The Unpacking the Self: The Spiritual Self (the practice of Religion)

Objectives:
 Explore the spiritual side of self.
 Identify the different forces and institutions that impact the development of self and identity
considering the spiritual aspect of self
 Examine one’s self against the spiritual self discussed in class.
Introduction
Spirituality and religion are very common that take part in our lifestyle and shape the person’s
identity and self.

What is spiritual self?

One description of spirituality is the self's search for "ultimate meaning"
through an independent comprehension of the sacred. Spiritual identity appears when
the symbolic religious and spiritual of a culture is found by individuals in the setting of
their own life. There can be different types of spiritual self because it is determined on
one's life and experiences.
Another definition of spiritual identity is "a persistent sense of self that
addresses ultimate questions about the nature, purpose, and meaning of life,
resulting in behaviors that are consonant with the individual’s core values."
Another description of Mind, body, soul, and spirit is a holism of one inner self being of one
whole. It all combines together as one whole instead of different parts. Individuals one thoughts, one
feeling, one breathing is all completed and occurs as one whole.

The Soul according to Indigenous Filipino

The ‘soul’ or spirit of a person is called:

 Kaluluwa by the Tagalogs

 Gimokud by the Bagobos
 Makatu by the Bukidnons
 Dungan by the Ilonggos when the person is alive; “kalag” or “detached”,
“free”, when he is dead.
 Ikararuwa by the Ibanags
 Kadkadduwa by the Ilokanos when the soul is in the physical body and
karuruwa when it departs

Kaluluwa, ikararuwa or kararuwa and inikaduwa all come from the root word duwa, two. That is
because the soul has two existences – one physical, where it is connected to the human body and its life,
and the other spiritual, where it exists on its own. The Ilokano kadkadduwa further derives from kadduwa
meaning “companion.” The doubling of kad intensifies the nature of the companionship so that it means “
a constant companion” or an “inseparable partner,” therefore an attached companion of the living person
(Manuel 1989).

The Ibanags of the Cagayan Valley, according to Mariano Gatan, are aware of the distinction
between body (baggi) and soul (ikararuwa) but not in the Western way. In Western philosophy, the soul is
the principle of life in man. Body is the matter, soul is the form. As long as body and soul are one unit,
man is alive. Death is the separation of the soul from the body. The body cannot stay alive without the
soul. But the soul lives without the body. Freed from the body, it ceases to experience thirst and hunger,
cold and heat. As spirit, the soul is the opposite of the body which is matter.

For Filipino groups the soul is not taken as the principle of life. The phenomenon the Ibanags call
mekararuanan (from the word me and kararua means “to be rid of the soul”) is a state in which, because
of shock, the soul leaves the body. The body is alive but it is without sense, and like a rudderless boat
has no direction. For the Ibanags, the role of the soul is to give direction and wholeness to the man. But
the body, as the Ibanags conceive it can stay alive independently of the soul, while the soul itself, even
when separate from the body, experiences material wants and needs (Gatan 1981).
 The dungan or soul of the Ilonggos, according to Alicia Magos (1986), is not normally seen by the
human eye. Sometimes, however, it comes out of the body and takes on a visible form such as that of an
insect (a housefly or a moth) or a small animal like a lizard. That is why lolas are always telling their
children “to eat even just a little before going to bed.” For if the child’s dungan “gets hungry at night, it
might go to the pot of rice in the kitchen and be mistaken for an insect.” And be killed.

The dungan may leave the body voluntarily as when the person us asleep, according to the
Bisayans. When a person can see himself in his dreams it means that his “other self” has left the physical
body. Among the ancient Filipinos it was deeply impressed that a person who was asleep should not be
awakened abruptly. Thus a slumbering person is first called softly and gradually louder and louder to give
the soul a chance to return to the body.

The dungan’s travel outside the body should be free from accidents. It could get trapped in a jar
or be poured out with liquid from a vessel. Only when the soul has safely returned home would the owner
be able to wake up. Whatever happens to the dungan happens to the physical body as well. It is also
believed that another cause for the voluntary withdrawal of the soul is when the body is badly maltreated
(Magos 1986).

According to E. Arsenio Manuel the folk believe that a soul can leave the body involuntarily too
(1989). Among the people of Alaminos, Laguna, when a child gets frightened it is believed that the
kaluluwa departs from the body. The babysitter or the mother shows her concern by calling the child’s
soul back, saying “Uli, uli, kalagyo, Maria, magbalik ka sa bahay.” (Come bac, come back, namesake/soul
of Maria, return to your home/body”) The child becomes normal again the moment the kaluluwa rejoins
the body.

Another involuntary departure of the soul happens when it is lured or captured by bad spirits or
engkantu. Among the Bisayans it may be imprisoned, they say, in a spirit cave guarded by old Tan
Mulong whose spirit dog has one mammary gland and two genitals. If the imprisonment is temporary the
person gets listless or sick, in which case the dungan has to be lured out by a skillful shaman. If it is too
deep in the cave (such as in the third or fourth compartment), the person dies, says Magos. Sickness is
the temporary loss of the soul. Its permanent loss is death.

