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161-495: Filipino shamans , commonly known as babaylan (also balian or katalonan , among many other names), were shamans of the various ethnic groups of the pre-colonial Philippine islands . These shamans specialized in communicating, appeasing, or harnessing the spirits of the dead and the spirits of nature . They were almost always women or feminized men ( asog or bayok ). They were believed to have spirit guides , by which they could contact and interact with

322-570: A baliana , assisted him and led the women in singing what was called the soraki , in honor of Gugurang. Historical accounts suggest that during the precolonial period in the Philippines, female shamans predominated in the religious realm. The Bolinao Manuscript (1685), for example, records that during an Inquisitional investigation of the shamans in the town of Bolinao , Pangasinan between 1679 and 1685, animistic paraphernalia were confiscated from 148 people. Of those, 145 were female shamans, and

483-616: A ritual , and practices divination and healing . The word "shaman" probably originates from the Tungusic Evenki language of North Asia . According to Juha Janhunen, "the word is attested in all of the Tungusic idioms" such as Negidal , Lamut , Udehe / Orochi , Nanai , Ilcha, Orok , Manchu and Ulcha , and "nothing seems to contradict the assumption that the meaning 'shaman' also derives from Proto-Tungusic " and may have roots that extend back in time at least two millennia. The term

644-434: A catalona held the gift of prophecy, she was named masidhi (the fervent one). Healing was the most important role for shamans in their communities. Shamans distinguished between two kinds of illnesses, the natural (or non-spiritual) illnesses, and the spiritual illnesses. Natural illnesses do not require a shaman for healing, while spiritual illnesses do. Like in other Austronesian cultures, animistic Filipinos believed in

805-413: A comprehensive view in their mind which gives them certainty of knowledge . According to this view, the shaman uses (and the audience understands) multiple codes, expressing meanings in many ways: verbally, musically, artistically, and in dance. Meanings may be manifested in objects such as amulets . If the shaman knows the culture of their community well, and acts accordingly, their audience will know

966-455: A desire by the colonizers to deny the existence of what they did not approve. For example, the Spanish chronicler Chirino claimed that the natives had no religious writings, but on the same account narrated that a native possessed an indigenous poetic book. The book was utilized by the natives to express a "deliberate pact" with what the Spanish called with prejudice as "the devil", which contextually

1127-413: A different term other than the one translated "shaman" is usually applied to a religious official leading sacrificial rites ("priest"), or to a raconteur ("sage") of traditional lore; there may be more of an overlap in functions (with that of a shaman), however, in the case of an interpreter of omens or of dreams. There are distinct types of shamans who perform more specialized functions. For example, among

1288-470: A diviner using alum crystals is known as a magtatawas , while a diviner that prefers to conduct a ritual known as luop is known as a mangluluop . Diviners are also able to foretell the future and perform geomancy rituals. A key mythological creature used in babaylan geomancy in the Visayas is the bakunawa (or naga ), usually depicted as a gigantic serpent or dragon with a looped tail. The movements of

1449-464: A form of criminal punishment, as a widespread belief is that black magic does not work on people who are innocent. Their targets are usually "wrongdoers" like thieves, adulterous spouses, or land grabbers . Sorcery of this type is seen as a kind of "justice", especially for people who can not (or failed to) legally prosecute a wrongdoer. There are also "true" sorcerers who are said to have hereditary sorcerous powers. Unlike healers, they do not consider

1610-459: A good part of the offerings of food, wine, clothing, and gold, the quality and quantity of which depended on the social status of the supplicant. Thus, the catalonas filled a very prestigious as well as lucrative role in society. Shamans of the many ethnicities in the Philippines always have another role in the community, aside from being spiritualists. Similar to the Shinto kannushi , among the jobs of

1771-453: A group of peers he was leading, was convinced by Jesuit priest Francisco Almerique to convert to Christianity. Chirino noted that this katalona wore his hair long (which is unusual for Tagalog men) and braided it to signify his priesthood. Before he was baptized, in front of an audience, he cut his hair as a sign that the power of the anito had been broken. Shamans who were assimilated by the church syncretized their roles into mysticism in

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1932-461: A merchant from Lübeck , published in 1698 his account of a Russian embassy to China; a translation of his book, published the same year, introduced the word shaman to English speakers. Anthropologist and archeologist Silvia Tomaskova argued that by the mid-1600s, many Europeans applied the Arabic term shaitan (meaning "devil") to the non-Christian practices and beliefs of Indigenous peoples beyond

2093-587: A relative. In some cultures, like among the Isneg people , older shamans can choose apprentices from among the eligible young women of the village. A few, however, become babaylan after experiencing what has been termed a "shamanistic initiatory crisis" (also "shamanic illness" or "shamanic madness"). This includes serious or chronic illnesses, near-death experiences , sudden seizures and trembling, depression , strange events or behavior (including climbing balete trees or disappearing for several days with no memory of

2254-533: A ritual that summoned a rainstorm. Sorcery was not restricted to shamans, but were also a common claim for leaders and warrior-heroes. In the pre-Islamic Maranao society depicted in the Darangen epic poem, heroes are born with "twin spirits" ( tonong in Maranao ) that grant them superhuman abilities. King Awilawil o Ndaw of the kingdom of Kaibat a Kadaan for example, has a tonong named Salindagaw Masingir that can take

2415-410: A rule, do not possess shamans. Instead, they are simply spoken to by the shaman. Bound spirits that inadvertently "stick" to humans are considered dangerous, and are the causes of spiritual illnesses, ranging from confusion, strange food cravings, lust, to unreasoning anger. Sometimes in order to speak to certain bound spirits, the shaman may need the intercession of their abyan , who in turn will possess

2576-410: A sacrificial animal (usually a chicken or a pig) in order to maintain good relations. This friendship of abyan , once earned, is enduring. They become, in essence, part of the family. The abyan of a deceased shaman will often "return" to a living relative who might choose to become a shaman as well. The abyan are essential in shamanistic rituals as they prevent the shaman's soul from getting lost in

2737-514: A second job (or more than two jobs) has been ingrained in certain cultural societies in the Philippines and is still practiced today by certain communities that have not been converted into Christianity. Specific communities that have been converted into Islam have also preserved this tradition through Muslim imams. In modern Philippine society, their roles have largely been taken over by folk healers, which are now predominantly male, while some are still being falsely accused as "witches". In areas where

2898-472: A shaman (and by extension the earliest undisputed evidence of shamans and shamanic practices) dates back to the early Upper Paleolithic era (c. 30,000 BP) in what is now the Czech Republic. Sanskrit scholar and comparative mythologist Michael Witzel proposes that all of the world's mythologies, and also the concepts and practices of shamans, can be traced to the migrations of two prehistoric populations:

3059-448: A shaman is exposed to significant personal risk as shamanic plant materials can be toxic or fatal if misused. Spells are commonly used in an attempt to protect against these dangers, and the use of more dangerous plants is often very highly ritualized. Generally, shamans traverse the axis mundi and enter the "spirit world" by effecting a transition of consciousness, entering into an ecstatic trance, either autohypnotically or through

3220-447: A shaman may include either guiding to their proper abode the souls of the dead (which may be guided either one-at-a-time or in a group, depending on the culture), and the curing of ailments. The ailments may be either purely physical afflictions—such as disease, which are claimed to be cured by gifting, flattering, threatening, or wrestling the disease-spirit (sometimes trying all these, sequentially), and which may be completed by displaying

3381-546: A single concept. Billy-Ray Belcourt, an author and award-winning scholar from the Driftpile Cree Nation in Canada, argues that using language with the intention of simplifying culture that is diverse, such as Shamanism, as it is prevalent in communities around the world and is made up of many complex components, works to conceal the complexities of the social and political violence that Indigenous communities have experienced at

