Folk Catholicism and Pre-Spanish Religions in the Philippines

Author(s): Charles J-H Macdonald

Source: Philippine Studies, Vol. 52, No. 1, Global/Local (2004), pp. 78-93
Published by: Ateneo de Manila University
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Folk Catholicism and Pre-Spanish Religions
in the Philippines

Charles J-H Macdonald

Giventheprofound andsweeping influence ofChristianity in thePhil-

whathassurvived
ippines, frompreconquest beliefsystems in thearchi-
pelagoto thepresent? Thispaper'shypothesis is thata continuity is
provided the
by folkbelief in divinitiesor that
spirits are organized in
structuredpantheons.Saintsin Philippine folkCatholicism formsucha
pantheon and can be seenas a reproduction ofprevious pantheons of
diwata.Thisargument is premised on theideathatfolkCatholicism
tendedandstilltendstoward a kindofpolytheism. Thepapersuggests ,
however,thattherealcontribution of Catholicismis theintroductionof
a codeofethics.Theargument hereprovokes thequestions: Whowere
theagentsofchristianization? Did theytolerate, or evendeliberately
, a polytheistic
propagate version ofChristianity?
KEYWORDS: , paganism
polytheism , pre-Spanish
, Christianity Philip-
, missionaries
pines

Of all the countriesin Asia, thé Philippinesis the one whereChristianity

counts the most, not only for the sheer numberof its faithful but also
forsocial and culturalreasons.Wheneverasked by someone,who does
not know much about the Philippines,the question"What is Philippine
culture?,"I alwaysanswer "Christianity."
In spite of Christianity'soverwhelmingimportanceand pervasive
influencein the Filipinopsyche,thereare lingering questionsabout what
in the nationalidentityremainsfroma pre-Spanish,pre-Christianpast
and, particularly,from old preconquest belief systems.Were old reli-

PHILIPPINE 52, no. 1 (2004):78-93

STUDIES

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MACDONALD RELIGIONS 79

eradicatedby the intolerantzeal

gious ideas and beliefssystemsentirely
and proselytizingardor of the earlymissionaries?Or did some of it
persistand remainin some formor other?

Catholicism and Polytheism

When we think of the opposition between Christianityand "pagan-

ism"- if we can use this word with enough ironicalcaution- we are
confrontedwith an apparendyinsuperabledisparity, a gap so wide that
nothing seems capable of bridgingit. In its essentiallymonotheistic
definition, Catholicism(moregenerally,
Christianity)musthave eradicated
previousbeliefsin a varietyof supernaturalbeings,gods, or spirits.The
fundamentally monotheistic nature of the religionbroughtby Spain
musthave clashed withthe idea of divinity in its pluralisticform- that
is, its polytheisticnature- among the inhabitantsof the archipelago.
From other points of view as well- like ritualsinvolving trance or
animal sacrificesconducted by local priests or priestesses- nothing
could seem fartherapart than these two religiousworlds.
In thisessay,which I presentwitha certainboldness and irreverence
since I am neithera theologiannor an historian,I intendto make some
remarkson Christianmonotheismas opposed to polytheism,and on
folkCatholicismas opposed to pre- or non-Christianbeliefs.The first
point is that,in its Mediterraneanfolk version, Catholicism,as Max
Weber said (1963, 138), tends towarda polytheistickind of belief sys-
tem. My second assertionis that the Spanish missionaries,who were
the real activeagentsof conversionin the countryside, taughtor shared
with theirconvertstheirown brand of Spanish peasant folk Catholi-
cism. In manyways,theirbeliefs(includingthe idea of God) were not
so differentfromthose of the people theywere indoctrinating in the
new faith. Others have argued, myselfincluded, that a somewhat
monotheisticconcept was presentin some of the nativereligions(Scott
1969, 142; Bernad 1972, 128; Macdonald 1993, 17). The idea of a
supremebeing,presidingover the universeand above other deitiesor
spirits,was verymuch part of some pre-Spanishbelief systems.Con-
versely,with a well-developedangelology,demonology,and cult of the
saints, Catholicism had developed its own brand of polytheism.In

