Manobo (Religious Believes and Practices)

The religious beliefs of the Manobo revolve around the concept of many unseen spirits
interfering in the lives of humans. They believe that these spirits can intrude on human
activities to accomplish their desires. The spirits are also believed to have human
characteristics. They are both good and evil in nature and can be evoked to both anger and
pleasure.

The cosmology of Manobo is consists of four worlds: the many layered langit (skyworld),
pasak or yungsud to mamasak(earth world), yunsud ni maybowan( underworld), and kulaguan
(the paradise where the epic heros dwell). The Ilianon believed that the skyworld has seven
layers; the Manuvu, nine. The langit has three kinds of inhabitants: the Umli, a class of deities
who hold themselves aloof from human affairs; the Diwata ,lesser gods who control
phenomena and various living creatures, and are patrons of human activity; and the Busaw, the
ghoul spirits who cause illness and misfortune. The other groups consider the Umli and the
Dayawag as both messengers of the gods.

There are about 50 spirit deities, of which the supreme deity, who dwells in the
Katulusan (first layer), is variously called Manama, Kerene, Nelimbag/Midlingbag,
Megbeveya/Magbabaya, Memintara, Misuara,Nengazen and Alataala. The supreme deity of the
second layer is Mandangan, goddess of bloodshed and war. Some diwata are ;
Ibabasuk/Ivevasuk, god of farming; Manawbanaw/Manewvanew, god of rain and
thunder;Lelawag, god of wild gain; Alimogkat/Elimagket and Bulalakaw/Bulelakew, gods of
rivers and streams; Mengilala, god of murder. On the other hand, some groups consider them
as various aspects of the supreme deity. Ivevasuk, for instance, is worshipped by some Manobo
as the most important deity because he is essential for human survival.

Ipememehandi, goddess of wealth, is considered equal with the supreme deity. Her
dwelling place in the skyworld over flows with wealth. All, rich and poor, must worship
Ipememehandi with offerings of silver money, Betel chew, cloth and sacrificial animals, the rich
to become richer, and the poor to improve their lives.

Tegulambong, Ipememehandi’s husband, can cause illness when anger and must be
appeased by Kaliga-on healing ceremony and feast.

Central, too, the life of Manobo is Manawbanaw, the god Responsible for the Manobo
system of Taboos. He is the god of rain, thunder and lightning. He punishes Taboo breakers,
especially those who treat animals contemptuously, with a power called Inayew or Inanit.
“Inayew” is also used as an alternagte name for Manawbanaw. One punishment that he sends
Taboo breakers is hailstorm that would melt into a lake in which the whole village of Taboo
breakers drown and are transformed into crocodiles.

Pelekumpas is the goddess of valley of dancing where plants of gold make tinkling music
and the soil is made of silver and gold. Music, too, is produce by the soul’s dancing feet on the
ground.

The smallest layer of the skyworld is the size of a gabi leaf and inhabited by the Manaog,
who make children cry and scaring them.
 The Salladan/Mandalluman/Banwa/Pasak/Lupa is the earth, a flat, circular space, the
center of which is the island of Mindanao. The “navel of the earth” is mount Kalatungan. The
sky is a solid dome resting on the earth like an overturned bowl. The earth is inhabited by the
human race and environmental spirits both benign and hostile, dwelling in caves, Balete trees ,
creek, springs, and earth mounds. The Tagamaling, for example, who live in the Balete tree, are
benign spirits who teach the Mamasak how to make Dagmay (abaca clothes), chant the
Owaging (epic),and sing tudum (short songs). The tibagklinaw is a semi- diwata, semi-busaw
inhabiting the budbud tree; the matigla-agnon is a blood thirsty busaw that roams the sky when
it is red.

The Dibabawon recognize five types of inhabitants on the pasak; the mamasak, human
race; the tagbanua/mangudlaway , harmful busaw dwelling in balete trees; manadalingan, tree-
dwelling witches; Apila, human-eating giant and numerous Lunod, Busaw of streams, rivers,
and lakes who bless fisher folk with a good catch a properly propitiated, or punish them with
death by drowning if neglected. There are malevolent Busaw that are ghost spirits who quench
their thirst for blood and hunger for flesh by causing sickness or death. On the other hand, can
also appear the chosen persons in their dream to guide and aid them.