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3542-494: A situation, including the speakers' belief in its reality, or likelihood (Payne 1997). It describes the view of the speaker as to how the action is done. The term mode, mood and modality are often used interchangeably. There are at least six types of mode that occur in Masbatenyo: In Masbatenyo, the so-called "adjectives" and "adverbs" are similar morphologically; hence, there exists no persuasive reasons for separating

3703-487: A specialist can influence important but uncontrollable outcomes. Citing work on the psychology of magic and superstition , Singh argues that humans search for ways of influencing uncertain events, such as healing illness, controlling rain, or attracting animals. As specialists compete to help their clients control these outcomes, they drive the evolution of psychologically compelling magic, producing traditions adapted to people's cognitive biases. Shamanism, Singh argues,

3864-403: A spirit can be summoned it must teach the shaman its song. The use of totemic items such as rocks with special powers and an animating spirit is common. Such practices are presumably very ancient. Plato wrote in his Phaedrus that the "first prophecies were the words of an oak", and that those who lived at that time found it rewarding enough to "listen to an oak or a stone, so long as it

4025-537: A subgrouping and reconstruction of the Bisayan dialects and included Masbatenyo in his work. He stated that while it is true that there are immigrants from the areas that speak Bikol, Cebuano and Hiligaynon languages, the "native dialect" throughout the island is Masbatenyo. Zorc presented four types of intelligibility among the Bisayan languages and dialects: a) natural or primary intelligibility, where speakers of different dialects can communicate freely, even they never hear

4186-408: A supposedly extracted token of the disease-spirit (displaying this, even if "fraudulent", is supposed to impress the disease-spirit that it has been, or is in the process of being, defeated so that it will retreat and stay out of the patient's body), or else mental (including psychosomatic) afflictions—such as persistent terror, which is likewise believed to be cured by similar methods. In most languages

4347-475: A world-view behind them. Analogously to the way grammar arranges words to express meanings and convey a world, also this formed a cognitive map). Shaman's lore is rooted in the folklore of the community, which provides a "mythological mental map." Juha Pentikäinen uses the concept "grammar of mind." Armin Geertz coined and introduced the hermeneutics , or "ethnohermeneutics", interpretation. Hoppál extended

4508-510: Is a subgroup of common nouns that can be inflected as imitative. The imitative affix can be the reduplicative or the Curu- 'imitative/diminutive'. The reduplicative affix – the reduplication of the whole word – is applicable to a stem that is disyllabic and has open penult (CV). Regardless of the original position of the stress, the stress of the reduplicated form is always in the penult, such as in táwu 'man' > tawu-táwu 'toy' The Curu-

4669-648: Is attached to a stem that has more than two syllables. It also attaches to a stem that has a close penult (CVC). The stress does not shift after reduplication. An example of this is barúto 'boat' > burubarúto 'mini-boat' Temporal nouns can also be reduplicated and affixed with Curu- . The meaning, however, is no longer imitative. It means 'every …' as illustrated in adláw 'day' > uru`adláw 'everyday'. Nouns can also be derived from other word classes by adding nominalizing morphemes or voice affixes. 'in front of' sinugbá 'smoked fish/meat' sugbá 'to smoke fish/meat' 'Masbate style' has

4830-439: Is believed to bring misfortune and evil, and various points in the compass all had different aspects depending on where the mouth was facing. These were consulted when making future plans like travel, trade, or marriage. When building houses, shamans were also often consulted to determine the most propitious placement of the foundations to avoid the ill luck brought by the bakunawa . Some shamans were believed to be able to control

4991-415: Is closely related to Capiznon, with 79% lexical similarity, and Hiligaynon, with 76% lexical similarity. Waray language is closely related and significantly similar to Masbatenyo as well. It is also closely related to Waray Sorsogon language , the language of Sorsogon. This is because Masbate was once part of Sorsogon Province and was governed from Sorsogon City until the 1920s. It has three major dialects:

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5152-876: Is considered a verb when used in command form: Dalágan! 'Run!' But it can be analyzed as a noun in forms such as Malúya an dalágan san trak niya . 'His truck runs slowly.' Masbatenyo employs the following operations in deriving new words: However, the existence of bare root forms of modifiers (adjectives and adverbs) in Masbatenyo can also provide evidence that root forms also have lexical properties. Examples of this are lab`as 'fresh (fish)' versus lúb`ok 'rotten', hilaw 'raw' versus lutô 'cooked'. Proper and common nouns are distinguishable from each other because they have their respective determiners; proper nouns are marked by si/sinda , ni/ninda , and kan/kanda while common nouns are accompanied by an , san/sin , and sa . In Masbatenyo, there

5313-518: Is known as the "neurotheological theory". According to Winkelman, shamanism develops reliably in human societies because it provides valuable benefits to the practitioner, their group, and individual clients. In particular, the trance states induced by dancing, hallucinogens, and other triggers are hypothesized to have an "integrative" effect on cognition, allowing communication among mental systems that specialize in theory of mind , social intelligence, and natural history. With this cognitive integration,

5474-523: Is massage with oils ( lana ) known as hilot or haplos . It is still commonly practiced to this day. Divination was closely tied to healing, as it was primarily used for diagnosing illnesses. It can be done by the shamans or by specialized apprentices with the necessary skill. Various paraphernalia and rituals are used to diagnose illnesses, examples include seashells, ginger, quartz or alum crystals ( tawas ), and chicken entrails. Diviners have names that indicate their preferred methods. For example,

5635-407: Is no record of pure shamanistic societies (although their existence is not impossible). Norwegian social anthropologist Hakan Rydving has likewise argued for the abandonment of the terms "shaman" and "shamanism" as "scientific illusions." Dulam Bumochir has affirmed the above critiques of "shamanism" as a Western construct created for comparative purposes and, in an extensive article, has documented

5796-445: Is no single agreed-upon definition for the word "shamanism" among anthropologists. Thomas Downson suggests three shared elements of shamanism: practitioners consistently alter consciousness, the community regards altering consciousness as an important ritual practice, and the knowledge about the practice is controlled. The English historian Ronald Hutton noted that by the dawn of the 21st century, there were four separate definitions of

5957-555: Is the conventional onset of the orthographically vowel-initial words, thus vowels cannot occur in initial position. They only occur in medial and final position. There are two major syllable patterns in Masbatenyo, namely, open syllable /C(C)V, (C(C)VC)/ and closed syllable /CVC/. Most root words in Masbatenyo are disyllabic (they are composed of two syllables) and follows the CV(C).CV(C) pattern. There are monosyllabic words; however, most of them are functors that have no lexical meaning. Most of

6118-729: Is the culmination of this cultural evolutionary process—a psychologically appealing method for controlling uncertainty. For example, some shamanic practices exploit our intuitions about humanness: Practitioners use trance and dramatic initiations to seemingly become entities distinct from normal humans and thus more apparently capable of interacting with the invisible forces believed to oversee important outcomes. Influential cognitive and anthropological scientists, such as Pascal Boyer and Nicholas Humphrey , have endorsed Singh's approach, although other researchers have criticized Singh's dismissal of individual- and group-level benefits. Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff relates these concepts to developments in

6279-428: Is viewed as a process or in a static state. What is important to the speakers is not a temporal relation of the activity to the moment of speaking, but the internal stages of the activity. It is not marked for tense since its action is not correlated with time. Masbatenyo has the five aspects: infinitive or neutral, perfective, imperfective, prospective and recent perfective. Mode describes the speakers' attitude toward

6440-476: The Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT) together with the members of newly established Minasbate Language Society, composed of various stakeholders from Masbate, developed a working orthography on the language based on the discussions in the 1st Minasbate Orthography Congress. The Minasbate Working Orthography distinguishes between the native Minasbate orthography and

