Editing Animism (section)

==== Philippines indigenous religions ====
In the [[indigenous Philippine folk religions]], [[Religion in pre-colonial Philippines|pre-colonial religions of Philippines]] and [[Philippine mythology]], animism is part of their core beliefs as demonstrated by the belief in [[Anito]], [[Diwata (disambiguation)|Diwata]] and [[Bathala]] as well as their conservation and veneration of [[Indigenous Philippine shrines and sacred grounds|sacred Indigenous Philippine shrines, forests, mountains and sacred grounds]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=William Henry |title=Barangay: sixteenth-century Philippine culture and society |date=1994 |publisher=Ateneo de Manila University Press |isbn=978-971-550-135-4 |location=Quezon City, Manila, Philippines}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Crawfurd |first=John |title=History of the Indian Archipelago. 2 |date=2013 |access-date=2025-03-21 |series=Cambridge library collection. Perspectives from the Royal Asiatic Society |edition=Reprint |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-05615-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zialcita |first=Fernando N. |date=2020 |title=Gilda Cordero-Fernando: 1932–2020 |url=https://doi.org/10.1353/phs.2020.0040 |journal=Philippine Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints |volume=68 |issue=3-4 |pages=541–547 |doi=10.1353/phs.2020.0040 |issn=2244-1638}}</ref>

Anito ([[Literal translation|lit.]] '[ancestor] spirit') refers to the various indigenous shamanistic [[folk religion]]s of the [[Philippines]], led by female or feminized male shamans known as ''[[Philippine shamans|babaylan]]''. It includes belief in a spirit world existing alongside and interacting with the material world, as well as the belief that everything has a spirit, from rocks and trees to animals and humans to natural phenomena.<ref name="Scott1994">{{cite book |author=Scott, William Henry |author-link=William Henry Scott (historian) |year=1994 |title=Barangay: Sixteenth century Philippine culture and society |url=https://archive.org/details/BarangaySixteenthCenturyPhilippineCultureAndSociety |publisher=Ateneo de Manila University Press |place=Quezon City |isbn=978-9715501354}}</ref><ref name="SoulBook1991">{{cite book |last1=Demetrio |first1=Francisco R. |last2=Cordero-Fernando |first2=Gilda |author2-link=Gilda Cordero-Fernando |first3=Roberto B. |last3=Nakpil-Zialcita |first4=Fernando |last4=Feleo |year=1991 |title=The Soul Book: Introduction to Philippine pagan religion |publisher=GCF Books |place=Quezon City |asin=B007FR4S8G}}</ref>

In indigenous Filipino belief, the Bathala is the omnipotent deity which was derived from [[Sanskrit]] word for the Hindu supreme deity ''[[Batara Guru|bhattara]]'',<ref>R. Ghose (1966), ''Saivism in Indonesia during the Hindu-Javanese period'', The University of Hong Kong Press, pages 16, 123, 494–495, 550–552</ref><ref>Scott, William Henry (1994). ''Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society''. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. {{ISBN|971-550-135-4}}. p. 234.</ref> as one of the ten [[avatar]]s of the Hindu god [[Vishnu]].<ref>de los Reyes y Florentino, Isabelo (2014). ''History of Ilocos'', Volume 1. University of the Philippines Press, 2014. {{ISBN|9715427294}}, 9789715427296. p. 83.</ref><ref>John Crawfurd (2013). ''History of the Indian Archipelago: Containing an Account of the Manners, Art, Languages, Religions, Institutions, and Commerce of Its Inhabitants''. Cambridge University Press. pp. 219–220. {{ISBN|978-1-108-05615-1}}.</ref> The omnipotent Bathala also presides over the spirits of ancestors called Anito.<ref name="Marsden, William 1784">Marsden, William (1784). ''The History of Sumatra: Containing an Account of the Government, Laws, Customs and Manners of the Native Inhabitants''. Good Press, 2019.</ref><ref name="Marsden, William 1784 Page 255">Marsden, William (1784). ''The History of Sumatra: Containing an Account of the Government, Laws, Customs and Manners of the Native Inhabitants, with a Description of the Natural Productions, and a Relation of the Ancient Political State of that Island''. p. 255.</ref><ref>Silliman, Robert Benton (1964). ''Religious Beliefs and Life at the Beginning of the Spanish Regime in the Philippines: Readings''. College of Theology, Silliman University, 1964. p. 46</ref><ref>Blair, Emma Helen & Robertson, James Alexander. ''The Philippine Islands, 1493–1898'', Volume 40 (of 55): 1690–1691. Chapter XV, p. 106.</ref> Anitos serve as intermediaries between mortals and the divine, such as [[Agni]] (Hindu) who holds the access to divine realms; for this reason they are invoked first and are the first to receive offerings, regardless of the deity the worshipper wants to pray to.<ref>Talbott, Rick F. (2005). ''Sacred Sacrifice: Ritual Paradigms in Vedic Religion and Early Christianity''. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2005. {{ISBN|1597523402|9781597523400}}. p. 82</ref><ref>Pomey, François & Tooke, Andrew (1793). ''The Pantheon: Representing the Fabulous Histories of the Heathen Gods, and the Most Illustrious Heroes of Antiquity, in a Short, Plain, and Familiar Method, by Way of Dialogue, for the Use of Schools''. Silvester Doig, 1793. p. 151</ref>

In ancient Philippine animism, Diwata or Diwatas in plural is a broad, gender-neutral term for supernatural beings, including gods, goddesses, fairies, nature spirits, and celestial entities. Rooted in Hindu-Buddhist influences, the word originally meant "celestial being" or "descent" in Sanskrit word devata (deity).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daniélou |first=Alain |title=The myths and gods of India: the classic work on Hindu polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen series |date=1991 |publisher=Inner Traditions International ; Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. by American International Distribution Corp |isbn=978-0-89281-354-4 |location=Rochester, Vt. : [s.l.]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=William Henry |title=Barangay: sixteenth century Philippine culture and society |date=2004 |publisher=Ateneo de Manila Univ. Pr |isbn=978-971-550-135-4 |edition=5. pr |location=Manila}}</ref>In modern Filipino culture, Diwata is often interpreted and linked to fairies, muses, nymphs, or even dryads.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Roy Chapman |url=https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.147302 |title=[Mammal field catalog] |date=1916 |publisher=[s.n.]}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=The Peshat is One, Because the Truth is One: |date=2019-01-23 |work=The Dual Truth, Volumes I &amp; II |pages=132–148 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1zjgb1f.10 |access-date=2025-03-21 |publisher=Academic Studies Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Owen |first=Norman G. |date=February 1998 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Philippines. By Artemio R. Guillermo and May Kyi Win . Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press, 1997. xi, 363 pp. $62.00. |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/2659094 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=273–275 |doi=10.2307/2659094 |issn=0021-9118}}</ref>