Kawas (mythology)

Kawas refers to an Amis supernatural entity. Though the Amis have converted to Christianity, their spiritual beliefs and Christianity have syncretized and the term kawas is still used.[1]

Kawas are divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts.[1] Bamboo oracle specialists were among communicators. Lisin, or ceremony, was the preferred method to cope with kawas.

Terms

Kawas is also a root word. Cikawasay refers to a spiritual practitioner/healer/shaman. Kawasan (kawas+an) refers to anything mysterious, indeed the same word means a locality in Indonesian/Malay and Filipino and may have had a deeper meaning as a dwelling place for kawas and likely is a cognate. Kawaskawas refers to a set of spiritual beliefs, such as a religion.

See also
  • Hanitu, the Bunun term for spirit.

References
  1. Clart, Philip; Jones, Charles Brewer (2003). "Religion in Modern Taiwan: Tradition and Innovation in a Changing Society". University of Hawaii Press – via Google Books.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.