MATERIAL Y MÉTODO

Bontoc, Ifugao, and Kalinga tribal textileswith a variety of silver and brass "LINGLINGO" Fertility Charms

Bontoc Warriors ritual “Boaya” headhunting necklace: shell, boar tusk, rattan, fire band bone

Physical ornamentation can be categorized to three areas specifically the use of traditional costumes (textile), jewelries and tattoos. The designs vary depending on the location, users and function of the ornaments.

Our ancestors believed in a supreme being whom they called Bathala Maykapal. They also believed in lesser gods or spirits called anitos whom they also invoked. There was anitos every place they went to-fields, forest, sea, home.

Malayan Filipinos believed that when a person died, his spirit went to another world. There were rewards for the good, and punishments for the bad.

Most of the early Filipinos believed that the souls are immortal and there is life after death. Many of them believed that after death, the souls traveled to the next world to receive their punishment or reward according to what they did while on earth. The souls of the brave and good men were believed to go to heaven, known as kaluwalhatian among the Tagalogs. On the other hand, the souls of the unjust, the cruel, and the evil went to hell, called kasamaan. The Bontoks of today still believe that the soul of the dead will live in huts and villages in the future world like those they left on earth.

Finally, in keeping the memory of their departed relatives, the early Filipinos carved idols made of gold, stone, wood, or ivory. Among the Tagalogs, these idols were called larawan or likha.

The Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in Manunggul cave of Lipuun Point,Quezon, Palawan dating from 890-710 B.C. The two prominent figures at the top handle of its cover represent the journey of the soul to the afterlife. The Manunggul Jar is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest Philippine pre-colonial artwork ever produced and is a considered as a masterpiece. It is considered as a national treasure and it is designated as item 64-MO- 74 by the National Museum of the Philippines. It is now housed at the Museum of the Filipino People and is one of the most popular exhibits there. It is made from clay with some sand soil.

Ancient Indigenous Belief

During pre-colonial times, a form of animism was widely practiced in the Philippines. Today, the Philippine is mostly Catholic and Christian, and only a handful of the indigenous tribes continue to practice the old traditions. These are a collection of beliefs and cultural mores anchored more or less in the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad, and that respect be accorded to them through nature worship. These spirits all around nature are known as "diwatas", showing cultural relationship with Hinduism (Devatas).

Some worship specific deities, such as the Tagalog supreme deity, Bathala, and his children Adlaw, Mayari, and Tala. The ancient Visayans believed in a similar god they called Laon. He was said to be the creator of heaven, earth, people and the entire universe.

Aside from this Supreme Being, they also worshipped lesser gods and goddesses whose functions were close to the daily lives of the people. These were some of the various ancient deities;

 Idiyanale – Tagalog goddess of agriculture  Sidapa – Visayan god of death

 Barangao – Visayan god of the rainbow  Lalahon – Visayan goddess of harvest  Apolaki – Pangasinan god of war  Darago – Bagobo god of war

 Dal-lang – Ilokano goddess of beauty  Kidul – Ifugao god of thunder

 Dian Masalanta – Tagalog god of birth

The ancient Filipinos also believed in and worshipped lower spirits called anitos or diwatas. Anitos were either good or bad. They were good if they were the spirits of relatives and ancestors; they were bad if they were the spirits of enemies. To these anitos and minor deities, prayers and sacrifices were offered. Religious sacrifices, called maganilo, were performed by priests and priestesses called babayland, baylana, or katalona. The usual minister for religious worship was a woman. If a man performed the religious ritual, he was called asog (effeminate). Food, drink, fruit, animals, and sometimes human beings were offered or used in the sacrificial rites. By such means a person hoped to gain the blessings of the spirits and avoid their wrath.

The ancient Filipinos–and a number of Filipinos today–intense feared certain gods and goddesses which they believed to be mostly harmful. There are known by a great many names because there are some eighty different languages in the country– languages, not dialects, since the speakers of a dialect cannot communicate with the speakers of the other dialects.

In his extensive research on these creatures, Dr. Maximo D. Ramos has shown them to fall under the twelve groups according to what the creatures look like, what they do, and where they are usually found: Demons such as the kapre and the tikbalang; Dragons such as the moon-swallowing minokawa and bakunawa that are believed to cause the eclipse; Dwarfs such as dwende, matanda sa punso, and lamang lupa that live underground; Elves such as the encantada and kibaan; Giants such as Angngalo and Onglo; Ghouls such as the corpse-eating aswang; Mermaids and mermen such as sirena, magindara, and siukoy; Ogres such as the busaw and siring; Vampires such as the blood-sucking mandurugo and aswang; Viscera suckers such as the manananggal and buroka, which leave their lower body from the waist down and soar out to suck internal organs of the people especially pregnant women and unborn infants; Werebeasts such as the malakat and segben (sigbin) which is a man who could become fierce dog, hog, or any other animal and attacks wayfarers at night; Witches such as the mangkukulam and manggagamod, which made their victims ill by magically inserting various sharp objects into their bodies.

In general, the spiritual and economic leadership in many pre-colonial Filipino ethnic groups was provided by women, as opposed to the political and military

leadership according to men. Spanish occupiers during the 16th century arrived in the Philippines noting about warrior priestesses leading tribal spiritual affairs. Many were condemned as pagan heretics. Although suppressed, these matriarchal tendencies run deep in Filipino society and can still be seen in the strong leadership roles modern Filipino women are assuming in business, politics, academia, the arts and in religious institutions.

Folk religion remains a deep source of comfort, belief and cultural pride among many Filipinos. Nominally animists constitute about one percent of the population. But animism's influence pervades daily life and practice of the colonial religions that took root in the Philippines. Elements of folk belief melded with Christian and Islamic practices to give a unique perspective on these religions.