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80 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
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otherwords,local polytheistic religionswitha beliefin a supremedeity,

on the one hand,and a monotheisticreligionincludingmanylivelycults
to minor deities, on the other hand, could readilyagree with each
other.
As an anthropologist, let me definepolytheismthus: a beliefsystem
in a numberof clearlyidentifiedsupernaturalbeings having theirown
names,and personalities;
characteristics, and havingsome effector influ-
ence on humanaffairs;and a religioussystemthatis also characterized
by specificcults or ritualsfor those various supernaturalbeings. From
an anthropologicalperspective,the cult of the saintsfitsthe definition
of a polytheisticreligion.

Absence of Ethics in Preconquest Beliefs

Christianitydifferedfromindigenousreligionsfroman entirelydifferent
perspectivealtogether.Probably because we have been so used to see
ethics and a moral code of conduct expressed in religiousidiom, we
have not paid enough attentionto the factthatethicswas essentiallyof
a nonreligiousnature.People obey commandmentslike "Thou shall not
kill thyneighbor"because theyare membersof human communities,
and humanevolutionrequiredcollectivebehaviorto be orderedin such
a way as to permitbettercommunication,cooperation,and survival.
My acquaintancewithone such non-Christian(or non-Muslim)religion
supportsthe idea thatpre-Spanishreligionsin the Philippines,as else-
where,were not primarilyinterestedin ethics. Interpersonalcodes of
conduct were not part or, at least, not an essential part of religion.
People were ethical beings and behaved accordingly,but not because
theybelievedin particularspiritsor deities,and practicedtrance,séances,
possession, animal sacrifices,or any other formof ritualactivity.
Let me clarifythe above statement,since it can be argueddifferently
and since some factsmightseem to support an opposite view of the
situation.For instance,the indigenouscommunity whose religiousideas
I have studiedat length- the Palawan people livingin the southernpart
of Palawan island- see the major crime,incest,as punished by super-
naturalbeings who would cause the entirecommunityto sufferfrom
cataclysmicsanctions,floods,and the like.A ceremonycalledpanggaris,

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MACDONALD RELIGIONS 81

intendedto cleanse the earth,is performedannuallyin a sectionof this

ethnicgroup (Macdonald 1997). They quote ancestorsand the Supreme
Being, Ampuq (meaning the Lord, the Master), when theyoutline a
course of action,and theysay thatancestors(or the dead) and Ampuq
approve or disapprove of certainhuman acts. They also referto the
afterlifedestinyof people who have committedcrimes or sins, and
theysay theyundergo punishmentin a kind of hell.1In spite of such
practices,they,like the Visayansdescribedby Alcina (Bernad 1972, 131),
pay verylittleattentionto the afterlife. Eschatologyis of litde signifi-
cance to themand behavior,in general,is dominatedby rulesthathave
no religiousconnotations.Let me give an example.
One of the most importantrules in this societyis to respectone's
elders and particularly those who are one's parentsand parents-in-law.
As a sign of respect,theirpersonal names should not be utteredby
their children or children-in-law.If one pronounces the forbidden
name, that of one's parents-in-law, for instance,one is afflictedby a
swellingof the stomachthatcan be lethal.This is called kebusung. Now
this could be seen as a typicallysupernaturalinterventionof some
ethics-controlling, morality-consciousdeity,and thereforepart of a
religiousframework. Actually,it is not the case. When asked,informants
say the kebusung-induced afflictioncomes fromthe parent-in-law him-
self,not from any supernatural entity. I take thisas supporting view
the
-
that the Palawan people hold a secular and not religion-based - mo-
ralityand code of ethics.One could say that,in such a case, ethicsare
justifiedby societalimmanence,not by any transcendental principle.An-
other example would be the marriageceremony,a completelysecular
affairamong the Palawan people, which includes a lengthydiscussion
led by specialistsin customarylaw. It is a contract,not a sacrament,as
the Christianswould have it.
Catholicismbroughtmanynew ideas and concepts: the sacraments,
confessions,penance,the idea of originalsin,and the idea of salvation.
These were all new. These put religiousmeaningto activitiesor con-
cerns that had no previous religious implications. If I trust my
observationof a "pagan people" for the past thirtyyears,I believe it
is wrong to say that "the pagan religionpermeatedall phases of life"
(Phelan 1959, 72). Generalizationsof thiskindproceed,firsdy, froman

