Souls in Filipino cultures abound and differ per ethnic group in the Philippines. The concept of souls include both the souls of the living and the souls or ghosts of the dead. The concepts of souls in the Philippines is a notable traditional understanding that traces its origin from the sacred indigenous Philippine folk religions.Mercado, L. N. (1991). Philippine Studies Vol. 39, No. 3: Soul and Spirit in Filipino Thought. Ateneo de Manila University.
Souls in a general concept Souls of the living Every ethnic group has its own beliefs about the soul, including its nature, characteristics, and number, especially in connection with human beings. In most cases, a person has two or more souls while they are alive. The origin of a person's soul have been told through narratives concerning the indigenous Philippine folk religions, where each ethnic religion has its unique concept on soul origin, soul composition, retaining and caring for the soul, and other matters, such as the eventual passage of the soul after the person's life is relinquished. In some cases, the souls are provided by certain deities such as the case among the Tagbanwa, while in others, the soul comes from certain special regions such as the case among the Bisaya. Some people have two souls such as the Ifugao, while others have five souls such as the Hanunoo Mangyan. In general, a person's physical and mental health influence the overall health of the person's souls. In some instances, if a soul is lost, a person will become sick, and if all living souls are gone, then the body eventually dies. However, there are also cases where the body can still live despite the loss of all of its souls, such as the phenomenon known as mekararuanan among the Ibanag. Overall, taking care of oneself is important for maintaining the longevity of the soul, which is believed to contribute to a longer life for the body.Gaverza, J.K. (2014) The Myths of the Philippines. (Undergraduate Thesis). University of the Philippines Diliman.Celino, S. (1990) Death and Burial Rituals and Other Practices and Beliefs of the Cordillerans. (Dissertation). University of Baguio.Demetrio, F. R., & Cordero-Fernando, G. (1991). The Soul Book . Quezon City: GCF Books.Gatan, R. M. (1981). Ibanag Indigenous Religious Beliefs . Manila: Centro Escolar University Research and Development Center.Mercado, L. (1991) Soul and Spirit in Filipino Thought. Philippine Studies Vol. 39, No. 3 (Third Quarter 1991), pp. 287-302
Souls of the dead Ghosts or ancestral spirits, in a general Philippine concept, are the spirits of those who have already died. In other words, they are the souls of the dead. They are different from the souls of the living, where in many instances, a person has two or more living souls, depending on the ethnic group. In some cases, when the body dies, the souls that have been lost eventually re-combine in the afterlife such as the case among the Bukidnon. In other cases, the last main soul travels to the afterlife alone such as the case of the Suludnon, while in other cases, the soul eventually goes back to its region of origin such as the case among the Bisaya. Among the Bagobo, a distinct belief holds that the right soul journeys to the afterlife, while the left soul transforms into a creature known as the “busaw.”
Each ethnic group in the Philippine islands has their own terms for ancestral spirits or souls of the dead. Due to the sheer diversity of indigenous words for ghosts, terms like espirito and multo, both adopted from Spanish words such as muerto, have been used as all-encompassing terms for the souls or spirits of the dead in mainstream Filipino culture.Vicerra, R. M., Javier, J. R. (2013). Tabi-Tabi Po: Situating The Narrative of Supernatural in the Context of the Philippines Community Development. Manusya: Journal of Humanities. Unlike in Western beliefs where ghosts are generally known for their sometimes horrific nature, ghosts of the dead for the various ethnic groups in the Philippines are traditionally regarded in high esteem. These ghosts are usually referred to as ancestral spirits who can guide and protect their relatives and community. Although ancestral spirits can also cast harm if they are disrespected. In many cases among various Filipino ethnic groups, spirits of the dead are traditionally venerated and deified in accordance to ancient belief systems originating from the indigenous Philippine folk religions.McCoy, A. W. (1982). Baylan: Animist Religion and Philippine Peasant Ideology. University of San Carlos Publications.
Popular urban legends about Filipino ghosts usually include the theme of either a white lady, a phantom hitchhiker, or a headless ghost. In most instances where ghosts are harmful, Christian themes have been incorporated, as ghosts in the traditional Filipino folk religions are generally not harmful unless provoked.de Vera, E., Luci, C. M. (2005). Balete Drive: White Lady, haunted houses and other myths. The Manila Bulletin.Evasco, E. Y. (2000). Sa Pusod ng Lungsod: Mga Alamat, Mga Kababalaghan Bilang Mitolohiyang Urban. Humanities Diliman.
