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.[1]

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.[1]

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 (makuang), 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).[1]

Hanitu of ancestors depended upon how descendants treated them during life. Violent death could cause wandering spirits.[1] These hanitu were fed but not worshiped.

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.[1]