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82 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
STUDIES

oversimplifiedview of a great variety of belief systems and, sec-

ondly, from an ethnocentricpreconception. In world religions,like
Islam and Christianity, all or most aspects of life,especiallyethics and
law, relateto religiousconcepts.But in manypolytheistic belief systems,
the supernaturalis confinedto limitedsectorsof human concern,like
healthand sickness,renewalof lifeenergy,and success in one's produc-
tive endeavors.
What Christianity broughtto the Philippineswas a religiouscode of
an
ethics, entirely nonsecular way to look at the good versus the bad, a
new concept of evil, and an ideologyof salvation.These represented,
in my view,what was new and completelydifferentfromthe-previous
beliefsystem.Once apprised of this,the Filipinos in a real sense "ap-
propriated" the Christianmessage and used it to suit theirpleas for
justice and freedom.This observationhas not escaped historianslike
lieto (1979) who has demonstratedthat a theoryof mass social action
was derived from a reading of the Bible. The storyof Christ,¡as de-
picted in the Pasyon play,was used to define a certaintypeof action
in the world- revolutionary action. My point is thatpre-Christian reli-
gions were not interestedin defininghuman or social action, that is,
ethics.Preconquestbelief systemswerebasicallyinterestedin maintaining
life,gainingprosperityand, above all, avoidingsicknessthroughan ex-
changesystemwithsupernatural beings,or by placatingearthlyforcesas
in the panggaris ceremonymentionedearlier.This goal was achieved
throughvarious symbolicmeans,throughritualsand ceremonies,offer-
ings,sacrifices,etc.,ratherthanby a displayof personalgood behavior.
The involvementof preconquestreligionswithsicknessand healingwas
crucial; thus, aspects of Catholicismthat remindedpeople of healing
ceremonies - especiallythe ritualsusingwater,ointments,and the like-
elicitedan immediateinterest(Phelan 1959, 55).

Survival, Syncretism, and TransformativeContinuity

When we speak of religious transformation- of the survivalof old
elementsin modern forms,of syncretism, of superstitionsas opposed
-
to the true faith what are we talkingabout? Let me outline briefly

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MACDONALD
/PRE-SPANISH
RELIGIONS 83