6601-790: The Holy Spirit . Late-20th-century and 21st-century faith healers also frequently use western esoteric and pseudoscientific terminology and practices (like " psychic energy " and psychic surgery ), with little connection to traditional shamanic religions. Other shamans abandoned the animistic aspects of shamanism and became folk healers ( arbularyo ), midwives , and practitioners of traditional hilot massage therapy with oils. These modern versions of babaylan are now usually male (except midwives). They are sought out by those with minor ailments or illnesses that modern medicine can not diagnose or cure. Like ancient babaylan , modern babaylan distinguish between "spiritual diseases" and "natural diseases";

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6762-520: The Inuit the angakkuq (shamans) fetch the souls of game from remote places, or soul travel to ask for game from mythological beings like the Sea Woman . The way shamans get sustenance and take part in everyday life varies across cultures. In many Inuit groups, they provide services for the community and get a "due payment", and believe the payment is given to the helping spirits. An account states that

6923-512: The Manobo people , shamans are entirely differentiated from sorcerers. Shamans deal with the spirit world and supernatural beings but do not have magical powers of their own; while sorcerers were regarded as human beings with powers gained from magical spells or objects. Illnesses believed to be caused by sorcery are treated differently from illnesses caused by spirits. The former are treated with counter-spells, simple antidotes, and physical healing; while

7084-496: The Nanai people , a distinct kind of shaman acts as a psychopomp. Other specialized shamans may be distinguished according to the type of spirits, or realms of the spirit world, with which the shaman most commonly interacts. These roles vary among the Nenets , Enets , and Selkup shamans. The assistant of an Oroqen shaman (called jardalanin , or "second spirit") knows many things about

7245-492: The Tucano people , a sophisticated system exists for environmental resources management and for avoiding resource depletion through overhunting. This system is conceptualized mythologically and symbolically by the belief that breaking hunting restrictions may cause illness. The shaman is able to "release" game animals, or their souls, from their hidden abodes. The Piaroa people have ecological concerns related to shamanism. Among

7406-565: The Ural Mountains . She suggests that shaman may have entered the various Tungus dialects as a corruption of this term, and then been told to Christian missionaries , explorers, soldiers and colonial administrators with whom the people had increasing contact for centuries. A female shaman is sometimes called a shamanka , which is not an actual Tungus term but simply shaman plus the Russian suffix -ka (for feminine nouns). There

7567-525: The babaylan was lost under Spanish colonization. The role of women and the relative gender egalitarianism of Philippine animistic cultures, in general, became more subdued under the patriarchal culture of the Spanish. Most babaylan were stigmatized by the Catholic clergy as "priests of the devil" and labeled as witches , satanists , or mentally unstable and were harshly persecuted by the Spanish clergy. The Spanish burned down everything they associated with

7728-401: The bakunawa affected the physical world, from the phases of the moon, to eclipses, the weather, floods, and earthquakes. The bakunawa was central to a sixteen-point compass rose . It faces a different cardinal direction every three months; facing north ( aminhan ), west ( katungdan ), south ( bagatnan ), and east ( sidlangan ) in a given twelve-month lunar year . The mouth of the bakunawa

7889-521: The kalag and the ginhawa . Shamans may also perform rituals to heal and strengthen the kalag of a person. These include the ritual of batak dungan or batakan among Visayan shamans. It strengthens and empowers the kalag of a person to prepare them for challenges, problems and obstacles. This ritual also protects the person from possible spiritual attack caused by malevolent spirits and sorcery. Aside from rituals and herbal medicine, an ubiquitous traditional healing method done by shamans and healers

8050-637: The kalag resides in the head. The ginhawa represents the person's body and bodily urges; while the kalag represents the person's identity, mind, and strength of will. Both are required in a living person. Natural illnesses are the result of damage to the ginhawa . While they do not require a shaman, they are still important, as the death of the ginhawa will also mean the death of the body. They can range from wounds, broken bones, poisoning, and snakebites. These can be treated by skilled shamans, but were more often relegated to apprentices or assistants specializing in healing or herbalism. Spiritual illnesses, on

8211-593: The spirit world is derived from their spirit companions that guide them and intercede for them. These spirits are usually referred to in euphemistic terms like abyan ("friend"), alagad or bantay ("guardian"), or gabay ("guide"), among other terms. Shamans have at least one abyan , with more powerful shamans having many. Certain individuals like powerful leaders or warriors (especially those with shaman relatives) are also believed to have their own abyan that give them magical powers. Abyan are also believed to guide, teach, and inspire skilled artists and craftsmen in

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8372-426: The spiritual world or dimension. Most shamans have dreams or visions that convey certain messages. Shamans may claim to have or have acquired many spirit guides , who they believe guide and direct them in their travels in the spirit world. These spirit guides are always thought to be present within the shaman, although others are said to encounter them only when the shaman is in a trance . The spirit guide energizes

8533-543: The " Gondwana " type (of circa 65,000 years ago) and the " Laurasian " type (of circa 40,000 years ago). In November 2008, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced the discovery of a 12,000-year-old site in Israel that is perceived as one of the earliest-known shaman burials. The elderly woman had been arranged on her side, with her legs apart and folded inward at the knee. Ten large stones were placed on

8694-502: The "bound" spirits, these spirits can be invited into human households, and their rituals can take place both outdoors and indoors. These categories are not static, however. A bound spirit can become unbound, and vice versa. Some shamans have spirit guides which are originally nature spirits that have become unbound. Not all shamanic rituals result in spirit possession . Unbound spirits always possess shamans during rituals. Either voluntarily or involuntarily. In contrast, bound spirits, as

8855-485: The "unbound" spirits that have an independent existence. They appear in animals (usually as birds) or human-like forms, have gender differentiation, and have personal names. They are most similar to the fairies of European folklore. These are the most common types of spirits to become abyan , as they are the most "sociable" and can take interest in human activities. These spirits are usually referred to as engkanto (from Spanish encanto ) in modern Filipino folklore. Unlike

9016-477: The 18th-century writings of Tibetan Buddhist monks in Mongolia and later "probably influenced the formation of European discourse on Shamanism". Shamanism is a system of religious practice. Historically, it is often associated with Indigenous and tribal societies , and involves belief that shamans, with a connection to the otherworld , have the power to heal the sick, communicate with spirits, and escort souls of

9177-504: The Central Philippines, Zorc reported that there are no pre-Hispanic writings that would account for their existence in the area. Zorc stipulated that current speakers of many of the Bisayan languages and dialects could have given up their original languages long ago in favor of an intrusive or more prestigious language, or in favor of the language already spoken in the region that they invaded and conquered. In 2016, researchers from

9338-556: The Christian context, becoming faith healers and miracle workers. These include the beata movement in the 17th and 18th centuries, the messianic (and usually revolutionary ) dios-dios movement of the late 19th century, and the espiritista (or spiritista ) movement of the 20th century. However, their methods of worship remained basically the same. The faith healers were still, in essence, mediums; but instead of channeling anito , they instead claimed to channel saints , angels , or

9499-650: The Masbatenyo. This results to a number of semantic concepts that can be expressed by two to five alternate different words for a single concept. This led Wolfenden to think that Masbatenyo is unique in the sense of its being a mixed-up language. Speakers of the language often thought that their language is just a mixture of its neighboring languages which are Bikol, Waray-Waray, Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Tagalog. There are still who refer to their own speech as 'Bisaya'. Masbatenyo shares different types of mutual intelligibility with its neighboring languages. Speakers of Masbatenyo can easily and conveniently converse with speakers of

