Babaylan were predominantly women serving in spiritual leadership roles. They were believed to have spirit guides, by which they could contact and interact with the spirits and Diwata and the spirit world. Their primary role were as mediums during pagnito séance rituals. There were also various subtypes of Babaylan specializing in the arts of healing and herbalism, divination, and sorcery.

Anito was a sacrifice, a formal act of worship conducted by a Babaylan. Anito was the root of the words paganito and maganito, which both mean an act of sacrifice, paga anito, to perform that act, and iganito, the things being sacrificed. But the taotao, Diwata, or umalagad being worshiped, was paganitohan. Paganito were basically seances-that is, ceremonies in which a medium established audible communication with spirits. But solemn paganito had to be conducted by a Babaylan.

VISAYAS ★

Most Babaylan inherit their status from an older Babaylan they are apprenticed to, usually a relative.

A few, however, become Babaylan after experiencing what has been termed a "shamanistic initiatory crisis" (also "shamanic illness" or "shamanic madness"). This includes serious or chronic illnesses, near-death experiences, sudden seizures and trembling, depression, strange events or behavior (including climbing balete trees or disappearing for several days with no memory of the events), bouts of insanity (including those induced by psychological trauma from a past event), and strange visions or dreams. These are regarded as encounters with the spirits, where the soul of the person is said to be journeying to the spirit world. In cases like this, it is said that a spirit chooses the person, rather than the other way around.

After being chosen, shamans go through an initiation rite. These rites are meant to gain or transfer the patronage of a spirit. Among Visayans, this ritual is known as the tupad or tupadan. In cases of people with "shamanic illness," these initiation rites are regarded as the cure, where the initiate regains health or sanity by conceding to the wishes of the spirits and "answering the call." When volunteered rather than volunteering, their relatives are usually required to pay a large fee to the senior shaman for the training. Initiation rites can range from simply inducing a trance through herbs or alcohol, to inducing personal crises through physical or psychological hardship. Extreme examples of initiation rites include getting buried alive or being immersed in water overnight.

After initiation, the apprentices are then trained in the details of their role. This training includes learning about rituals, chants and songs, the sacrifices appropriate for each spirit, oral histories, herbs, healing practices, and magic spells, among other things. They usually assist the senior shaman during ceremonies until their training is complete, which can take months to years. Each shaman can have one or more such apprentices, at varying ranks or specializations.

The shaman's power to communicate with the spirit world is derived from their spirit companions that guide them and intercede for them. These spirits are usually referred to in euphemistic terms like abyan (friend), alagad or bantay (guardian), or gabay (guide), among other terms. Shamans have at least one abyan, with more powerful shamans having many. Certain individuals, like powerful leaders or warriors (Especially those with shaman relatives), are also believed to have their own abyan that give them magical powers. Abyan are also believed to guide, teach, and inspire skilled artists and craftsmen in the community.

Abyan spirits can be ancestor spirits, but they are more commonly non-human spirits. Shamans either have spirit companions from birth, draw their attention during the "shamanic illness," or gain their allegiance during initiation into shamanism. Spirits are believed to be social beings, with individual quirks and personalities (both good and bad). The friendship of abyan depend on reciprocity. The shamans do not command them. People with abyan must regularly offer sacrifices to these spirits, usually consisting of food, alcoholic drinks, ngangà, and blood from a sacrificial animal (usually a chicken or a pig) in order to maintain good relations. This friendship of abyan, once earned, is enduring. They become, in essence, part of the family. The abyan of a deceased shaman will often "return" to a living relative who might choose to become a shaman as well.

The abyan are essential in shamanistic rituals, as they prevent the shaman's soul from getting lost in the spirit world. They also communicate entreaties on behalf of the shaman to more powerful spirits or deities, and fight evil spirits during healing or exorcism rituals.

Healing was the most important role for shamans in their communities. Natural illnesses do not require a shaman for healing, while spiritual illnesses do.