some basic patternsin which religious formscan be combined, can

survive,or transformthemselves.
The firstpossibilityis for two differentbelief systemsto coexist,
openly or secretly.As the Spanish missionariesdid not tolerateany
open expression of "pagan" faith,all formsof pre-Christianrituals
were suppressed.Maybe in the earlyphases,at the end of the sixteenth
centuryand duringthe seventeenthcentury,some survivedsurrepti-
tiously, in the manner of clandestine rituals conducted by early
Christiansin Rome or byJapaneseChristiansafterthe sixteenthcentury.
Old religiousforms,however,did not survivein this mannerfor long
or to any great extent. The other way for two or more religionsto
coexist is to tolerateeach otherand even complementeach otheras is
the case generallyin East Asia, withBuddhismand Shintoin Japan,or
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China. As we know, of
course, the Catholic Church could not toleratesuch a stateof affairs.
The other possibilityis syncretism, a term coveringdifferent phe-
nomena. Think of this possibility:elementsof religioussystemA had
merged into religioussystemB. Similarly, we could theorizeit as the
- periph-
survivalof ancientideas in the guise of so-calledsuperstitions
eral beliefsin such thingsas spirits,ghosts,aswang,and creaturesof a
"lower mythology."To a certainextent,this is the case with folk Ca-
tholicism,but it is not necessarilythe major formof syncretismand
survival.Another type of syncretismis shown by new sects or reli-
gions- like Cao Dai or millenarian movements- which combine
elements from two or more religions into a new cult. The New
Jerusalemor Ciudad Mística sects could probablyfit,more or less, this
typeof syncretism(Pesigan 1992).
More important is "transformativecontinuity,"which is accom-
plished by using the same beliefstructurewithina new framework or
a
by simplytransposing preexisting structure into a new idiom. This is
what could have happened with the cult of the saintsin folk Catholi-
cism. It could have been a simpleand straightforward transpositionof
the polytheisticstructureof native beliefsystemsinto the polytheistic
structureof folkChristianity. Such a process may or may not resultin
a declarationof independence on the part of the institutionitself,as

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84 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
STUDIES

was the case with the Iglesia ni Cristo and the Aglipayan Church
(Steinberg1994, 83-84, 93-94).
Religioustransformationand a mixingof variouselementsin Philip-
pine folk Catholicism, essence, did fitthe patternof transformative
in
continuity.Elements thatwere pre-Christian and similarin structureto
the new religionwere the basis for a Filipinizationof Catholicism,as
much or even more than a simple survivalof peripheraland heretical
elements.

Pre-Christian Religious Belief Systems

In a comprehensiveand well-documentedstudyof pre-Christian native

religions,using major sources of information and earlywitnesses like
Loarca, Chirino and others,W H. Scott said of Loarca's description
of the Tagal people's ancientreligionthatit held a striking resemblance
to present-dayfolk Catholicism (Scott 1994, 233). The Tagal had a
concept of a supreme God creatorof the world (Bathala) who could
be petitionedonly throughintermediaries, lesser gods or spirits(anito
),
or ancestors who were worshiped in the form of idols. This system
indeed is similarin structureto a Supreme God surroundedby saints,
angels,and archangels,and organizedinto a pantheon of lesser divini-
ties, some being separatelyworshiped as in the cult of patron saints.
The indigenous cults themselves were very differentfrom those of
Catholicism,since thesewere based on tranceand spiritpossession. The
religiousspecialistscalled katulunan
were both mediumsand healers.The
prevailing belief systemamong the sixteenth-centuryVisayansis some-
what similarlydescribed.Above a host of spiritualbeings called diwata
was a Godhead, creatorof the world. The ritualspecialists (babaylan )
were both men and women conductingséances, duringwhich posses-
sion and trancetook place.
Chirino,Loarca, Alcina, and others depicted beliefs and practices
strikinglysimilarto those thatcan stillbe witnessedtodayin some re-
mote parts of the archipelago.The Palawan people, with theirgreat
varietyof religious forms of expression, are probably offeringus a
glimpse of what then were the many differentbelief systems of
preconquest religions in the central part of the archipelago (see

