When the Spanish conquistadores first came to the shores of the Philippine islands, they found a people that worshipped anitos or spirits of their ancestors. Filipinos revered and offered gifts to the anitos in exchange for protection from evil, harm or danger. When the Christian faith was introduced to early Filipinos, they readily accepted the new teachings about Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints. However, sociologists point out that what really transpired was the Christianization of our animistic beliefs. The power believed to be immanent in the anitos is now transferred to the person of Jesus, Mary and all the saints; rather than seeing them as models of a holy life or paragons of virtues, these holy men and women of our faith are seen in the same light that early Filipinos saw the anitos— as powerful gods, at times capricious whose anger needed to be appeased with atang or offering. We find traces of such folk belief in expressions of popular religiosity, and these traces are found in every Filipino religious celebration throughout the year.
Here, the author sketches only a few samples of popular religious practices seen
in the first quarter of the year.
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