9660-420: The Spanish era. Some exceptions include Bikol where it persisted and acquired the Spanish feminine suffix -a as balyana . It also survives among some Muslim Filipinos like in Maranao walian , although the meaning has shifted after Islamization . The linguist Otto Dempwolff has also theorized that *balian may have ultimately derived from Proto-Austronesian *bali ("escort", "accompany") with

9821-469: The Spanish historian and missionary Francisco Ignacio Alcina records that the asog became shamans by virtue of being themselves. Unlike female shamans, they neither needed to be chosen nor did they undergo initiation rites. However, not all asog trained to become shamans. Castano (1895) states that the people of Bicol would hold a thanksgiving ritual called atang that was "presided" by an "effeminate" priest called an asog . His female counterpart, called

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9982-508: The Tagalog root word is “tulong” which means to help. Some writers such as William Henry Scott and Luciano P. R. Santiago favoured Mintz suggestion and used the term catolonan (which is actually a Pampangan term) to refer to the priests and priestesses of the Tagalogs instead of catalona or catalonan. Most babaylan inherited their status from an older babaylan they were apprenticed to, usually

10143-532: The Visayas and bayok or bayog in Luzon. The asog assumed the voice, mannerisms, hairstyle, and dress of females. They were treated as women by the community and were considered as comparable to biological women aside from their incapability to give birth to children. Their social status and recognition also granted them access to professions related to the spiritual realm, such as shamans and religious functionaries. In Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas (1668),

10304-452: The ability to call down disasters. The dios-dios leaders of the Visayan peasant revolts in the late 19th century often claimed to possess these kinds of powers. A more common use of the power to command elements is rainmaking . A notable example was Estrella Bangotbanwa , a Karay-a ma-aram from southern Iloilo . According to local legend, she alleviated a three-year drought by performing

10465-597: The aspect of typhoons, floods, and pillars of fire; while King Dalondong a Mimbantas of the kingdom of Gindolongan Marogong has a tonong named Mabokelod a Romba which took the form of a giant crocodile. Numerous types of shamans use different kinds of items in their work, such as talismans or charms known as agimat or anting-anting, curse deflectors such as buntot pagi , and sacred oil concoctions, among many other objects. Sorcerers are also believed to have powers that cause harm to other people covertly. Healer-sorcerers who practice this kind of sorcery usually justify it as

10626-404: The associated beliefs. He or she accompanies the rituals and interprets the behaviors of the shaman. Despite these functions, the jardalanin is not a shaman. For this interpretative assistant, it would be unwelcome to fall into a trance. As the primary teacher of tribal symbolism, the shaman may have a leading role in this ecological management, actively restricting hunting and fishing. Among

10787-772: The assumed derivational relationship is phonologically irregular (note especially the vowel quantities)." Mircea Eliade noted that the Sanskrit word श्रमण , śramaṇa , designating a wandering monastic or holy figure, has spread to many Central Asian languages along with Buddhism and could be the ultimate origin of the word shaman. The word has been reported in Gandhari as ṣamana , in Tocharian A as ṣāmaṃ , in Tocharian B as ṣamāne and in Chinese as 沙門 , shāmén . The term

10948-471: The awe of the natives. They could also cure various diseases that the native shamans could not. By the late 16th century, Christian symbols and paraphernalia (like rosaries , crucifixes , and holy water ) became fetish objects, and Latin prayers and verses became part of the shaman's repertoire of magical chants and spells. Anito images ( taotao ) were replaced by Catholic idols and their rituals syncretized , including attributing anito -like powers to

11109-534: The babaylans were also regarded as allies of certain datus in subjugating an enemy, hence, the babaylans were also known for their specialization in medical and divine combat. According to William Henry Scott (Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippines Culture and Society) a Katalonan could be of either sex, or male transvestites (bayoguin), but were usually women from prominent families who were wealthy in their own right. According to Luciano P. R. Santiago (To Love and to Suffer) as remuneration for their services they received

11270-672: The calling of a shaman can be found in the case history of Chuonnasuan , who was one of the last shamans among the Tungus peoples in Northeast China . The wounded healer is an archetype for a shamanic trial and journey. This process is important to young shamans. They undergo a type of sickness that pushes them to the brink of death. This is said to happen for two reasons: Shamans may employ varying materials in spiritual practice in different cultures. Shamans have been conceptualized as those who are able to gain knowledge and power to heal in

11431-524: The classification of the language spoken in Masbate. One view excluded Masbate and the southern part of Sorsogon from the Bikol area on the grounds that the language spoken in these areas was not Bikol. The other view considered the language as dialect of Bikol. Other claim on the language of Masbate was that 'the language and dialects of Masbate are basically Visayan, with the major influence being Cebuano.' Zorc made

11592-514: The community, including the spirits of the deceased. Shamans believe they can communicate with both living and dead to alleviate unrest, unsettled issues, and to deliver gifts to the spirits. Shamans perform a variety of functions depending upon their respective cultures; healing, leading a sacrifice , preserving traditions by storytelling and songs, fortune-telling , and acting as a psychopomp ("guide of souls"). A single shaman may fulfill several of these functions. The responsibilities of

11753-429: The community, on par with the pre-colonial noble class . In the absence of the datu (head of the community), the babaylan takes in the role of interim head of the community. Babaylans were powerful ritual specialists who were believed to have influence over the weather and tap various spirits in the natural and spiritual realms. Babaylans were held in such high regard as they were believed to possess powers that can block

11914-600: The community. Abyan spirits can be ancestor spirits , but they are more commonly non-human spirits . Shamans either had spirit companions from birth, drew their attention during the "shamanic illness", or gained their allegiance during initiation into shamanism. Spirits are believed to be social beings, with individual quirks and personalities (both good and bad). The friendship of abyan depend on reciprocity . The shamans do not command them. People with abyan must regularly offer sacrifices to these spirits, usually consisting of food, alcoholic drinks, ngangà , and blood from

12075-404: The concept of soul dualism (sometimes referred to as "twin souls" or "double souls"). A person is believed to be composed of at least two souls—the breath of life ( ginhawa or hininga , which stays with the living body) and the astral soul (the kalag or kaluluwa , which can travel to the spirit world). The ginhawa is believed to reside in the pit of the stomach (usually the liver ), while

12236-414: The dark magic of an evil datu or spirit and heal the sick or wounded. Among other powers of the babaylan were to ensure a safe pregnancy and child birth. As a spiritual medium, babaylans also lead rituals with offerings to the various divinities or deities. As an expert in divine and herb lore, incantations, and concoctions of remedies, antidotes, and a variety of potions from various roots, leaves, and seeds,

12397-503: The dead to the afterlife . The origins of Shamanism stem from indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia. Despite structural implications of colonialism and imperialism that have limited the ability of Indigenous peoples to practice traditional spiritualities, many communities are undergoing resurgence through self-determination and the reclamation of dynamic traditions. Other groups have been able to avoid some of these structural impediments by virtue of their isolation, such as

12558-432: The dialogue with the supernatural, or sent their own kaluluwa (soul) to seek lost souls. In this state of trance, the catalona was called “tarotaro” [literally meaning voices], for it was believed that the ancestral spirits had entered her body and were speaking from inside her. According to Blumentritt “tarotaro” is a Tagalog term describing the katalonas while possessed by the spirits, in this state, they cried tarotaro. When

12719-618: The disyllabic words contain an affix, reduplicated or compound. Masbatenyo also has a suprasegmental phoneme, the stress, which is characterized by vowel length. The acoustic analysis of stress correlates using Praat showed that duration is the most consistent factor that characterizes stress. Stressed syllables are longer than their unstressed counterparts. The diphthongs in Masbatenyo are: [aw] in sab aw 'soup', [ɪw] in ag iw 'soot', [aj] in bal ay 'house', and [ʊj] or [ɔj] in bab oy 'pig'. Consonant clusters are non-native to Masbatenyo phonology. Their occurrence in