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MACDONALD RELIGIONS 85

Macdonald 1973, 1974, 1979, 1987, 1988a, 1988b, 1990, 1992, 1993,
1997, and forthcoming).Similarly,links betweentheodicy,eschatology,
and ethicswere not firmlyestablished.
To what extentcan we relyon present-day ethnography to interpret
sixteenth-or seventeenth-centurybeliefand ritualsystems?Clearly,such
beliefand ritualsystemsmust have changedand evolved throughtime.
However, what we learn fromearlymissionariesand chroniclesseems
to indicatethatimportantsimilaritiesexistbetweenthe old and modern
formsof indigenous religions.Moreover,some of the ideas and no-
tions thatwere present among indigenousbelief systemscould prove
adequate to interpretthe teachingof the missionaries.I shall give two
examples.
Among the many descriptionsof earlyformsof religiouslifein the
Philippine islands, one is from the late sixteenthcentury(Blair and
Robertson1903, 164). Entided "Relationof the Conquest of the Island
of Luzon," the author of the documentprovidesus witha few details
of a ritualfeast (manganito
) dedicated to Batala and diwata ("Diobata"
in the original). The elements presentin this ritualare: a communal
meal, offeringsof food and "wine" to an idol, prayers,and the pres-
ence of a baylan. The whole ceremony is described as a "drunken
revel"thatlasts "seven or eightdays."Anotherelementis interesting. It
is described thus: "In the midst of the feast . . . theyput the idol
called Batala and certain aged women who are considered as priest-
esses, and some aged Indians . . ." (ibid.,164). Of course,thisis not a
terriblyaccurateand complete ethnographicdescription,but for some-
one who has witnessedmanycontemporary Palawan rituals,thissounds
extraordinarilyfamiliar.Except for the "idol" (a wooden image?) and
the "aged Indians,"everyaspect mentionedin thisdocumentapplies to
the sinsinceremoniesI have describedelsewhere(Macdonald 1992). In
the Punang-Irareyarea (now in the municipality of Española in south-
ern Palawan), large ceremonies are conducted by female specialists.
These ritualsare meant to bringprosperity, health,and peace to the
community. These ceremonies are staged in two cyclesof fivemonths
and fiveyears,respectively. They are more specifically meant as an ini-
tiationor apprenticeship,during which a young woman learnsthe "art"
of a femaleritualspecialist (ugan). This expertiseencompasses a large

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86 PHILIPPINE
STUDIES
52,no.1 (2004)

repertoryof chants,melodies, and dances. The performeris an artist

and her performanceis judged accordingto aestheticcriteria.In a lit-
eral sense, the main performer(the novice) and the choir of "aged
femalepriestesses"are placed at centerstage, similarto what the six-
teenth-century chroniclerhad described.As the femalespecialistschant
and conduct the ritual,followinga complex and lengthyliturgy, every-
body shares in the rice-winecontainedin big jars; unquestionably, the
whole affairis- from the male point of view, at least- a "drunken
revel" lastingfor severaldays and nights.
On the pantheon of divinitiesworshipedduringthis ritualcycle,it
can be said thatthe entireceremonialcycleis structured aroundthe idea
thatindividualdivinitiesvisitthe humancommunity. Each sectionof the
cycleis dedicatedto a divinityor group of divinities.There are twenty-
one major divinities(diwata)- each has a personalname and individual
attributesin dress,behavior,character,and the like.These divinitiesare
accompaniedby thirty-four minorcharacters(lumeIsa), describedas "ser-
vants" or "companions" of the diwata. Thus, the pantheon of
divinities,in this case, is highlystructured;these figuresare not vague
entities,naturespirits,or ancestors.Like the Catholic saints,theyhave
clearlydefinedpersonalities,with names and biographies.
My second example comes from the upland area near Brooke's
Point (not in Punang),anothersectionof the same culture.In the early
1970s, one of my informants had been baptized and exposed to
Christianteachings.Not a convincedconverthowever,he said thatthe
Palawans are quite familiarwith a figurelike Jesus Christ and that it
matched the vernacular category of tungkulSuch a figurecould be
glossed as a "super shaman," a human being of inordinatepowers,
accomplishingmiraclesand extraordinary feats,able to contactdivinities
and act as an intercessorbetween divinities,diwata,and humans.Such
a shaman would not die in an ordinarymanner,but "disappear" and
continue to live at a higher level of the cosmos, helping people to
petitionthe diwata,and the supremespirit,Ampuq. To castJesusChrist
in the role of a tungkul is not so much off the mark as far as a
layman'sgrasp of theologyis concerned.It would not be too surpris-
ing if the Visayanpeople, whom Alcina observed,held a similarview.

