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Taotao carvings sold in a souvenir shop in Siquijor Island. 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.
Anito can also refer to the act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit. [4] [5] [7] 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.
Anito is a collective name for the pre-Hispanic belief system in the Philippines. It is also used to refer to spirits, including the household deities, deceased ancestors, nature-spirits, nymphs and diwatas (minor gods and demi-gods). Ancient Filipinos kept statues to represent these spirits, ask guidance and protection.
Tagalog religion mainly consists of Tagalog Austronesian religious elements, [1] [2] [3] ... The word anito is one of these words which had differing interpreters.
The following is a list of gods, goddesses, deities, and many other divine, semi-divine, and important figures from classical Philippine mythology and indigenous Philippine folk religions collectively referred to as Anito, whose expansive stories span from a hundred years ago to presumably thousands of years from modern times.
Diwata may originate from the Sanskrit word devata (deity), anito may have derived from the proto-Malayo-Polynesian word qanitu and the proto-Austronesian qanicu, both meaning ancestral spirits. Both diwata and anito are gender-neutral terms. They translate into deities, ancestral spirits, and/or guardians, depending on the ethnic group.
It is a common belief in the Philippines that if modern medicine is unable to cure a particular illness, the ailment may be due to a nuno ' s curse. The victim is brought to an albularyo, a Philippine practitioner of traditional medicine.
The Tao people greatly fear anito, the collection of evil spirits, even more than they worship an omnipotent God. [15] They believe that when an individual passes away, his or her soul travels to Malavang a Pongso, the White Island, while the rest of the minor souls from within become anito.