Ilocano kulintipay

• Spiders, e.g. Aklanon talimbabága, Isinai alingakáwa, Sangir kalibangkang, and Sarangani Blaan kalmamo
• Wasps, e.g. Ilocano alumpinig and Cebuano lampining

The category also includes numerous plants, many of which are or were used in shamanic or medicinal applications, including Lepisanthes rubiginosa (Tagalog kalimayo), Ticanto crista (Tagalog kalumbibit), Tabernaemontana pandacaqui (Aklanon alibutbut), Excoecaria agallocha (Aklanon alipata), Musa acuminata (Tagalog alinsanay), Diospyros pilosanthera (Tagalog alintataw), Basella rubra (Tagalog alugbati), and nettles (Hanunóo alingatngat and Isneg alalatang), among many others.

The prefix also extended to terms for actual spirits, like Tagalog kaluluwa ("soul"), Isneg Kalapataw (a totemic spirit of birds), Kankanaey aladunáxan (a spirit who makes babies cry at night to disturb their parents' sleep), and Maranao alimekat (a water spirit); as well as natural phenomena and other concepts believed to have direct ties to the spirit world, like echoes (e.g. Tagalog alingawngaw), whirlpools or tornadoes (e.g. Tagalog alimpuyó and Bikol alipúros), storms (e.g. Kankanaey alimbudádbud), shadows (e.g. Kankanaey alalangaw), [clouds of] dust (e.g. Tagalog alikabok and Western Bukidnon Manobo eliyavuk), sun or moon halos (e.g. Isneg alibongbóng), unease or restlessness (e.g. Tagalog alisuwag), rustling of the grass or wind (e.g. Ilocano aringgunay and Kankanaey alikadong), hair whorls (e.g. Cebuano alimpulu and Hanunóo aripudwan), mountain summits (e.g. Bikol alituktok and Aklanon alipungto), dizziness or fainting (e.g. Cebuano alipulung, Pangasinan alimoreng, and Kankanaey alitengteng), confusion or forgetting (e.g. Kapampangan kalingwan and Bikol aliwalas), thick smoke or steam (e.g. Ilocano alingasaw and Tagalog alimuóm), loud [annoying] noises (e.g. Cebuano alingasaw and Ifugao alidogdog), the pupil of the eye (e.g. Tagalog alikmata and Hiligaynon kalimutaw), and so on.

Rituals and shamans

Anitism was not a religion about worship. Aside from good ancestor spirits and the few benevolent diwata, most anito were feared, not venerated. To an ordinary person, diwata were regarded as dangerous beings to be avoided or appeased. When interaction was necessary, they performed a ritual known as pag-anito (also mag-anito or anitohan). These are usually directed at ancestor spirits. When the pag-anito ceremony is for a diwata, the ritual is known as pagdiwata (also magdiwata or diwatahan).

Minor pag-anito rituals like praying for better weather or banishing minor ill luck can be performed by any householder. However, major pag-anito rituals required the services of the community shaman (Visayan babaylan or baylan; Tagalog katalonan or manganito).

These shamans were believed to have been "chosen" by a specific diwata who become their spirit guides. This was presumed to happen after they pass the initiation rites of an older shaman they were apprenticed to (usually a relative). In some cases, some shamans acquire their status after they recover from a serious illness or a bout of insanity. In most Filipino ethnic groups, shamans were almost always female. The few males who gain shaman status were usually asog or bayok, feminized men.

Major pag-anito rituals are centered around a séance. Because of their special relationship with their companion spirits, shamans can act as mediums for other anito, allowing spirits to temporarily possess their bodies. This possession happens after the shaman goes into a trance-like state. This allows the spirit to communicate verbally with the participants as well as physically act out events in the spirit world. At the moment of possession, shamans display a change in behavior and voice. They can sometimes go into seizures and become violent enough that restraints are required. The ritual ends when the spirit leaves and the shaman is awakened.

Spirits were invited into the ritual through offerings and sacrifices during and after the ceremonies. These depended on what spirit was being summoned, but offerings are usually a small portion of the harvests, cooked food, wine, gold ornaments, and betel nut. Blood from an animal was also usually part of the offerings, poured directly on the taotao or in a bowl before them. These commonly come from chickens or pigs, but can also be from carabaos or dogs. Salt and spices are usually avoided, as they are believed to be distasteful to anito.

Colonial records of human sacrifice indicate that it was also widely practiced on special occasions (like prior to battle, sowing time, illness, or building houses). These practices largely died out during the colonial era, but it persisted among the Bagobo people in southern Mindanao where it was prevalent until the early 20th century. Some anthropologists consider the headhunting traditions of the Igorot as a form of human sacrifice. In the funeral rites for celebrated warriors or nobles among Visayans and Tagalogs, favorite slaves may also sometimes be executed and buried (hogot) to accompany the deceased into the spirit world.