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 /PRE-SPANISH
MACDONALD RELIGIONS 87

To a certainextent,indigenousconcepts were used to interpretand

assimilateChristiannotions,not just because indigenousconceptswere
mistakenly applied to Christiannotions,but because therewas a similar-
ity in structurebetween some Christianbeliefs and some indigenous
beliefs.This similaritydid not onlyconcernthe existenceof a supreme
being, thus presumablypredisposingearlyFilipinosto adhereto mono-
theism,but also a beliefin a varietyof deitiesand supernaturalbeings,
thus comfortingthe converts in the soundness of theirpolytheistic
creed.

Missionaries and the Survival of Preconquest Beliefs

If we follow Onofre D. Corpuz, the historyof colonization in the

Philippinesis characterizedby the role of the doctrina (Corpuz 1989,
161). The result of this situationwas thatthe teaching the Christian
of
faithwas always,with a few exceptions at the end of the eighteenth
century,leftto membersof regularorders.As the doctrinawas meant
to be a communityof pagans being indoctrinated,not a parish of
confirmedChristians,evangelizationwas an ongoing process, a never-
endingbattleagainstpaganism,in the spiritdefinedby the phrase "en
viva conquistaespiritual"(Phelan 1959, 34). The regularclergy,beingin-
dependentfromthe Churchhierarchyand largelytrespassingover civil
administration,wielded an enormous role in the life of the masses.
Whetherthe alleged tyrannyof the regularclergywas an established
factor not, the relationshipthatexistedbetweenthe friarsand the con-
vertsmust have been a determiningfactorbecause it was reachinginto
many areas of the daily life of the latter.If the relationshipbetween
friarsand convertswas close, it meantalso thattheidentity of the friars
was a determiningfactorin shaping the beliefsof those whom they
were teaching.Who thenwere these missionaries?
It is difficultto generalizeand make all friarsand membersof the
regularclergyfitinto one type.Earlymissionaries, likeFranciscoBlancas
de San Jose,were unquestionablyscholarsand theologiansof the high-
est order. But the next waves of friarsand missionaries,who came
mostlyfrommonasteriesin Spain, were probablysimple peasants or

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88 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
STUDIES

people with no highereducation (Phelan 1959, 42). Also missionaries

should be qualified according to the religious corporations to which
theybelonged.The teachingof the Augustiniansdifferedfromthatof
theJesuits.One should also include thefiscalesin the picture,especially
for the seventeenthcentury;they came from Mexico and also bore
heavilyon the minds of the people (Phelan 1959, 59).
In most cases, the missionarieswere probably not learned theolo-
gians. Besides the manuals and instructions,which they used for
catechismand confessions,theybroughtwiththem- most certainly, they
shared these with theirparishioners - theirown brand of folk Chris-
tianity, including the veneration of the saints, and a host of
"superstitions"(in ghosts,evil spirits,and the like). The folkbeliefsof
missionariesprobablymatched some native beliefs,thus bringingthe
two religiousworlds closer together.The Christiandoctrinethat was
taughtwas reducedto its essentialelementsas thesewere spelledout in
the Doctrina. These elementswere prayers,a list of articlesof faith,
and prescriptionsregardingmorality, most notably,the Ten Command-
ments.The bulk of the doctrinalteachingwas of an ethicalcharacter.It
leftout a greatmanyaspects and beliefsin supernaturalthingssuch as
the cult of the saints, a wide area where the friarsand the ordinary
people could feel at home with each other'srepresentations.
Let me outline the situation.First, there was a great deal of con-
straints;the convertswere closely monitored so that theycould not
continuewith theirold ways. They had to conform to what the mis-
sionaries taught were acceptable forms of worship. Second, the
teachingof the missionariesconcerned essentiallya field that was of
littleconcern to pre-Christianreligious beliefs,i.e., ethics.Third, the
Spanish and Mexican missionariesbroughtwith them a host of beliefs
thatwere polytheistic in theirstructureand entirelycongenialto the na-
tives' belief systems. As a result, cults that respected customs of
Hispanic Catholicism - thus,acceptable to Catholic priests,such as the
cult of the saints or funeraryrituals- could prosper with the blessing
of the clergy,while retainingtheirpolytheisticstructureand fulfilling
pre-Christianreligious needs, which were quite simple and basically
concernedwithprosperityand health.Therefore,the question of "sur-
vival" of old non-Christian elements in folk Catholicism has to be