The dungan is ethereal – something light and airy since it travels with the air or the wind. Prior to
its entry and habitation of a human body, the dungan is believed to inhabit the region above the surface of
the earth together with other dungan. It awaits the time when it can enter a body. The dungan then takes
a special interest in the “unborn” being, usually a relative, which it has chosen to inhabit.

The Bukidnons believe that the soul or makatu already exists before a child’s birth but that is
separate frm its body. In a pregnancy ritual a miniature cradle is hung over the place where the pregnant
mother sleeps. This is where the soul of the unborn baby is supposed to sleep before it joins the infant at
birth (Unabia 1986).

The Bisayans believe the soul or dungan is not located in any specific part of the body. It is also
believed to grow proportionately with the person’s body. It is normally weak at the baby’s birth, that is why
attractive babies are said to be susceptible to usug, that is the unintentional transfer of disturbing vapors
of a strong body to a weak one by holding, talking or looking at the weaker one (Magos 1986).

For this reason the dungan needs protection and nurture. Soul-nature, the folk believe, means the
performance of age-old spirit rituals many of which are still followed in the provinces today. Examples of
these are birth, illness and death rituals consisting of trances, prayers and animal sacrifices. An adult
person with a healthy dungan properly lodged in his physical body should have bodily health and well-
being, intelligence and good sense (Magos 1986).

The Bisayan dungan has a secondary meaning of “willpower.” A strong dungan is the intellectual
and psychological capacity to dominate or persuade others to one’s way of thinking. A person with a lot of
willpower is said to “have a strong dungan.” Constant companionship (sometimes under the same roof) of
two people may lead to a spiritual competition between the two dungan and the defeat (and sickness) of
the one with the weaker dungan (Magos 1986).

At death the dungan leaves the body via the nose, eyes, ears and other orifices and eventually
goes with the air or the wind towards the upper regions. There it waits until it can find another body to
enter. The Bagobos believe that when the throbbing of the skull cap ceases, the soul exits through what
used to be the fontanel. The Negritos believe that the soul can exit through any parts including the big
toe.

Haviland’s Anthropology: Spirituality, Religion, and the Supernatural

The collective body of ideas that members of a culture generally share concerning the ultimate
shape and substance of their reality is called worldview.
Religion is an organized system of ideas about the spiritual sphere or the supernatural,
along with associated ceremonial practices by which people try to interpret and/or influence
aspects of the universe otherwise beyond their control.
Spirituality concern with the sacred, as distinguished from material matters. In
contrast to religion, spirituality is often individual rather than collective and does not require a
distinctive format or traditional organization.

Polytheism
- a belief in several gods and/ or goddesses (as contrasted with
monotheism- belief in one god or goddess). The several gods and goddesses of a people
is called pantheon

Animism
- a belief that nature is animated (enlivened or energized) by distinct
personalized spirit beings separable from bodies.

Animatism
- a belief that nature is enlivened or energized by an impersonal spiritual
power or supernatural potency.

Rituals, Ceremonies, and Magic

Priest or priestess is a full-time religious

specialist formally recognized for his or her role in
guiding the religious practices of others and for contacting and influencing supernatural powers. Shaman
is a person who eners an altered state of consciousness- at will- to contact and utilize an ordinarily hidden
reality in order to acquire knowledge, power, and to help others. Taboo is a prohibition, which, if not
observed, leads to a penalty inflicted by magic, spiritual force, or religion.

Rituals
Rite of passage
Ritual that marks an important stage in an individual's life cycle, such as rebirth, marriage, and
death. Separation is in a rite of passage, the ritual removal of the individual from
society. Transition is in a rite of passage, isolation of the individual following
separation and prior to incorporation into society. Incorporation is in a rite of
passage, reincorporation of the individual into society in his or her new status

Rite of intensification
Ritual that takes place during a crisis in the life of the group and serves to bind
individuals together

Two Types of Magic

Imitative magic
- magic based on the principle that like produces like; sometimes called
sympathetic magic.

Contagious magic
- magic based on the principle that things or persons once in contact can
influence each other after the contact is broken.
Ceremonies
Divination
- a magical procedure or spiritual ritual designed to find out what is not
knowable by ordinary means, such as foretelling the future by interpreting omens

Revitalization movement
- a movement for radical cultural reform in response to
widespread social disruption and collective feelings of great stress and despair

Cargo cult
- a spiritual movement (especially noted in Melanesia)
in reaction to disruptive contact with Western capitalism,
promising resurrection of deceased relatives, destruction or enslavement of
white foreigners, and the magical arrival of utopian riches
Group Work:

 List beliefs in spirits and the supernatural prevalent in the area.

 List rituals and ceremonies prevalent in the area.

Reflection Paper:

 Focus on your beliefs and religion, and how they influence the development or shaping of who
you are or your identity.

References:
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_the_self
Religious views on Self

 http://lopezseum.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-soul-according-to-indigenous.html
The Soul according to Indigenous Filipino

 https://quizlet.com/73468710/haviland-anthropology-ch13-spirituality-religion-and-the-
supernatural-flash-cards/
Haviland Anthropology: Spirituality, Religion, and the Supernatural