Immortal Elements

Glossary 1

Tita- another term for aunt. 

Engkantao- the offspring of mating between humans and engkanto, diwata, anito. 

Anito- also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities (diwata) in the indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines. 

Diwata- is a type of deity or spirit.

Daragang Magayon- means beautiful maiden. She is the heroine that appears in the legend of Mt. Mayon in Albay, Philippines. It is believed that Magayon turned into an anito when her human body died. 

Dumakulem-The strong, agile guardian of mountains. He aids people who get lost in the mountains. He hates people who destroys the mountain's forests and wildlife, however, he never intentionally strays people in mountains as he is a kind god, but he does not help those who destroy the mountains and excessively hunt wildlife. It is said that he creates mountains to shield the people from the terrible storms caused by his sister, Anitun Tabu. Because of this, sometimes earthquakes occur, signaling the creation of mountains. He is always in good terms with his sister as both love the good side of men. Dumakulem is known to be very close with the god of grasslands and forests, Uwinan Sana.

Habagat- is the god of winds and also referred to as the god of rain, and is often associated with the rainy season, which is characterized by frequent heavy rains and storms, and a prevailing wind from the west. ... Habagat is also considered to be wind elemental god, the Southwest Wind.

Babaylan- were shamans of the various ethnic groups of the pre-colonial Philippine islands. These shamans specialized in communicating, appeasing, or harnessing the spirits of the dead and the spirits of nature. They were almost always women or feminized men.

Haik- God of the sea who is called upon by seamen in a major ceremony dedicated to him, asking for fair weather and favorable winds. He clears troubled waters so that men will have a safe voyage. Due to this, he sometimes have confrontations with Amanikable, the purveyor of troubled waters. Haik, despite being a kind god, is not welcome in Kaluwalhatian because of his confrontations with Amanikable. He has contacts with Aman Sinaya. His emblem is the undisturbed water.

Pintados- warriors with enormous strength and skills that is said to be given by the god war, Apolaki. They were called pintados because of the tattoos adorned their whole body. The more the tattoo, the stronger the warrior and the higher the rank. 

Bolo- is a large cutting tool of Filipino origin similar to the machete. 

Balete- are several species of the trees in the Philippines from the genus Ficus that are broadly referred to as balete in the local language. Some people believe that balete trees are dwelling places for supernatural beings (anito) like diwata, kapre or tikbalang. In some places, sorcery rituals are known performed inside the chambers formed by the tree.

Mumbaki- is a kind of religious specialist who can perform various healing rituals as well as engage in spiritual practices. Originally, Mumbaki was a type of healer who treated illnesses caused by witchcraft. This is why they are occasionally called witch doctors. 

Pantas- guardian and/or teacher.

Albularyo-is a Filipino term for a witch doctor, folk healer or medicine men.

Engkanto- are mythical environmental spirits that are said to have the ability to appear in human form. They are often associated with the spirits of ancestors in the Philippines. They are also characterized as spirit sorts like sirens, dark beings, elves, and more. Belief in their existence has likely existed for centuries, and continues to this day.

Kataw- is one of the merfolk in the Philippine Mythology. In Visayan, Kataw was believed to have higher rankings than other water and sea creatures as those of Sirena, Sireno and Siyokoy. 

 Sirena- is a mythological aquatic creature with the head and torso of a human female and the tail of a fish. The Sirena is an Engkanto –' the Filipino counterpart of English mermaids. Sirenas are classified as one of the Bantay Tubig, a Filipino term for mythical guardians of the water.

Lambana- a race of small fairy-like beings with butterfly or dragonfly wings. Some of their faces are beautiful, while other has goblin-like faces. 

Duwende- Commonly described as an old man or ‘nuno’ with the height of a small child dwelling beneath the earth (thus the term “nuno sa punso”), these creatures hold more than just simple tales to scare and make the young ones behave. What could be more intriguing (or terrifying) than finding out that there are several kinds of Duwende here in the Philippines and that they can be a good, generous friend or a vengeful foe?

Kapre- is a dark and hairy giant creature known for being mischievous. This giant is usually seen atop large trees smoking a giant tobacco. However, Kapre are actually misunderstood. They are nice and kind creatures and they only attack people if they are harmed.

Tikbalang- The Tikbalang is a creature of Philippine folklore said to lurk in the mountains and forests of the Philippines. It is a tall, bony humanoid creature with the head and hooves of a horse and disproportionately long limbs, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down.

Datu- the leader of a certain group. 

Katolanon- being the spiritual leader and personified contact to the deities, also assumed the role of the datu if the datu has not yet returned from his travels. He also acts as the datu during transition periods, where the official datu (leader) has yet to be chosen.

Lakan- is regarded as the head of all the datus within the pact.