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 /PRE-SPANISH
MACDONALD RELIGIONS 89

turnedaround.A numberof elementsin Spanish Catholicismwere and

stillare to some extentpre-Christian.
Evidence gatheredby anthropologiststoday shows this to be the
case in the most conspicuous aspects of folk Catholic devotions.
Zialcita (1998, 287-88) shows how saintsare worshipedas if theywere
ancestors,thusdisplayinga patternof transformative continuitybetween
old religiousritualsand present-day Catholicism.Cannell(1999, 172-82)
describes aspects of the cult of the "Dead Christ"- Amang Hinulid
of Bicol- that display characteristicsof a purely"polytheistic"belief
system.In this cult, the object of veneration is a statue, a wooden
image endowed with a life of its own. Justas the Black Nazarene of
Quiapo is not just any other representationof Christbut a particular
entityand personalitywith its own worshippers, so is the Amang
Hinulid of Bicol an individualentitywithan existenceof its own. It is
a saint,but more powerfulthan the others,a super santo . Also in Bicol,
santos (thatis, individualwooden figuresof saints) become members
of kinshipgroups and, as such,own land! This illustrates polytheism,in
which individualwooden idols proliferateand are organizedhierarchi-
callyat various levels of the community - fromthe familyto the town,
lesser santos at a lower social-structurallevel, bigger santos, like the
Amang Hinulid,at the highersocial-structural level. Many preconquest
belief systemswere organized along the same pattern.
Mount Banahaw and the cult of national heroes provide another
interesting case. Since it has been studiedin historicalperspective(see
lieto 1979) and by anthropologists(Pesigan 1992, 2000), and since we
have manydescriptionsof Mount Banahaw (see Gorospe 1992), I will
dwell on thisquestion briefly. One of the most importantlocal sectsin
Mount Banahaw,Ciudad Mística,says that the sacred mountainis the
abode of the spiritsof national heroes: Rizal, Bonifacio, and others
who are being worshipedby the membersof the sect. Cults are orga-
nized to honor these new saints,which are explicidydefined as the
Filipinosubstitutesforforeignsaintspreviouslyimposed by the Catholic
Church (Gorospe 1992, 54).
My point is this: the pantheon of national heroes on which these
new cults are being based is structurally identicalto the previouspan-
theon of saints, which probably had a similar structure as the

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90 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
STUDIES

pre-Spanishpantheonsof anitos and diwata.This polytheistic aspect of

folkreligioncan thus be seen as a continuumfrompreconquestbelief
systemsto present-daysectarianmovements.It is the structureof the
beliefsystem - a rankedset of supernaturalbeings which can function
as a celestialblueprintof societyitself- that has endured,with name
changesand undervarious disguises,since the beginningof Christianity
in thePhilippines.

