THE SPIRITUAL

SELF
The practice of religion: belief in supernatural being and power

According to Giddens (2006), religion is a cultural system of commonly

shared beliefs and rituals that provide a sense of ultimate meaning by creating
an idea of reality that is sacred, all-encompassing and supernatural.

In addition, Durkheim (1912) defined religion as a unified system of beliefs

and practices relative to sacred things, things set-apart and forbidden beliefs
and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church,
all those who adhere to them.

Statistics indicate Christianity as the world’s largest religion with a 33%

population. It is followed by Islam with a 21% population, Hinduism with a
14% population, Buddhism with 6% population, Chinese Traditionalism at
around 6% and Judaism at only about 0.22%.
The memories of the dead are remained through carving their image using gold
and stone. This is called “larawan” or “likha” in Tagalog, “diwata” in Bisaya and
“bul-ol” in Ifugao. They also offered sacrifices and prayers for guidance,
sympathy and beseech. Not all “anitos” are good, there are few who are evil.
The priestess which is also called as “baylan,” “babaylan,” or “katalona” does
the ritual or offering. Early Filipinos practiced polytheism, a belief in many
gods, which was brought by the early Chinese and Indian merchants. Some of
their gods are Bathala, the Almighty God, Agni, God of Fire, Mandarangan,
God o War, Sidapa, God of Death, Lalahon, God of Harvest, and Siginarugan,
God of Hell. These beliefs are passed orally to the next generation.
However, there were some changes on the beliefs of the early Filipinos when the
Spaniards brought Christianity in the archipelago. The changes were not
immediate because early beliefs are already practiced in the country. What the
Spaniards did was, they adopted the Christianity in the belief of Filipinos on
animism. Monotheism was introduced by Spaniards, a belief in only God, which
has three personas, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

According to Daskeo (2012), many Filipinos still spice their life with superstitious
beliefs that they strongly believe could help them cope with day to day activities
especially most important events in life such as marriage, finding a job, and moving
to a new house
Common Superstitions:
The Concept of “Dungan” (Spirit or Soul)
The term animism is one of the oldest beliefs which is taken from the Latin word
Anima meaning breath or soul. Animism is the belief that everything in nature –
living things like trees, plants, and even non-living rocks or streams – have their
own spirit or divinity. Animism beliefs are still present, accepted and never entirely
disappeared.
The soul according to the indigenous Filipinos is known as Kaluluwa, Ikararuwa
or kararuwa. It is taken from the root word duwa which means two. The soul has
two parts – one is the physical part, where it is connected to the body and its life,
and other spiritual, where it exists on its own.
For Ibanags, the soul is the principle of life in man. Body is the matter; soul is the
form. As long as the body and soul are one unit, man is alive.
Religion, Spirituality, Magic, Witchcraft and Identity

The Function of Rituals

● Ritual traditions of Filipinos are best understood in terms of their intentions. At

the core of any ritual, balance between man and nature, and the spirit world is very
important. Rituals is an attempt to enhance and maintain this balance.

This is evident in some villages which perform rituals to restore the state of affairs
when the balance is lost. Human nature are innumerable reasons for causing a shift
in this balance. There are equally innumerable rituals that can be done to correct
the imbalance. This is the reason for having a broad range of ritual practices in the
Philippines (Obusan, 2015)
 Rituals and Ceremonies
Magos (1997), discussed the mara-it or dangerous zone of Panay Island.
According to her, Panaynon believes in spirit beings in the sea like siokoy
(half-man, half fish sea monster) and the mangingilaw (half man, half monkey
man eating monster) forest which are very harmful. They also believe that the
earth and the universe has a layered structure with spirit beings live in each layer.