12880-528: The ethnic group they are associated with. They are completely different from the Western notion of what a witch is. Notable examples of witches in a Philippine concept are the mannamay, witches known to the Ibanag people, mangkukulam , witches that use materials from nature and the cursee as a form of curse, and the mambabarang , witches that utilize insects as a form of curse. Babaylan were highly respected members of

13041-460: The events), bouts of insanity (including those induced by psychological trauma from a past event), and strange visions or dreams. These are regarded as encounters with the spirits, where the soul of the person is said to be journeying to the spirit world. In cases like this, it is said that a spirit chose the person, rather than the other way around. After being chosen, shamans go through an initiation rite. These rites are meant to gain or transfer

13202-537: The existence of such writings from the Philippines. In 1349, the Chinese Wang Ta-yuan recorded that widows of important leaders in Manila spent the rest of their lives poring over indigenous religious texts. Spanish sources note that native writings were written on native reeds and leaves that were turned into a papyrus-like material, while iron points and other locally-manufactured pointed objects were used pens. Bamboo

13363-489: The extended working orthography. The inclusion of borrowed terms in native Minasbaté vocabulary has resulted in the change in the structure of the language. There is a need to develop an extended orthography to accommodate these words. 8. Consonant clusters exist in both native and borrowed words in Minasbaté. 9. The apostrophe symbol ( ' ) is used in contracted words. The particles san and sin are often contracted to

13524-499: The extinction of most native shamanistic practices. Christianity was initially seen by native Filipinos as another type of anito . The Spanish missionaries exploited this misconception in their successful conversion and occupation of most of the islands with minimal military support. Spanish friars were seen as "shamans" whose souls and spirit guides were apparently more powerful than the native ones. They desecrated religious objects, sacred trees, and sacred areas with impunity, earning

13685-459: The fact that they exist outside of what is defined as shamanism and even play similar roles in nonshamanic cultures, for example chanting in the Abrahamic religions . She argues that these expression are unique to each culture that uses them and that such practices cannot be generalized easily, accurately, or usefully into a global religion of shamanism. Because of this, Kehoe is also highly critical of

13846-428: The feminine reinforced the normative situation of female as shaman. While Brewer (1999) agreed that it is naïve to dismiss the existence of a principal male shaman during the precolonial era, she also argued that such cases were unusual rather than the norm, and that the statistical imbalance in favour of principal male shamans occurred as a result of the influence of the male-centered Hispano-Catholic culture, such that in

14007-469: The following examples: Dakó 'big (size, abstract)' is a root which can express a property or state, as seen in: Dakó an baláy niya 'His house is big'. But it can also be combined with certain affixes to form a process verb in: Nagdaragkó na an atáman 'His pet has grown already.' It can also combine with a determiner, an , to form a noun in the context: Dilí ko nakita an pagdakó san báta niya 'I didn't see his child growing up.' Dalágan

14168-410: The following: Shamanism is based on the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits which affect the lives of the living. Although the causes of disease lie in the spiritual realm, inspired by malicious spirits, both spiritual and physical methods are used to heal. Commonly, a shaman "enters the body" of the patient to confront the spiritual infirmity and heals by banishing

14329-401: The gifts and payments that a shaman receives are given by his partner spirit. Since it obliges the shaman to use his gift and to work regularly in this capacity, the spirit rewards him with the goods that it receives. These goods, however, are only "welcome addenda". They are not enough to enable a full-time shaman. Shamans live like any other member of the group, as a hunter or housewife. Due to

14490-407: The hands of settlers. Belcourt argues that language used to imply “simplicity” in regards to Indigenous culture, is a tool used to belittle Indigenous cultures, as it views Indigenous communities solely as a result of a history embroiled in violence, that leaves Indigenous communities only capable of simplicity and plainness. Anthropologist Mihály Hoppál  [ de ] also discusses whether

14651-408: The head, pelvis, and arms. Among her unusual grave goods were 50 complete tortoise shells, a human foot, and certain body parts from animals such as a cow tail and eagle wings. Other animal remains came from a boar, leopard, and two martens. "It seems that the woman … was perceived as being in a close relationship with these animal spirits", researchers noted. The grave was one of at least 28 graves at

14812-476: The human soul caused by foreign elements. Shamans operate primarily within the spiritual world, which, they believe, in turn affects the human world. The restoration of balance is said to result in the elimination of the ailment. The anthropologist Alice Kehoe criticizes the term "shaman" in her book Shamans and Religion: An Anthropological Exploration in Critical Thinking . Part of this criticism involves

14973-485: The human world and the spirit worlds. Shamans are said to treat ailments and illnesses by mending the soul. Alleviating traumas affecting the soul or spirit are believed to restore the physical body of the individual to balance and wholeness. Shamans also claim to enter supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community. Shamans claim to visit other worlds or dimensions to bring guidance to misguided souls and to ameliorate illnesses of

15134-490: The hunt; or entertainment ( Inuit throat singing ). Shamans often claim to have been called through dreams or signs. However, some say their powers are inherited. In traditional societies shamanic training varies in length, but generally takes years. Turner and colleagues mention a phenomenon called "shamanistic initiatory crisis", a rite of passage for shamans-to-be, commonly involving physical illness or psychological crisis. The significant role of initiatory illnesses in

15295-498: The hypothesis that shamanism is an ancient, unchanged, and surviving religion from the Paleolithic period. The term has been criticized for its perceived colonial roots, and as a tool to perpetuate perceived contemporary linguistic colonialism. By Western scholars, the term "shamanism" is used to refer to a variety of different cultures and practices around the world, which can vary dramatically and may not be accurately represented by

15456-440: The idols such as miraculous healing or the ability to possess people. These flourished as they were tolerated by the Spanish clergy as " white magic ". Nature spirits ( diwata ) during this period were also syncretized with the friars themselves, becoming known as engkanto and being described as having European features, along with a propensity for deceiving, seducing, and playing tricks on people. The previously high status of

15617-470: The immediately preceding word if it ends in either a glottal or vowel sound. The unstressed vowel can also be deleted in fast speech. Masbatenyo has 19 segmental phonemes: 16 consonant sounds /p, t, k, b, d, g, m, n, ŋ, l, r, w, j, s, h, ʔ/ and three vowel sounds /a, ɪ, ʊ/ . Post-alveolar sounds /ʃ, tʃ, dʒ/ are also present as a result of loanwords. /ɪ/ has the mid front unrounded, lax vowel [ɛ] (written orthographically as e ) as its variant; /ʊ/ has

15778-499: The infectious spirit. Many shamans have expert knowledge of medicinal plants native to their area, and an herbal treatment is often prescribed. In many places shamans learn directly from the plants, harnessing their effects and healing properties, after obtaining permission from the indwelling or patron spirits. In the Peruvian Amazon Basin, shamans and curanderos use medicine songs called icaros to evoke spirits. Before

15939-490: The interest of scholars from a variety of disciplines, including anthropologists, archeologists, historians, religious studies scholars, philosophers and psychologists. Hundreds of books and academic papers on the subject have been produced, with a peer-reviewed academic journal being devoted to the study of shamanism. The Modern English word shamanism derives from the Russian word шаман , šamán , which itself comes from

16100-484: The jurisdiction of the Municipality of Placer but is now under the Municipality of Esperanza. This barrio used to be called Surosimbahan because it looks like a church. Its name was then changed Agoho from the tree called agoho. Then, for the third time, its name was changed to Masbaranon because of the supposed abundance of small fish called masbad . Wolfenden identified three major dialects of Masbatenyo:

