Hanitu or qanitu is the Bunun of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

's term for spirit, but it does not exactly equate with terms from other cultures, and is one of three domains of Bunun spiritual thought, another being ''isang'', which equates more to the soul, breath, and heart. It may refer to the spirit of any living creature as well as forms animate or not, such as land, rocks, plants, animals, and humans. All objects contained ''hanitu''. In Malay and Indonesian, the term for ghost, ''hantu'', may be of related origin. As opposed to other religions and belief systems, multiple spirits can exist in one object/creature, as in the case of humans. They believed bad souls brought illness. With the adoption of Christianity these terms changed, with being equated to ''devil''. Nevertheless, some scholars believe the native concepts were not replaced, but rather Christian thought was added on. Strength of hanitu were innate.

Etymology

''Hanitu'' or ''hanidu'' is derived from

Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...

''*qaNiCu'' ("ghost", "spirit of the dead"). In other Austronesian cultures, cognates of ''hanitu'' include the

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

and

Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

'' anito'',

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

and

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

'' hantu'' or ''antu'', Polynesian ''

aitu In Polynesian languages the word ''aitu'' refers to ghosts or spirits, often malevolent. The word is common to many languages of Western and Eastern Polynesia. In the mythology of Tonga, for example, ''aitu'' or ''eitu'' are lesser gods, many bein ...

'' and ''

'', and Micronesian ''aniti''.

Types of hanitu

* Left or right spirits of people. * Wandering spirits * Spirits of land and objects that predated humans * Ancestral spirits * Agitator spirits

Land hanitu

The land contained spirits before human habitation, and governed hunting, agriculture, and inhabitation. There were human spirit mediums who communicated with these formless ''hanitu''.

Hanitu of objects

Objects, such as guns, had formless ''hanitu''. The ''hanitu'' of such objects were 'invited' by ritual to take lives of animals and people. It was believed a person could not force a gun to take a life, that it was the work of the ''hanitu'' of the gun. If the killing was not intentional, the shooter was not seen as guilty, rather the gun itself was evil, and would be buried.

Of people

Human hanitu came from the father. There was a formless hanitu on each shoulder, as well as an ''isang'' or soul in the middle of the chest. The ''isang'' was unrelated to the parents. The Bunun believed that each person had two spirits, one good/amicable/communal (''masial'') one bad/irritable/self-serving (), but the ultimate arbiter was the ''isang''/soul, which grew stronger with maturity and taboo observance. These would leave after death, could act independently of the person's will, and could cause conflict or indecisiveness. The hanitu left the body during dreams and could communicate with other hanitu during dreams (incl. objects).

Of ancestors

''Hanitu'' of ancestors depended upon how descendants treated them during life. Violent death could cause wandering spirits. These ''hanitu'' were fed but not worshiped.

No abode spirits

''Hanitu'' with no set abode were malevolent spirits that have specific forms, and could produce objects such as bamboo needles to stab people and cause disease, or scare out the soul (isang) from a person, who would then die if the soul was gone too long. Qanasilis were giant spirits, Mamantainga were big-eared spirits with giant torsos who like to eat children. Spirit mediators could negotiate ''palinanutu hanitu'' with agitators to heal disease.

Death

''Hanitu'' were believed to dwell in a homeland to the west, named ''Lamungan'' or ''Mai-asang'', to which they returned upon the death of an animate being.

References

{{Reflist Austronesian mythology Indigenous culture in Taiwan Tutelary deities Nature spirits Formosan mythology