page_title: Anito
hierarchical_section_title: Anito
caption_attribution_description: Siquijor Anito.
context_page_description: Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. Anito is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups.
  Pag-anito refers to a séance, often accompanied by other rituals or celebrations, in which a shaman acts as a medium to communicate directly with the spirits. When a nature spirit or deity is specifically involved, the ritual is called pagdiwata. The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit is also sometimes simply referred to as anito.
  The belief in anito are sometimes referred to as Anitism in scholarly literature.
context_section_description: Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines. It can also refer to carved humanoid figures, the taotao, made of wood, stone, or ivory, that represent these spirits. Anito (a term predominantly used in Luzon) is also sometimes known as diwata in certain ethnic groups (esp. the Visayans).
  Pag-anito refers to a séance, often accompanied by other rituals or celebrations, in which a shaman (Visayan: babaylan, Tagalog: katalonan) acts as a medium to communicate directly with the spirits. When a nature spirit or deity is specifically involved, the ritual is called pagdiwata. The act of worship or a religious sacrifice to a spirit is also sometimes simply referred to as anito.
  The belief in anito are sometimes referred to as Anitism in scholarly literature (Spanish: anitismo or anitería).
caption: Taotao carvings sold in a souvenir shop in Siquijor Island
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