16261-423: The justice of their actions. The latter type of sorcerers are often conflated with the aswang , evil vampire -like supernatural beings capable of appearing human (or were originally human). The negative counterparts of the shamans are collectively called as witches , however, these witches actually include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on

16422-470: The language is brought by the entry of borrowed words from Spanish and English. The form of a morpheme can change when they are combined to form words or phrases. Such changes are called mophophonemic changes. Among these changes are: vowel deletion; contraction of particles san and sin , assimilation, metathesis, epenthesis and degemination. Masbatenyo provides support for the claim that root words are pre-categorial or neutral by themselves. Take

16583-586: The late nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth century, in some areas like Negros, all the babaylan were male. Lachica (1996) has also hypothesized that the disappearance of female babaylan during the late Spanish colonial period was probably the influence of the male-led Catholic church that "ousted" the female babaylan since the people were looking for parallels to the male clergy. Babaylan can freely marry and have children, including male asog who were recorded by early Spanish colonists as being married to men. In some ethnic groups, marriage

16744-498: The latter requires the intervention or dialogue with the spirits and thus a shaman ritual. In contrast, in Visayan societies, the most powerful shamans were sorcerers known as dalagangan (also dalongdongan or busalian ). They could purportedly command the elements through magic spells and the strength of their kalag (or dungan ) which was equated with "[spiritual] power". Their alleged powers include conjuring fire or water, flight, shape-shifting, invisibility, invulnerability, and

16905-501: The latter they will usually refer to a medical doctor. Shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner ( shaman ) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness , such as trance . The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of healing, divination , or to aid human beings in some other way. Beliefs and practices categorized as "shamanic" have attracted

17066-435: The local variations and emphasizes that shamanism is not a religion of sacred dogmas , but linked to the everyday life in a practical way. Following similar thoughts, he also conjectures a contemporary paradigm shift. Piers Vitebsky also mentions that, despite really astonishing similarities, there is no unity in shamanism. The various, fragmented shamanistic practices and beliefs coexist with other beliefs everywhere. There

17227-431: The mid back rounded lax [ɔ] (written orthographically as o ) as its variant. The sound [ɛ] only appears in loan words from English and Spanish and occurs in free variation with [ɪ] . Similarly, the sound [ɔ] is a variant of [ʊ] and its occurrence might have been brought by the interaction with the Tagalog language and the incorporation of Spanish and English loan words in Masbatenyo language. The glottal stop /ʔ/

17388-470: The modifiers of verbs and non-verbs. Modifiers can either occur in their root forms or they can be inflected by affixes. The first type belongs to a class of unaffixed form of statives. These forms denote that the properties they exhibit are not derived from a process or those that are possessed innately by the thing being described. Examples are lab`as 'fresh (fish)' versus lúb`ok 'rotten', hilaw 'raw' versus lutô 'cooked'. Affixed forms of

17549-482: The native people's indigenous religions (including shrines such as the dambana ), even forcefully ordering native children to defecate on their own gods' idols, murdering those who disobeyed. Spanish friars often sought out and persecuted female shamans in particular. The Spanish chroniclers was also guilty of erasing indigenous religious texts, claiming that the natives never had any religious writings such as books. However, scholars agree that such statement reflected

17710-415: The neighboring languages using their own language. However, speakers of Cebuano, Waray or Hiligaynon would sometimes find it difficult to understand Masbatenyo because of its lexicon. Furthermore, Zorc considered Masbatenyo, together with Kinaray-a, Bulalakaw, Hiligayon, Waray, and Surigaonon, as "linking dialects" because they serve as "centers of dialect complexes". McFarland presented different views on

17871-537: The nomadic Tuvan (with an estimated population of 3000 people surviving from this tribe). Tuva is one of the most isolated Asiatic tribes in Russia where the art of shamanism has been preserved until today due to its isolated existence, allowing it to be free from the influences of other major religions. There are many variations of shamanism throughout the world, but several common beliefs are shared by all forms of shamanism. Common beliefs identified by Eliade (1972) are

18032-602: The notion of cultural appropriation . This includes criticism of New Age and modern Western forms of shamanism, which, according to Kehoe, misrepresent or dilute Indigenous practices. Kehoe also believes that the term reinforces racist ideas such as the noble savage . Kehoe is highly critical of Mircea Eliade 's work on shamanism as an invention synthesized from various sources unsupported by more direct research. To Kehoe, citing practices such as drumming , trance, chanting , entheogen and hallucinogen use, spirit communication , and healing as definitive of shamanism ignores

18193-463: The ostracization of the asog , however, did not immediately change the originally feminine role of the shamans. Male shamans in the late 17th century still dressed as women during rituals, even though they did not do so in their day-to-day activities. Unlike the ancient asog , they did not have sexual relations with other men, and indeed, were usually married to women. The primary role of shamans were as spirit mediums . They were intermediaries between

18354-592: The other dialect before (e.g. Bulalakawnon and Ratagnon, Capiznon and Hiligaynon); b) learned or secondary intelligibility, where speakers can adjust to another dialect in a matter of time (e.g. Bulalakawnon and Aklanon); c) sesquilingualism, whereby a speaker is fluent in his native language (dialect), but can only understand (not speak) another (Waray and Cebuano, where speakers of both languages can understand both perfectly but speakers of Cebuano understand Waray poorly); and d) one-way intelligibility, whereby A understands B but B does not understand A. Masbatenyo speakers in

18515-401: The other hand, are believed to be caused by the separation of the kalag from the ginhawa (referred to as " soul loss " in anthropological literature). This separation happens normally during sleep, where the kalag detaches to travel through the spirit world, resulting in dreams. However, when this separation happens when the person is awake, it results in spiritual illnesses. The causes of

18676-399: The patronage of a spirit. Among Visayans, this ritual is known as the tupad or tupadan . In cases of people with "shamanic illness", these initiation rites are regarded as the cure, where the initiate regains health or sanity by conceding to the wishes of the spirits and "answering the call". When volunteered rather than volunteering, their relatives are usually required to pay a large fee to

18837-408: The people have not been converted into Muslims or Christians, notably ancestral domains of indigenous peoples, the shamans and their cultural traits have continued to exist with their respective communities, although these shamans and their practices are being slowly diluted by Abrahamic religions . The Spanish colonization of the Philippines and the introduction of Catholic Christianity resulted in

18998-482: The physical world and the spirit world , due to their ability to influence and interact with the spirits ( anito ), both malevolent and benevolent. There are two general types of spirits usually interacted with in séance rituals. The first are the environmental or nature spirits "bound" to a particular location or natural phenomenon (similar to genii loci ). They "own" places and concepts like agricultural fields, forests, cliffs, seas, winds, lightning, or realms in

19159-477: The physical world through incantations , talismans , potions , or their spirit intermediaries. Healers are more strongly associated with sorcerers than mediums. In most cases, a healer is also a sorcerer. In order to cure or counteract sorcerous illnesses, healers must themselves know sorcery. This relationship is most apparent in Siquijor Island, where healer-sorcerers are still common. In some cultures like

19320-491: The popularity of ayahuasca tourism in South America, there are practitioners in areas frequented by backpackers who make a living from leading ceremonies. Furthermore, due to the predominant number of female shamans over males, shamanism was and continues to be an integral part of women’s economic liberation. Shamanism often serves as an economic resource due to the requirement of payment for service. This economic revenue

19481-501: The quality of Masbatenyo employs three types of possession strategies: Masbatenyo verbs, like verbs in other Philippine languages, are marked for their voice, aspect and modality. Further, as Nolasco observed in Philippine languages, voice and tense/aspect/mode often interact and it is sometimes difficult to tease them apart. Masbatenyo is marked for aspect to show the condition of the action; whether it has begun or not, and whether it