Every person has a gimukod or umagad, the English term nearly equivalent to which is
“soul”. According to Polenda (1989), a western bukidnon manobo, in gimukod is the “true
person”, with its own personality and mind apart from the body. It can see, hear and feel things
which body cannot sense. It has little control over the person to whom it is linked yet is
ultimately responsible for that person’s acts. Some groups believe that a person has as many as
seven gimukod.

Illness is caused by an angry busaw or diwata because the sick person has broken a
taboo or has not paid the spirit a proper respect. A Baylan (shaman) heals the sick person with a
curing rituals consisting of chanted prayers, a dance, and use of medical herbs and an amulet.
Illness also occurs when a gimukod stays away from the body, and so the Baylan must be called
to go after it and return it to the body of the sick person.

When a person dies the breath will go back to Nengazen the supreme being and the
gimukod goes to the afterworld which is either Suroga a happy place for the good persons and
the Naraka a place for punishment for the bad persons.some said that the afterworld
somewhat overlaps with the earth world but its invisible.

The western bukidnon Manobo has another version of the gimukods journey. First, it
will cross a very long and narrow ridge. When it is sinful it will fall in the lake full of animal
monsters when moderately sinful, it will be saved by an ancestral dog or cat with golden hair.
When it is good, it will never fall. The gimukod will encounter different paths according to the
way they have died. After that it will cross the Lake Naraka which is full of dangerous and
repulsive animals. The sinful will be attacked while the good will remain unharmed. The good
gimukod will finally reach their destination and they will be rewarded when they are generous
or will have nothing if their selfish.

There would be another version for the Ilianon. If the gimukod wants to be reincarnated
it is called Edsabap. It will become a blossom of a fruit tree and when a woman eats it and
become pregnant; the baby would resemble the person in the past life of the gimukod and will
have the same manner of death.
 Kaliga-on is a feast that last for 3-9 days in which the Owaging (epic) is in acted. It is
celebrated to fullfill a person’s panaad (vow) in return for a request made to a diwata or to
express gratitude for a success harvest or to heal a sick person. In a healing rituals the
umli/dayawag helps the Baylan to descover the diwata that caused the illness and the bantay,
Baylan’s guardian spirit, who persuades the Busaw to live the sick person.

Manuvu classifythe shaman into 3 types, the Walian (common practioner) tumanuron
(one with the guardian spirit ) and pohohana ( deviner and perfomer of miracles ) western
bukidnon Manobo recognize two type of baylan, the who see the busaw, talk with the diwata
and cures by blowing the patients; the one that discovers the cure for the person’s illness
through his dreams

Baylan’s could have ebpemuringan, magic power that create substances. Others have
ebpintezan the state of possession and performed healing rituals. Other baylans have timbusaw
an evil spirit that could kill the sick person.

There are three kinds of leaders in the religious community, the baylan, terewtawan and
sangka. Any gender could be a baylan , through a discipleship or independently by under taking
several steps. After doing few rituals the aspirant must demonstrate miraculous powers to be
accepted as true baylans.

Turugan a very large house is a residence and assembly place for rituals and sacrifices of
baylans. While Kamalig, small house, is a place that only the baylan and the terewtawan can
enter and make rituals. The baylan and his assistants will preach against sins by Kazang, the
deity of adultery and Mangilala, god or murder.

Some people can make charms, like the bungat or kinaagman, made of secret
ingredients revealed by the busaw. They are enchanted things which help the owner by pushing
away evil or misfortune.

The religious practices of the Manobo vary slightly, there seems to be at least one
common thing that binds them together. Each culture believes in one "great spirit." As the
various Manobo groups have been separated, the religious beliefs of other peoples have
influenced them somewhat. However, the Manobo have often incorporated these new
practices into their belief system, rather than abandoning their practices and being converted
to new religions.