Another common pag-anito ritual throughout most of the Philippine ethnic groups involves the use of spirit boats. These were usually miniature boats laden with offerings set adrift from riverbanks and shorelines.

Pag-anito can be conducted on its own or in conjunction with other rituals and celebrations. They can be personal or family rituals or seasonal community events. They can vary considerably between different ethnic groups. The most common pag-anito were entreaties for bountiful harvests, cures for illnesses, victory in battle, prayers for the dead, or blessings.

Different ethnic groups had different diwata pantheons and rituals associated with them, though sometimes deities are shared in neighboring ethnic groups. Moreover, different communities also each have their own local patron diwata.

Historical accounts

Historical accounts of anito in Spanish records include the following:

• "Most of the Indians are heathens...They believe in their ancestors, and when about to embark upon some enterprise commend themselves to these, asking them for aid." – Francisco de Sande, Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1576)
• "Which treats of the rites and ceremonies observed by the Moros in the vicinity of Manilla, and of their social conditions. The god Batala. According to the religion formerly observed by these Moros, they worshiped a deity called among them Batala, which properly means “God.” They said that they adored this Batala because he was the Lord of all, and had created human beings and villages. They said that this Batala had many agents under him, whom he sent to this world to produce, in behalf of men, what is yielded here. These beings were called anitos, and each anito had a special office. Some of them were for the fields, and some for those who journey by sea; some for those who went to war, and some for diseases. Each anito was therefore named for his office; there was, for instance, the anito of the fields, and the anito of the rain. To these anitos the people offered sacrifices, when they desired anything—to each one according to his office. The mode of sacrifice was like that of the Pintados. They summoned a catalonan, which is the same as the vaylan among the Pintados, that is, a priest. He offered the sacrifice, requesting from the anito whatever the people desired him to ask, and heaping up great quantities of rice, meat, and fish. His invocations lasted until the demon entered his body, when the catalonan fell into a swoon, foaming at the mouth. The Indians sang, drank, and feasted until the catalonan came to himself, and told them the answer that the anito had given to him. If the sacrifice was in behalf of a sick person, they offered many golden chains and ornaments, saying that they were paying a ransom for the sick person's health. This invocation of the anito continued as long as the sickness lasted."

"When the natives were asked why the sacrifices were offered to the anito, and not to the Batala, they answered that the Batala was a great lord, and no one could speak to him. He lived in the sky; but the anito, who was of such a nature that he came down here to talk with men, was to the Batala as a minister, and interceded for them. In some places and especially in the mountain districts, when the father, mother, or other relative dies, the people unite in making a small wooden idol, and preserve it. Accordingly there is a house which contains one hundred or two hundred of these idols. These images also are called anitos; for they say that when people die, they go to serve the Batala. Therefore they make sacrifices to these anitos, offering them food, wine, and gold ornaments; and request them to be intercessors for them before the Batala, whom they regard as God." – Miguel de Loarca, Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas (1582)

• "They held the cayman in the utmost veneration; and, whenever they made any statement about it, when they descried it in the water, they called it Nono, which means "grandfather." They softly and tenderly besought it not to harm them; and to this end offered it a part of what they carried in their boats, casting the offering into the water. There was no old tree to which they did not attribute divinity; and it was a sacrilege to cut such a tree for any purpose. What more did they adore? the very stones, cliffs, and reefs, and the headlands of the shores of the sea or the rivers; and they made some offering when they passed by these, going to the stone or rock, and placing the offering upon it. I saw many times in the river of Manila a rock which for many years was an idol of that wretched people... While sailing along the island of Panai I beheld on the promontory called Nasso, near Potol, plates and other pieces of earthenware, laid upon a rock, the offering of voyagers. In the island of Mindanao between La Canela and the river [i.e., Rio Grande], a great promontory projects from a rugged and steep coast; always at these points there is a heavy sea, making it both difficult and dangerous to double them. When passing by this headland, the natives, as it was so steep, offered their arrows, discharging them with such force that they penetrated the rock itself. This they did as a sacrifice, that a safe passage might be accorded them." – Fr. Pedro Chirino, Relacion de las Islas Filipinas (1604)
• "They also adored private idols, which each one inherited from his ancestors. The Visayans called them divata, and the Tagálogs anito. Of those idols some had jurisdiction over the mountains and open country, and permission was asked from them to go thither. Others had jurisdiction over the sowed fields, and the fields were commended to them so that they might prove fruitful; and besides the sacrifices they placed articles of food in the fields for the anitos to eat, in order to place them under greater obligations. There was an anito of the sea, to whom they commended their fisheries and navigations; an anito of the house, whose favor they implored whenever an infant was born, and when it was suckled and the breast offered to it. They placed their ancestors, the invocation of whom was the first thing in all their work and dangers, among these anitos. In memory of their ancestors they kept certain very small and very badly made idols of stone, wood, gold, or ivory, called licha or laravan. Among their gods they reckoned also all those who perished by the sword, or who were devoured by crocodiles, as well as those killed by lightning. They thought that the souls of such immediately ascended to the blest abode by means of the rainbow, called by them balañgao. Generally, whoever could succeed in it attributed divinity to his aged father at his death. The aged themselves died in that presumptuous delusion, and during their sickness and at their death guided all their actions with what they imagined a divine gravity and manner. Consequently, they chose as the place for their grave some assigned spot, like one old man who lived on the seacoast between Dulac and Abuyog, which is in the island of Leyte. He ordered himself placed there in his coffin (as was done) in a house standing alone and distant from the settlement, in order that he might be recognized as a god of navigators, who were to commend themselves to him. Another had himself buried in certain lands in the mountains of Antipolo, and through reverence to him no one dared to cultivate those lands (for they feared that he who should do so would die), until an evangelical minister removed that fear from them, and now they cultivate them without harm or fear." – Fr. Francisco Colin, Labor Evangelica (1663)

