"Anito" Figure

Carved wooden "anito" figure. This figure is carved with the same tattoos as the group to which it belonged. There is very little information on its use and what its bowl would have contained, but it seems to have been used in specific ceremonies concerning the harvest, and rice wine would have been poured into its bowl. Anitos represent ancestral and natural spirits; they are the cause of good and evil and, thus, they must be placated through rituals. Various ceremonies are held in their honor concerning disease, agricultural work, war, birth, marriage, and death.
This piece is one of many brought over for the Philippines General Exhibition, which took place in the Parque del Retiro in Madrid in 1887.