Tao Ocean Spirit Belief (Anito)

The Tao legend of the flying fish begins like this: in ancient times the people did not yet know how to tell one fish from another, and cooked flying fish together with other kinds, so that one after another they fell ill. One night the Flying Fish Spirit — a black-winged flying fish — came in a dream to an elder and told him that flying fish were a sacred gift the heavenly spirits had given especially to the Tao, and that they must be cooked in dedicated pots, never mixed with other fish. The spirit patiently taught the elder the ways of catching flying fish, the rules for eating them, and the many taboos to be observed. When the elder awoke, he passed these teachings on to his people one by one, and from that time the Tao built an entire culture around the flying fish. When one may fish and when one must stop, how the catch is preserved and shared out — this whole body of rules governing the flying-fish season became the cornerstone of Tao social order.

Tao worship takes place not in temples but in close bond with the sea and the natural world. Before the flying-fish season, the men gather at the shore for the Fish-Summoning Ceremony, casting chicken blood upon the waves to call the flying fish in. When a new plank boat is ready to launch, the people slaughter pigs and chickens and anoint the hull with their blood, praying for a safe voyage and an abundant catch. The Tao also keep strict food taboos — men and women eat different species of fish, and elders and children each have fish they may or may not eat. These seemingly elaborate rules are how the people carry their reverence for the sea into every meal and every venture out onto the water.

The Flying Fish Festival is the central ceremony of Tao life, unfolding in three seasonal phases. In spring, the Summoning Ceremony (mivanwa) takes place: men don traditional loincloths and silver helmets and gather at the shore to call the flying fish through chanting and dance. In summer, the Preservation Ceremony marks the drying and storing of the catch. In autumn, the Final Eating Ceremony closes the flying fish season — any fish remaining uneaten must be discarded and may no longer be consumed. The Boat Launching Ceremony (manawag) is another major occasion. The Tao plank boat (tatala) is hand-built from multiple types of wood by the community, its hull painted in the traditional colors of red, white, and black. The launching ceremony is both grand and deeply sacred.