In popular culture

Arts

Film and television

• Amaya, a historical television series about the precolonial Philippines. It depicts diwata as goddesses.
• Sugo, is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series features anitos as evil ancestors and demi gods
• Super Ma'am (international title: My Teacher, My Hero) is a Philippine television drama action fantasy series features a diwata once a goddess demoted as a fairy and as a spirit guide for the lead hero
• Juan dela Cruz (TV series) depicts the anito as an evil deity and the diwatas as good fairies
• Diwata (1987), a movie directed by Tata Esteban and written by Rei Nicandro showed the mythical life of the deities. Actress Olga Miranda played the main role, together with the other cast Lala Montelibano, Dick Israel and George Estregan.
• Halimaw sa Banga (1986), a horror movie based from comic book series of the same name features a shaman killed in a ritual and placed in a jar that later turned into an evil anito that kills people
• Encantadia and Mulawin, two television series (with film adaptations) in a shared universe depicts diwatas as a race of fairies and supernatural being living in Encantadia, a dimension beyond the human world.
• Faraway (2014), an independent film focuses on a woman and her quest to find the Diwata tribe.
• Indio, a television series with a protagonist that is the son of a mortal man and a diwata woman.
• Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!, a television fantasy situational comedy series (with film adaptations) that revolves around a mortal man married to a fairy princess a diwata.
• One day Isang araw, a fantasy anthology series features an episode titled Ang huling diwata (The last Fairy) features a goddess turned fairy who is the guardian of a pond
• Elemento, television docudrama horror anthology series features a diwata of a river cursed for falling in love with a mortal man
• Wansapanataym, television fantasy anthology series episode titled Enchanted Trees features diwatas as both fairies and guardian deities of trees

Literature

• One of the main characters from the play Speech & Debate written by Stephen Karam is a woman with Filipino ancestry named Diwata.
• Marvel Comics has introduced the "Diwatas" as a pantheon of gods similar to the Asgardians and Olympians. These Diwatas include Aman Sinaya, Amihan, Anitun, Apo Laki, Aswang, Bathala, Mayari and Tala.

Music

• "Diwata", a song released by rapper Abra featuring Parokya Ni Edgar vocalist Chito Miranda, from his self-titled debut album.

Sculpture

• The Anito series of sculptures and public art installations by Philippine National Artist Arturo Luz was inspired by taotao carvings of anito

Festivals

• The Babaylan Festival of Bago, Negros O is a street dancing festival celebrating the Visayan traditions of anito and shamans
• The Kamarikutan Pagdiwata Arts Festival of Puerto Princesa is inspired by the preserved ritual of pagdiwata among the Tagbanwa people of Palawan.

Games

• Anito: Defend a Land Enraged is a role-playing game released in 2003 by Anino Entertainment. It was the first video game to be produced and designed entirely by a team of Filipino game developers, and is credited for helping spawn the birth of the game development industry in the Philippines.
• One of the abilities of the character Titania (added on August 19, 2016) in Warframe is a sword known as diwata.
• Project Tadhana, a tabletop role-playing game released in 2017 features Diwata as one of its playable races (or lahi) together with Engkanto, Tikbalang, Aswang, and Tao.
• Makia:Tales of the Forest, a visual novel released in 2020

Science

• Diwata-1 and Diwata-2, the first Philippine microsatellites launched in 2016 and 2018, respectively, were named after diwata.