Spirits and Deities
The southern Kankanay have no term by which a supreme ruler of the universe is designated, and it is doubtful if any Kankanay, with the exception of a few who live near the coast, have any conception of such a personage. The translation of “Lumawig” as God in connection with the description of some of the ceremonies presented in Robertson’s publication on the Lepanto Igorot,[2] may be explained by the tendency of the Ilocano township secretaries who did the recording, to interpret Igorot rituals in terms of the Christian religion.
It seems that all the Igorot tribes that have so far been studied recognize Lumawig as one of their great culture heroes. The Benguet Kankanay say that he once lived on earth and was one of them, and that when he died his soul did not go to the mountains with the souls of the other Igorot, but ascended to the sky, where it still remains with the souls of Kabigat, Amdoyaan, and the other great heroes of the past. All the culture heroes are objects of worship.
The kakading are the souls of the dead. They go to the mountains but sometimes return to their villages and cause sickness in order that sacrifice will be necessary. The tanong and amud are souls of ancestors.
The Kankanay as well as the Nabaloi believe in the existence of spirits other than the souls of the dead, which cause sickness or bad luck. Their concept of the special functions of each class of spirits, however, is not in all cases the same as that of the Nabaloi. The belief in the amdag which catch the souls of the living with a net, and in the pasang which prevent the birth of children, is common to both tribes. On the other hand, the ampasit and the timungau, malevolent spirits of the Nabaloi, seem to be regarded rather as culture heroes by the Kankanay. In addition to the amdag and the pasang, the southern Kankanay recognize the following:
The dagas, spirits which live with the people in their dwelling houses.
The bilig, spirits which live in the pasture or timber lands near the settlements.
The pinading, spirits which live in the high mountains, and correspond in some respects to the kakaising of the Nabaloi.
The Kankanay belief in Messeken, Akodau, and the other inhabitants of the underworld is the same as that of the Nabaloi. The belief regarding the underworld seems to be held in common by all the Igorot tribes and to extend to the Tinguian of Abra.
The Kankanay in a very few ceremonies pray to the sun and moon, but it is not probable that they pray to groups of stars as do the Nabaloi. The elements are frequently personified in the sacred stories, but it is not probable that prayer is offered to them.