Divinities as Opposed to Nature Spirits

A common misconception on indigenous belief systemsis that they

consist of an indiscriminateworshipingof nature spiritsand forces,
and of various otheranthropomorphicnaturalphenomena,such as the
sun and moon, the thunder,and similarobjects.This misconceptionis
promotedby the use of a vague and potentiallymisleadingterm,"ani-
mism."2AncientFilipinos are often describedas worshipingspiritsof
ancestorstogetherwithnaturespirits.Such a view ignoresthe factthat
pre- and non-Christianreligionswere and are based on firmlyorga-
nized pantheons of often clearlyidentifiedsupernaturalbeings,which
are not at all vague notions coming fromthe perceivednaturalforces,
but are clearlyidentifiedfigures,with names and identities,to which
specific or nonspecific functionsare attached. The main cults were
probably not essentiallyaddressingnature spirits(who were placated
and petitionedby various othermeans,includinginvocations,offerings,
and the like) but sets of humanlikedivinitieslargelyindependent of
naturalforces.
Two examples fromPalawan ethnographyeasily come to mind. In
the centralhighlandarea, around Brooke's Point,people believe in the
existenceof diwata who live at various levels of the cosmic structure
(Macdonald 1993). These celestial beings act as intercessorsbetween
humans and the highestdivinities.They are supplementedat a lower
level by a categoryof spiritslivingon mountaintops. The identityof
these divinitiesand spiritsis not always made clear. Some appear as
charactersplayingmajor roles in chantedepics, some as super shamans
(tungkul);but theyare individualspiritseitherfromdivine or human

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 /PRE-SPANISH
MACDONALD RELIGIONS 91

origin,and are rankedin a spiritualand cosmic structure. They are not

conceptual by-products of natural phenomena.
The individualidentityof spirits,worshipedin an elaborateceremo-
nial cycle,is even more developed among the Palawan people in the
Punang-Irarey area,whichwe have examinedabove (see also Macdonald
1990). Each of these spiritsor divinitieshas distinctivecharacteristics.
Some are married;others have brothersand sisters.Each has its own
dress and accoutrement.Althoughsome are said to live in the moun-
tains and others on islands off the coast, in no way are they
functionally identifiedeitherwith the mountainsor the sea. The whole
point of ceremonies dedicated to these spiritsor divinitiesis to invite
them and ask for theirprotection.
In the firstexample,we see a verticalorganizationof spirits;in the
other, we have a population of genii livingat the same level as the
humans.But, in both examples,we see pantheonsof humanlikedivini-
ties, ranked and organized in some fashion.This has nothingto do
with an unstructuredcollection of naturespirits.It is, in more ways
than one, quite similarto legions of angels,archangels,and saints- all
submittingto one higherdivinity, the creatorof all things.The notion
of a pantheon of subordinate divinities - sometimes of human ori-
gin- was proposed by Christianityto people who were accustomed
to recognize and worship the same kind of pantheons.

Notes
1. Actually,
thewordis narkaandof Sanskrit origin.I believeitis clearly
oneof
theinfluences of Islam.
2 . The word"animism" becamecurrent in anthropological writings afterthe
Britishanthropologist E. B. Tylorintroduced it in his book Primitive Culture
(1871).The wordcomesfromtheLatinanima meaning "soul."Tyloťstheory was
thatthemostprimitive forms of religion
includeda basicbeliefin a spiritual
prin-
cipleinherentin humans.Fromthereevolvedall otherforms of religiousbeliefs,
includingthose presentin moredevelopedpolytheistic creeds.Manyanthropolo-
giststodayuse theword"animism" butdiscarditsTylorian evolutionistimplica-
tionsand arecarefulto explicitlydefinethisnotion(see,forinstance, Benjamin
1979,9-11). However,somedo nottakesuchprecautions anduse itin a loose
to
sense,referringany tribal
belief system, belonging worldreligion,
not to a and

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92 PHILIPPINE 52,no.1 (2004)
STUDIES

basedon thebeliefin a hostof spirits (humanandancestors naturespir-

spirits,
its,animalspirits, of
spirits places and For
things). instance,one can find thissort
of statement: "Filipinoswere mosdy in
animistictheir beliefs
religious and prac-
ticespriorto Spanishintervention. In mostareastheyreveredthedeparted spirits
of theirancestorsthrough ritualofferings,
andalsobelievedin a varietyofnature
spirits"(S. Russelln.d.).

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