Lupan-on are spirits beings who live on land, the idalmunon are spirit beings who
live underneath the surface of the earth and the tubignon are spirit beings who
live in water. These folks remind them that the earth is sacred, inhabited by the
spirit and thus dangerous. If Panaynon uses the earth's resources with discourtesy
or greed, they will make the spirits angry. There are necessary fishing and
farming rites to be performed regularly to gain the favor from spirits such as daga
(bloodletting) and the samba (communal fishing rite).
People of Zambales also conduct a ritual in building their house. According to
the official website of the Provincial Government of Zambales, residents of this
province perform rituals before building a house. The ritual starts with choosing
which day is specified in the Pilaton as a good day to start the project.

According to Ms. Cristeta Acebes, principal of Uyugan Elementary School

(2012), “pilaton,” refers to a list of dates, including the phases of the moon, that
would ensure the success of any major undertaking or activity of residents in
the province. The second step is burying coins in the first hole during laying of
foundation. Fresh animal blood is allowed to be dropped in the same place. On
the day set to roof the house, relatives, neighbors and friends usually come to
help. Those who cannot perform actual construction work normally offer akhad
(anything that can be served or cooked as food) or tudung (drinks, usually
wine) (Provincial Government of
Zambales).
Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft

Religion

● Religion came from the Latin word religio means to respect or care for. It is
generally defined as;“belief in, worship of, or obedience to a supernatural power or
powers considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny."
According to Santrock(2014), religion is an organized set of beliefs, practices,
rituals and symbols that increases an individual’s connection to a sacred or
transcendent other (God, higher power, ultimate truth).

It may also be referred to as an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, rules

used to worship god. Another description for religion is, an interest, a belief, or
an activity deemed to be of utmost importance to a person or group.
Religiousness is the degree by which one is affiliated with an organized religion
in terms of the person’s participation in the prescribed rituals and practices,
connection with its beliefs and involvement with its community of believers.

Spirituality, on the other hand, involves experiencing something beyond oneself

in a transcendent manner and living in a way that benefits others and society. It
could be related to a search for the sacred.

Spirituality, on the other hand, involves experiencing something beyond oneself

in a transcendent manner and living in a way that benefits others and society. It
could be related to a search for the sacred.
 Spiritual identity is the persistent sense of self that addresses ultimate
questions about the nature, purpose and meaning of life. It results in behavior
that are consonant with the individual’s core values. The definition of a sense of
spiritual identity focuses on the individual construction of a relationship to the
sacred and ultimate meaning.
Magic
Magic is the power apparently influencing the course of events by using
mysterious or supernatural forces. It is the ability to use supernatural forces to
make impossible things happen, such as making people disappear or controlling
events in nature
A sorcerer is translated from the Greek word pharmakos, and carries with it the
idea of medicine, magic potion, drugs, and poison. A wizard is one who is thought
to be acquired with the secrets of the nonmaterial or unseen world while a
necromancer is one who is “seeking unto the dead”. It is a term that includes all
forms of attempt to make contact with departed spirits.
Balang is the Filipino term for a sorcerer. It is used to describe malignant sorcery
or familiar spirits (usually a swarm of destructive insects, specially carnivorous
beetles)

Kulam is the Tagalog word for “voodoo” or “witchcraft”. It is one of the most
well-known aspects of Philippine folklore.

Albulario/mananambal is a Filipino practitioner of traditional medicine; he is

also a medicine man who is also capable of performing sorcery
Finding and Creating Meaning

Viktor Frankl an Austrian neurologist and psychologistfounded Logotherapy.

Logotherapy is based on the premise that the human person is motivated by a
“will to meaning,” an inner pull to find a meaning in life (Frankl1988). Finding
and creating meaning in life is what Viktor Frankl would like to teach to
everybody. The following list of tenets represents basic principles of
logotherapy:
1. Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable
ones.
2. Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.

3. We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we

experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of
unchangeable suffering.
According to Frankl, everybody can discover the meaning in their life in three
different ways:

1. By creating a work or doing a deed

2. By experiencing something or encountering someone

3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering and that

everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of the human
freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances