Pre- Spanish In those going to the battle
fields.
Filipinos, Religious Beliefs
For those type of disease and
Houses.
Prayers and sacrifices are
Our Ancestors of pre-spanish times in particular offered to the anitos to win
the lowland Filipinos believe in an inaccessible, their favor, or appease their
beyond reach and with little concern with anger.
human affairs.
Our ancestors believed that that their
Bathala Maykapal means “God the Creator or departed parents were guarding them and
Maker” Laon in Visaya means “Old Man or they could remove their illness.
Ancient.
Their memory are preserved in idols of stones,
Bathala Maykapal or Laon are beyond reach, so wood,gold, ivory called likha or larawan. And
our ancestors seldom called them in times of offered them sacrifices of food, wine,gold and
needs. ornaments.
They return instead to the lesser deities Invocations were offered to have assumed the
or gods and goddesses of nature of Anitos and became Bathala’s servant
mountains,rivers,reefs,rainbow,rocks and intercessors.
and other objects.
The sun,moon,rainbow,
Lesser deities rivers,caves,planets,mountains,and trees were
1. Kaptan-Lord of thunder and lives with animated by spirits.All these were adored by
Bathala. them and animals like cows,sharks, and
2. Manguayen- Ferrys the dead to hell. crocodiles.
3. Sumpoy -present the dead to Sibi or Simbahan- was a lean -to construction of
Sisiburanin-punishes many soul but if life materials besides our ancestors,houses
the living offers a sacrifice for them where they kept the images of their anitos .For
they are relieved from their the right,had a room for worship.
punishment.
4. Lalahon -The goddess of the harvest. Grottoes or Forest, had gods that they worship
5. Varangao – lives in the rainbow.He too.
carries the soul to heaven.
Katalonan or babaylan or baylan,were priest
6. Sidapa – decides the death of man’s
who perform rituals sacrifices.
life.
7. Anitos (Tagalog) Their way of worship:
8. Diwatas (Visaya)
Proclaim a feast
these two are agents from
Done infront of the idol.
Bathala who densely populate
Annoint with fragnant perfume from
the word.
musk,storax, tree,odoriferous
They are anywhere like in the
woods,gum.
fields.
Praise is in poetic song sung by the
In those who journey/travel by
officiating by the Katalonan/priest.
the seas.
The participants made responses After the funeral,the relatives continue to
beseeching the idols to favor them with mourn by wearing rattan bands around their
those things,which they need.Object of necks,arms,legs and promising to abstain from
sacrifice were;goats,fowls,and swine meat,rice and drink.
which were flayed,decapitated and laid
For the nobility,mourning was:
before the altar.
No colored clothing was worn,
They performed another ceremony by Wars and quarrels were suspended,
cooking a jar of rice.After all the water Warriors carry their spears with points
evaporates,they broke the jar and the down and daggers with hilt reversed.
cooked mass of rice is left intact in front
of the idols.
Few buyos with small fruits wrapped in OTHER ANCESTRAL BELIEFS
a leaf with lime is eaten,also fried food
and fruits.All these were e aten by the Omens,divinations and magic charms
guests at the feast. Examples of Omens:
Customs and Practices of the Dead: Flight of birds,
Utmost care of the dead body, Barking of dogs,
Washed the remains with water and Sounding of Lizards,were interpreted as
rubbed with a romantic spices. bad or good omens depending on the
Poured preservatives into the nosetrils, The howling of a dog at mimdnight
ears,mouth, augured or predicts a tragedy or death
Dressed the remains elegantly. of a person.
They burry their dead with great Sneezing was a bad omen for those on
sorrow, the way to the battlefield and
The remains are in the ground near the misfortune.
house of the dead But if a bird called Salaksakan crossed
Graveyard,if he’s a fisherman he’s the path of the warriors on their way to
corpse is thrown into the sea, battle, victory is coming.
Or buried headland overlooking the sea. Pangatauhan was a soothsayer,foretold
The burial ground or graveyard was the people’s futures.
sacred to them. Aswang including
If one is found trespassing,he/she was mangkukulam,mangangaway,tiyanak
punished by death,slavery or slapped and the tikbalang were malovelent/evil
with a fine. spirits which
The Aswang could transform from a
Mourning Meant: man to an animal at nightfall,victimize a
By confining themselves in their houses sick or pregnant woman.
for several days, The mangkukulam could inflict pain on
Covering themselves with dirty clothes, any man by pricking an image on the
Keeping absolute silence, doll.
Abstaining from food not drinks Mangngangaway could harm anyone by
using herbs or medicinal plants.
The tiyanak sucks blood of unborn as the were on earth.Belief in some kind of
babies. risen life also existed.Like the Cagayanons who
The aswang and tikbalang assume believed their fathers would someday return in
different forms to mislead travelers at this world and rejoin their sons.
night.
Amulets,Magic Charms,Anting-anting
Our ancestors protect themselves
from danger,aside from turning to
their anitos and gods,they rely also
in the power and protection of
amulets and magic charms.
The Anting-anting they wear make
the wearer
invincible/indesctructible against
any weapon.
The gayuma made a man lovable to ladies
ODOM in bicol,Tagabulag of Tagalog make its
possessor invisible.
WIGA in Visaya and sagabe in Tagalog allow it
owner to walk through the strom and swim in
the river without getting wet.
TAGAHUPA in Bicolano when mixed with a drink
made the drinker vassal to the possessor of the
magic charm.
Belief in Affterlife
They believe in a future life where the
good in this life will be rewarded in heaven and
the bad will be punished in hell.
They also believed that the souls of the good
like those of their dead will become good spirits
and the souls of the bad like those of their
enemies will became evil spirits.
In the other world,each was expected to retain
their social ranks and exercise the same office