19642-428: The remaining three were transvestite male shamans, thus highlighting the statistical imbalance between the female-to-male ratio of indigenous shamans. The anonymously-written "Manila Manuscript" also emphasized the auxiliary role of gender non-conforming male shamans in relation to the female shamans. These evidences, together with the fact that there were no written accounts of female sex/male gender identification amongst

19803-406: The rituals, the chants and songs, the sacrifices appropriate for each spirit, oral histories, herbs and healing practices, and magic spells, among others. They usually assist the senior shaman during ceremonies until their training is complete, which can take months to years. Each shaman can have one or more such apprentices, at varying ranks or specializations. The shaman's power to communicate with

19964-434: The role of Mongols themselves, particularly "the partnership of scholars and shamans in the reconstruction of shamanism" in post-1990/post-communist Mongolia. This process has also been documented by Swiss anthropologist Judith Hangartner in her landmark study of Darhad shamans in Mongolia. Historian Karena Kollmar-Polenz argues that the social construction and reification of shamanism as a religious "other" actually began with

20125-430: The root talon which in ancient Tagalog meant "forest" (cf. Hiligaynon , Masbatenyo , Inabaknon , Capisano , Palawano , Buhid , and Agutaynen talon , "forest" or "thicket"). Other scholars believed that the origin of the word catalonan is from its root word “talo” which according to them is a Tagalog word originally means "to converse", thus the word catalonan literally means someone who converse or communicate with

20286-440: The same grammatical systems which are rather closer to those of Waray and Hiligaynon, the trade languages in the Visayas, rather than that of Bicol. The presence of competing grammatical and lexical subsystems in the language is the most striking characteristic of Masbatenyo. This has probably been brought on by the influx of settlers from surrounding major language groups who mixed in elements of their language with and alongside of

20447-417: The senior shaman for the training. Initiation rites can range from simply inducing a trance through herbs or alcohol, to inducing personal crises through physical or psychological hardship. Extreme examples of initiation rites include getting buried alive or being immersed in water overnight. After initiation, the apprentices are then trained in the details of their role. This training includes learning about

20608-515: The separation can include the kalag getting lost in the spirit world; the kalag being captured, attacked, or seduced by another spirit; or simply the refusal of the kalag to return to the ginhawa . While it is not immediately lethal, the loss of the kalag can result in the loss of the person's mind and identity—thus insanity. Spiritual illnesses also include delirium, depression, trauma, fainting spells, and other mental illnesses. Evil or undesirable behavior may also be blamed on disharmony between

20769-407: The shaman can better predict the movement of animals, resolve group conflicts, plan migrations, and provide other useful services. The neurotheological theory contrasts with the "by-product" or "subjective" model of shamanism developed by Harvard anthropologist Manvir Singh. According to Singh, shamanism is a cultural technology that adapts to (or hacks) our psychological biases to convince us that

20930-424: The shaman range from being a merchant, warrior, farmer, fisherfolk, blacksmith, crafstfolk, weaver, potter, musician, and even as a barber or chef, depending on the preference of the shaman, skill of the shaman, and the need of the community. Some shamans have more than two occupations at a time, especially if a community lacks people with the needed skills to take upon the role of certain jobs. This tradition of having

21091-506: The shaman. Bound spirits can also be interacted with by non-shamans, like when offering sacrifices to the spirit of the forest before a hunt. The Katalonas performed public ceremonies for community prosperity, fertility, or seasonable weather as well as private services to diagnose and cure ailments. They were respected for these functions but they were also feared sorcerers able to work black magic. Their numbers too were large enough to put them in competition with one another. Individual success

21252-415: The shamans, enabling them to enter the spiritual dimension. Shamans claim to heal within the communities and the spiritual dimension by returning lost parts of the human soul from wherever they have gone. Shamans also claim to cleanse excess negative energies, which are said to confuse or pollute the soul. Shamans act as mediators in their cultures. Shamans claim to communicate with the spirits on behalf of

21413-534: The site, located in a cave in lower Galilee and belonging to the Natufian culture , but is said to be unlike any other among the Epipaleolithic Natufians or in the Paleolithic period. A debated etymology of the word "shaman" is "one who knows", implying, among other things, that the shaman is an expert in keeping together the multiple codes of the society, and that to be effective, shamans must maintain

21574-406: The spirit world. Some were also "keepers" or totems of various animals and plants. They have inhuman and abstract qualities, reflecting their particular dominions. They do not normally appear in human form and are usually gender-less or androgynous. They rarely concern themselves with human affairs. Rituals involving these spirits are almost always conducted outdoors. The second type of spirits are

21735-448: The spirit world. They also communicate entreaties on behalf of the shaman to more powerful spirits or deities, as well as fight evil spirits during healing or exorcism rituals. In most Philippine ethnic groups, shamans were predominantly female due to the role of the shaman (especially the medium) being an intrinsically feminine one. Among the minority of males, most belonged to a special class of shamans—the feminized men known as asog in

21896-481: The spirits (anito). According to Blumentritt an old Tagalog word “tarotaro” is a term describing the catalonas while possessed by the spirits (anito). In some Malayo-Polynesian languages such as Tahitian “tarotaro” means ‘to pray’, while in Rapanui it means ‘a malediction or curse’. In Samoan “talo or talotalo” means ‘a prayer or to pray’. Linguist Malcolm Mintz, however, offers a different etymology. He determines that

22057-1229: The spirits and deities ( anito or diwata ) and the spirit world . Their primary role were as mediums during pag-anito séance rituals. There were also various subtypes of babaylan specializing in the arts of healing and herbalism , divination , and sorcery . The most common native terms for shamans among Austronesian groups in Island Southeast Asia are balian , baylan , or cognates and spelling variants thereof. They are all derived from Proto-Western-Malayo-Polynesian *balian , meaning "shaman" (probably originally female, transvestite , or hermaphroditic) or " medium ". Various cognates in other non-Filipino Austronesian languages include babalian , bobolian , and bobohizan ( Kadazan-Dusun ); wadian ( Ma'anyan ); belian ( Iban ); belian ( Malay ); walen or walyan ( Old Javanese ); balian ( Balinese ); bolian ( Mongondow ); balia ( Uma ); wulia or balia ( Bare'e ); balia ( Wolio ); balian ( Ngaju ); and balieng ( Makassar ). However *balian -derived terms have largely disappeared among lowland Filipinos after Christianization in

22218-684: The suffix *-an , in the meaning of "one who escorts a soul to the other world (a psychopomp )". However, the linguists Robert Blust and Stephen Trussel have noted that there is no evidence that *balian is a suffixed form, and thus believe that Dempwolff's interpretation is incorrect. More general terms used by Spanish sources for native shamans throughout the archipelago were derived from Tagalog and Visayan anito ("spirit"), these include terms like maganito and anitera . However, different ethnic groups had different names for shamans, including shamans with specialized roles. These include: According to Jaime Veneracion, Katalonan incorporates

22379-427: The term "shamanism" is appropriate. He notes that for many readers, "-ism" implies a particular dogma, like Buddhism, Catholicism or Judaism. He recommends using the term "shamanhood" or "shamanship" (a term used in old Russian and German ethnographic reports at the beginning of the 20th century) for stressing the diversity and the specific features of the discussed cultures. He believes that this places more stress on

22540-451: The term in a very broad sense. The term was used to describe unrelated magicoreligious practices found within the ethnic religions of other parts of Asia, Africa, Australasia and even completely unrelated parts of the Americas, as they believed these practices to be similar to one another. While the term has been incorrectly applied by cultural outsiders to many Indigenous spiritual practices,