Souls in ethnic-specific concepts
The concept of soul(s) is integral to all ethnic groups in the Philippines. Each ethnic group has their own distinct concept of what a soul is, how many are there, and how a soul follows the cycle of life and death or how it follows the linear path of life, death, and beyond. Among the many concepts of soul/s are as follow:Myths of the Philippines; Gaverza, J.K., 2014, University of the Philippines Diliman Ifugao – a person has two souls, one located in the eyes, the other in a person's breath; the withdrawal of the eyes soul causes illness, while the withdrawal of the breath soul causes death; souls of murdered victims go to the lowest level of the skyworld Ibaloi – a soul is believed to formally rest on the summit of Mount Pulag, which is a traditional sanctuary for departed loved ones Kalinga – the souls of the dead roam around earth during 10–11 in the morning and 2–3 in the afternoon; the other hours of the day and night are reserved for the living Tagalog – the soul, called kaluluwa, can leave the body involuntarily; the soul is called a kakambal when the person is alive; the kakambal wanders once a person is sleeping; this soul-travelling is one of the causes of nightmares, when the soul encounters a terrifying event; the kakambal transforms into the kaluluwa when the person dies; it then travels or gets delivered by the sacred buwayas (crocodiles with coffin-like backs) of the god, Buwaya, to the underworld, either in Maca (for good souls, ruled by Sitan and Bathala) or Kasanaan (for sinful souls, ruled by Sitan); during specific times of the year, the kaluluwa may enter the mortal world freely during pangangaluwa rituals Ilokano – there are four soul systems; the first is kadkadduwa which is the “inseparable partner” and “constant companion”; the second is kararma is a person's natural vigor, mind, and reason which can be displayed when one is frightened; the kararma can also be taken and must be retrieved back as failure to regain kararma will lead to insanity; the third is aniwaas which left the sleeping body to visit familiar places; a person who wakes up before the return of aniwaas may lose it and become insane; the last is araria which is the liberated soul of the dead who visits relatives and friends in the mortal world Ibanag – the body is called baggi while the soul is called ikaruruwa; the Ibanags believe that the soul's purpose is to give direction and wholeness to a person, but a person can survive even without a soul; without a body, the soul can also experience material wants and needs; a phenomenon called mekararuanan is unique to the Ibanag where the soul leaves the body but without sense Hanunoo Mangyan – an individual, whether human or not, is believed to possess 2–5 other souls, which the Hanunoo Mangyan believe to be the explanation for miraculous recoveries, their dreams, or individual reactions to startling sounds and movements; a human soul is called a karaduwa tawu, while other animal souls differ per species, namely karaduwa manok (chicken soul), karaduwa baboy (pig soul), karaduwa kuti (cat soul), and karaduwa hipon (shrimp soul). Bisaya – the soul, called dungan, can be taken by bad spirits; souls can also be imprisoned in a sacred spirit cave guarded by Tan Mulong, who has a spirit dog with one mammary gland and two genitals; sickness is believed to be the temporary loss of the dungan, while death is its permanent loss; old tradition says that before inhabiting the body of an unborn being, a dungan first lives in a special region, home to other dungans; the dungan is fragile from usog (unintentional transfer of disturbing vapors of a strong body to a weak one by proximity), and thus, must be nurtured and strengthened through time and rituals; once a person dies, the dungan flies to its upperworld region of origin to await another unborn body to become its avatar; in another story, the soul (probably of a sinful person), upon death, is sent to the underworld; the soul of the dead remains forever in Kasakitan, the lowerworld, unless if a living relative or friend offers sacrifices for redemption towards Pandaque (Pandaki), the god of second chances and messenger of Sidapa, goddess of death; a soul that stays in Kasakitan is kept by Sisiburanen as slaves and after years of staying in the underworld sub-realm of Kanitu-nituhan without redemption sacrifices being offered, the souls are fed to the sub-realm's giant gate guardians, Simuran and Siguinarugan Karay-a and Hiligaynon – the Ilonggo peoples, which includes the Karay-a and the Hiligaynon peoples, call the soul as dungan, which cannot be seen; it can voluntarily come out of the body to take in the form of insects and small animals, notably when a person is sleeping; if the body is badly treated, the dungan leaves; the soul's lifespan on earth is measured by the god of death, Sidapa, using a sacred magical tree which grows sturdy on Mount Madia-as (Madyaas); the soul may be saved through the aid of Pandaki, the god of second chances and loyal friend of Sidapa who occasionally visits Mount Madia-as