This is the spiritual world your ancestors navigated every day. Before colonization, Filipinos understood the world as three layered realms. The divine above, the living in the middle, and the ancestors below. The anito, the engkanto, and the babaylan dwelled there. They were all part of a complete Filipino spiritual framework, rooted in ancestral wisdom and passed down for generations.
The Layered World: Beyond the physical realm
Before Spanish colonization arrived in 1565, Filipinos already had a complete spiritual framework for understanding the world.
☀️ Upper World — the divine
🌿 Middle World — the living
🌑 Lower World — the ancestors
The world wasn't just physical. It was layered into three realms. The divine above, the living in the middle, and the ancestors below. Spirits, ancestors, and nature beings weren't supernatural. They were neighbors. Part of everyday life. Something you learned to navigate, respect, and communicate with from childhood. It was a map that every Filipino community lived by.
The Anito: Ancestral Spirits
The anito were ancestral spirits, the souls of those who had passed, remaining present in the lives of the living.
They were not ghosts to be feared. They were family. Consulted before important decisions, honored through offerings of food and prayer, and believed to intervene in the lives of those they loved.
These practices didn't disappear with colonization. They survived because they were woven into daily life so deeply, that nothing could fully remove them. Your lola leaving the first plate of food before anyone ate was for the anito. The candle lit for someone who passed was a form of communication.
The Engkanto: Nature Spirits
The engkanto were nature spirits, beings that inhabited trees, rivers, mountains, and the spaces between the human world and the unseen one.
They were neither good nor bad. They were powerful and required respect. You didn't cut down a tree without asking permission or build near a known engkanto dwelling without a prayer first. These weren't superstitions. They were protocols for living alongside beings that shared your world.
The phrase "tabi tabi po" is still used today when passing through nature. It’s a request for permission, an acknowledgment that you are not alone.
The Babaylan: Keeper of the world
The babaylan was the keeper of this entire world. She communicated with the anito, navigated the engkanto, and held the spiritual map of her community.
She was the bridge between the living and the unseen, the one who knew how to move between worlds when no one else could. Every ritual, every healing, every act of protection in the community passed through her hands first.
Before colonization, the babaylan held one of the most respected leadership roles in Filipino society. They held spiritual, political, and cultural authority all at once.
Why It Matters
Pre-colonial Filipino spirituality is more present in Filipino culture today than most people realize. It survives in the prayers said before bed, the offerings left on the altar, the anting-anting worn for protection, and the "tabi tabi po" said walking through the forest. Some rituals that look like superstition are actually part of a complete and sophisticated spiritual worldview that colonization couldn't fully erase.
The practices you grew up around weren't random. They were remnants of something much deeper. They are reminders of a world your ancestors built and passed. Now, it's yours to carry. The map was always there.
Don't forget where we came from ✦
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