22701-469: The term that Cebuano migrants used to describe the place, mas batí , which means 'a place where living condition is worse'. According to a certain Fray Martin de Rada, Masbate took its name from Masbat or Basbat which means 'having many gold mines'. Another claims that the name Masbate came from Masbad. The term Masbad possibly originated from Masbaranon, a barrio that used to be part of

22862-437: The term to include not only the interpretation of oral and written texts, but that of "visual texts as well (including motions, gestures and more complex rituals, and ceremonies performed, for instance, by shamans)". Revealing the animistic views in shamanism, but also their relevance to the contemporary world, where ecological problems have validated paradigms of balance and protection. Masbatenyo language Masbatenyo

23023-466: The term which appeared to be in use: According to the Oxford English Dictionary , a shaman ( / ˈ ʃ ɑː m ə n / SHAH -mən , / ˈ ʃ æ m ə n / SHAM -ən or / ˈ ʃ eɪ m ə n / SHAY -mən ) is someone who is regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits , who typically enters into a trance state during

23184-403: The town of Masbate belong to the fourth kind. The residents of the town can readily understand the speech of the outsiders but the outsiders cannot understand the speech of the local residents. Speakers can understand Sorsoganon, Capiznon, Hiligaynon, and Cebuano but the latter experience varying degrees of difficulty in understanding Masbatenyo. Regarding the duration of the Bisayan occupancy of

23345-459: The use of entheogens or ritual performances. The methods employed are diverse, and are often used together. Just like shamanism itself, music and songs related to it in various cultures are diverse. In several instances, songs related to shamanism are intended to imitate natural sounds , via onomatopoeia . Sound mimesis in various cultures may serve other functions not necessarily related to shamanism: practical goals such as luring game in

23506-419: The used symbols and meanings and therefore trust the shamanic worker. There are also semiotic , theoretical approaches to shamanism, and examples of "mutually opposing symbols" in academic studies of Siberian lore, distinguishing a "white" shaman who contacts sky spirits for good aims by day, from a "black" shaman who contacts evil spirits for bad aims by night. (Series of such opposing symbols referred to

23667-516: The ways that modern science (systems theory, ecology, new approaches in anthropology and archeology) treats causality in a less linear fashion. He also suggests a cooperation of modern science and Indigenous lore. Shamanic practices may originate as early as the Paleolithic , predating all organized religions, and certainly as early as the Neolithic period. The earliest known undisputed burial of

23828-474: The western dialect centered around the town of Balud on the western coast which is close to Capiz, the southern dialect centered about the town of Cataingan in the southeastern part of Masbate and the northern dialect covering the whole northern half of Masbate and centered on Masbate City, the capital. Wolfenden reported that although Sorsogon (the southernmost province of Bicol) and Masbate are very much closer to Bicol Peninsula, Sorsoganon and Masbatenyo shared

23989-756: The western dialect centered around the town of Balud on the western coast which is close to Capiz, the southern dialect centered about the town of Cataingan in the southeastern part of Masbate, and the northern dialect covering the whole northern half of Masbate and centered on Masbate City. There are several accounts on the origins of the word Masbate . One account says that it came from the words masa 'to mix' and batî 'to beat'. The other account says it came from mas batî 'heard better' as in Lumúsad kamó kag umapíke agúd mas batî an íyo ginasábi 'Get down here and get closer so that we can hear better whatever you're saying.' Another account further says that it came from

24150-402: The women who exercised authority within the spiritual sphere, prove that spiritual potency was not dependent upon the identification with a neuter "third" sex/gender space, but rather on the identification with the feminine – whether the biological sex was female or male. Femininity was considered the vehicle to the spirit world during the pre-colonial era, and the male shaman's identification with

24311-625: The word samān from a Tungusic language – possibly from the southwestern dialect of the Evenki spoken by the Sym Evenki peoples, or from the Manchu language . The etymology of the word is sometimes connected to the Tungus root sā- , meaning "to know". However, Finnish ethnolinguist Juha Janhunen questions this connection on linguistic grounds: "The possibility cannot be completely rejected, but neither should it be accepted without reservation since

24472-462: The words “shaman” and “shamanism” do not accurately describe the variety and complexity that is Indigenous spirituality. Each nation and tribe has its own way of life, and uses terms in their own languages. Mircea Eliade writes, "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = 'technique of religious ecstasy '." Shamanism encompasses the premise that shamans are intermediaries or messengers between

24633-471: Was a prerequisite for gaining full shaman status. After the Spanish conquest of the Philippines, the practice of shamanism became clandestine due to persecution by the Catholic clergy. During this period, male shamans (particularly those specialized in the non-religious arts of herbalism and healing) became predominant. Female shamans became less common, while asog (shaman or otherwise) were punished harshly and driven to hiding. The change in women's status and

24794-562: Was adopted by Russians interacting with the indigenous peoples in Siberia . It is found in the memoirs of the exiled Russian churchman Avvakum . It was brought to Western Europe twenty years later by the Dutch statesman Nicolaes Witsen , who reported his stay and journeys among the Tungusic- and Samoyedic -speaking Indigenous peoples of Siberia in his book Noord en Oost Tataryen (1692). Adam Brand ,

24955-446: Was also utilized for writing. The native population had a high level of literacy even prior to Spanish contact, where every native could write in and read the indigenous writing systems. An account of the conversion of a katalona was provided by a Spanish priest named Pedro Chirino (1604). He wrote that a blind katalona named Diego Magsanga, along with his wife (who was said to be a skilled midwife), converted to Christianity. After he

25116-425: Was an indigenous god and not a demon. The book was one of many of those burned by order of the colonizers. The scholar Beyer also noted of the time when a Spanish priest boasted about burning indigenous religious writings, specifically "more than three hundred scrolls written in the native character". To further prove the existence of indigenous religious writings, Chinese sources before the Spanish colonial era maintain

25277-475: Was attributed to the power of the deities with whom they identified, and who took possession of them in their frenzied dancing. The Tagalog word “olak” according to Ferdinand Blumentritt is a term for the trembling of the whole body of the catalona, when she becomes possessed by the devil (anito). As spirit mediums, they conducted séances during which they spoke with the voice of spirits (anito), assisted by an "alagar" ("alagad", meaning personal attendant) to carry on

25438-624: Was baptized he became a faithful assistant of the friars in expanding Christianity in Silang, Cavite, teaching children and adults the catechism. Chirino also reported that many people followed Magsanga and even the Jesuits could not surpass him when it came to devotion to the teachings of the Church and diligence in teaching his brethren. Magsanga was not a priest; his likely role was that of a hermano . Chirino also mentioned another male katalona who, together with

25599-482: Was introduced to the west after Russian forces conquered the shamanistic Khanate of Kazan in 1552. The term "shamanism" was first applied by Western anthropologists as outside observers of the ancient religion of the Turks and Mongols , as well as those of the neighbouring Tungusic- and Samoyedic -speaking peoples. Upon observing more religious traditions around the world, some Western anthropologists began to also use

25760-461: Was telling the truth". Belief in witchcraft and sorcery, known as brujería in Latin America, exists in many societies. Other societies assert all shamans have the power to both cure and kill. Those with shamanic knowledge usually enjoy great power and prestige in the community, but they may also be regarded suspiciously or fearfully as potentially harmful to others. By engaging in their work,

25921-577: Was vital for female shamans, especially those living during the Chosun Dynasty in Korea (A.D. 1392–1910). In a culture that disapproved of female economic autonomy, the practice of shamanism allowed women to advance themselves financially and independently, in a way that had not been possible for them before. There are two major frameworks among cognitive and evolutionary scientists for explaining shamanism. The first, proposed by anthropologist Michael Winkelman,

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