Abstract
This study analyzes the pre-colonial Filipino indigenous tribe, the Visayans’ spirituality, and its transformation after the Spanish spiritual conquest. This research explores how Visayan rituals centered around Diwata, Anito, and Babaylan and later shifted to fit into Catholicism. These two spiritual practices hybridize into each other in modern-day Filipino religious practices. The objective of this research is to study the three pillars of pre-colonial Visayan spirituality (Diwata, Anito, and Babaylan) and how they shaped daily life. As well as to answer the question, how and why did these practices stay despite the systematic Spanish colonizers’ efforts to eradicate them? This research topic is significant because it shows the resilience of Indigenous belief through the adaptation and religious syncretism that the Visayan people underwent to keep their culture alive alongside Spanish colonization. The research shows a deeper understanding of Filipino folk Catholicism and how it preserved pre-colonial spiritual frameworks. This study contributes to the fields of religious studies and anthropology of the Filipino Visayan tribe. For my research, I use Spanish colonizers, ethnographies of the Visayan tribe, and comparative studies of the Visayan religious practices. The Filipino Visayan tribe has religious beliefs in Anito ancestral spirit guides and Diwata nature deities, as well as a similar belief to Catholicism in a higher creator god called Laon (the ancient one). Ultimately, my research examines the significance of Visayan religion in contemporary Filipino spirituality.
Presenters
Lana CoomesStudent, Art Education, University of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Indigenous Spiritualities in Global Perspective
KEYWORDS
Pre-colonial Visayan spirituality, Indigenous beliefs, Visayan tribe, Spirituality transformation, Spanish
