Indigenous Philippine shrines and sacred grounds

In some cases, they also function as safeguards for the caskets of ancestors, as well as statues or other objects depicting divine entities.

They were either small roof-less platforms or standing poles split at the tip (similar to a tiki torch).

They held halved coconut shells, metal plates, or martaban jars as receptacles for offerings.

[2][6] Other types of sacred places or objects of worship of diwata include the material manifestation of their realms.

These idols were the statues of departed loved ones, which the natives used to contact the spirits of their deceased ancestor or friend and the deities.

Some shrines may be traditional non-Western cemeteries (libingan), ancient ruins or old places (sinaunang pook), rivers (ilog), mountains (bundok), mounds (burol), seas (karagatan), caves (yungib), lakes (lawa), forests (gubat) giant trees (malalaking puno) such as balete (one of the three most sacred trees for the Tagalogs, the other two being kawayan or bamboo and buko or coconut tree), and other places known to the natural and spiritual world, except for swamps, which are called buhay na tubig (living waters)[20] and are considered as sacred but dangerous to the Tagalog people in pre-colonial times due to the presence of life-threatening supernatural beings.

Additionally, mythological shrines and sacred places also abound within the diverse concepts known in the indigenous Philippine folk religions.

[62][63] Home altars continue to be one of the abodes of specific sacred objects depicting or attributed to the deities and ancestral spirits.

Mount Pulag is the home of the tinmongao spirits and the sacred resting ground of the souls of the Ibaloi people and other ethnic peoples in the area. [ 1 ]
A Kankanaey burial cave in Sagada with coffins stacked-up to form a sky burial within a cave.
The rock wall where the Angono Petroglyphs can be found. The site is considered as a dambana due to the presence of ancient figures drawn on the rock walls for healing purposes. It was rediscovered only in 1965.
Mayon is a sacred volcano among the Bicolano people . It is the home of their supreme deity, Gugurang.
The lakes of Coron are the sacred home of an octopus deity revered by the Tagbanwa .
A 400-year-old balete tree in Lazi, Siquijor . The tree is a shrine home of a local deity among the Bisaya people .
The Langun-Gobingob Cave System within the interior of Samar is a sacred abode for the Waray people .
Mount Kalatungan is the home of a sacred Igmale’ng’en forest regarded highly by the people of the area, especially the Talaandig. [ 21 ]
The Hinatuan Enchanted River is protected by supernatural beings who cast enchanted protection on certain fishes according to the beliefs of the Surigaonon people .
Mount Apo is a sacred mountain for various ethnic groups such as the Bagobo, Manobo, and Kalagan , and other groups surrounding the holy grounds.
Bud Bongao is a sacred mountain protected by spirits from the indigenous religion of the Sama-Bajau .