Religious beliefs

THERE are no writings on religious beliefs of the early native Leyteños, but whatever beliefs they had were orally handed down from father to son, from mother to daughter. They believed in many gods, with each god having a function or role in their lives.

There was one god for the household, another for the farm, a third for the sea, rivers and lakes and a host of other gods whom the Bisayans called diwatas. Added to the rank of the diwatas were their dead ancestors called "humalagares".

The natives acknowledged one supreme God they called Bathala. In Limasawa, Pigafetta observed:" The captain general also asked whether they were moors or heathens, or what their belief was. They replied that they worshipped nothing, but that they raised their clasped hands and their faces to the sky; and that they called their god Abba." Beliefs were embodied in their songs at home, in the fields and in the sea to the cadence of the plying oars. Among their most treasured possessions were antiquated idols of diwatas sculptured from wood, stone, gold and ivory. These they called larawan - the most-prized and sentimental heirloom of their ancestors.

Chirino observed that there were little houses constructed for holding the pagan sacrifices. Provided with not more than a scanty roof and a little flooring, they were erected strategically at the entrance of the village. These were not considered temples or houses of worship though.

Religious beliefs of whatever form did not prove to be a hindrance to the evangelization that was to take place with the coming of the Jesuits in Leyte. Indeed, in many cases pagan forms of worship even served as vehicles for Catholic rites, just as other cultural forms (songs and language, in particular) blended well with the religion from the west. In no time, natives were singing native songs expressing Catholic doctrines and beliefs.*

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