In the culture of theBunun of Taiwan, ahanitu orqanitu is a spirit. The concept does not exactly equate with similar myths from other cultures.
Thehanitu is one of three domains of Bunun spiritual thought, another beingisang, which equates more to the soul, breath, and heart.[1] 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.[2] All objects containedhanitu.[3] In Malay and Indonesian, the term for ghost,hantu, may be of related origin.
In contrast 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, withmakuang being equated todevil.[2] Nevertheless, some scholars believe the native concepts were not replaced, but rather Christian thought was added on.[1] Strength of hanitu were innate.
Hanitu orhanidu is derived fromProto-Austronesian*qaNiCu ("ghost", "spirit of the dead"). In otherAustronesian cultures,cognates ofhanitu include theFilipino andTaoanito,Malaysian andIndonesianhantu orantu,Polynesianaitu andaitu, andMicronesiananiti.[4]
The land contained spirits before human habitation, and governed hunting, agriculture, and inhabitation. There were human spirit mediums who communicated with these formlesshanitu.[1]
Objects, such as guns, had formlesshanitu. Thehanitu 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 thehanitu 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 anisang or soul in the middle of the chest. Theisang 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 theisang/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] Thesehanitu 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 negotiatepalinanutu hanitu with agitators to heal disease.[1]
Hanitu were believed to dwell in a homeland to the west, namedLamungan orMai-asang, to which they returned upon the death of an animate being.[1]