Like in other Anitistic Filipinos believed in the concept of soul dualism (sometimes referred to as "twin souls" or "double souls"). A person is believed to be composed of at least two souls—the breath of life (ginhawa or hininga, which stays with the living body) and the astral soul (the kalag or kaluluwa, which can travel to the spirit world). The ginhawa is believed to reside in the pit of the stomach (usually the liver), while the kalag resides in the head. The ginhawa represents the person's body and bodily urges; while the kalag represents the person's identity, mind, and strength of will. Both are required in a living person.

Natural illnesses are the result of damage to the ginhawa. While they do not require a shaman, they are still important, as the death of the ginhawa will also mean the death of the body. These can be treated by skilled shamans, but were more often relegated to apprentices or assistants specializing in healing or herbalism.

Spiritual illnesses, on the other hand, are believed to be caused by the separation of the kalag from the ginhawa (referred to as "soul loss" in anthropological literature). This separation happens normally during sleep, where the kalag detaches to travel through the spirit world, resulting in dreams. However, when this separation happens when the person is awake, it results in spiritual illnesses. The causes of the separation can include the kalag getting lost in the spirit world; the kalag being captured, attacked, or seduced by another spirit; or simply the refusal of the kalag to return to the ginhawa. While it is not immediately lethal, the loss of the kalag can result in the loss of the person's mind and identity—thus insanity. Spiritual illnesses also include delirium, depression, trauma, fainting spells, and other mental illnesses. Evil or undesirable behavior may also be blamed on disharmony between the kalag and the ginhawa.

Shamans may also perform rituals to heal and strengthen the kalag of a person. These include the ritual of batak dungan or batakan among Visayan shamans. It strengthens and empowers the kalag of a person to prepare them for challenges, problems and obstacles. This ritual also protects the person from possible spiritual attack caused by malevolent spirits and sorcery.

Aside from rituals and herbal medicine, an ubiquitous traditional healing method done by shamans and healers is massage with oils (lana) known as hilot or haplos. It is still commonly practiced to this day. Hilot is an ancient Philippine art of healing. It uses manipulation and massage to achieve the treatment outcome, although techniques differ from one practitioner to another. Hilot is a fusion of spiritual and medicinal practices, with physical manipulation and the focus on healing the whole body being the main distinctions between the two practices. Illnesses are referred to as pilay and are defined by imbalances in the body, which are explained by their enkanto (or unseen entities), elements, and manifestations in the body. The manghihilot ("massager," "folk massage therapist," "folk chiropractor") uses massage techniques to treat sprains, fractures, and other similar conditions that affect the skeletal and muscular system, including ligaments. The practice treats illnesses in a variety of ways, based on its own universal law and natural Law, such as physical manipulation, herbal remedies, and dietary or lifestyle advice.

The rotation of the Bakunawa in a calendar year, as explained, divination was closely tied to healing, as it was primarily used for diagnosing illnesses. It can be done by shamans or by specialized apprentices with the necessary skill. Various paraphernalia and rituals are used to diagnose illnesses: examples include seashells, ginger, crystals made of quartz or alum (tawas), and chicken entrails. Diviners have names that indicate their preferred methods. For example, a diviner who uses alum crystals is known as a magtatawas, while a diviner that prefers to conduct a ritual known as luop is known as a mangluluop.

Diviners are also able to foretell the future and perform geomancy rituals. A key creature used in Babaylan geomancy in the Visayas is the Bakunawa (or naga), usually depicted as a gigantic serpent or dragon with a looped tail. The movements of the Bakunawa affect the physical world, from the phases of the moon, to eclipses, the weather, floods, and earthquakes. The Bakunawa is central to a sixteen-point compass rose. It faces a different cardinal direction every three months; facing north (aminhan), west (katungdan), south (bagatnan), and east (sidlangan) in a given twelve-month lunar year. The mouth of the Bakunawa is believed to bring misfortune and evil, and various points on the compass had different aspects depending on where the mouth was facing. These were consulted when making future plans like travel, trade, or marriage. When building houses, shamans were also often consulted to determine the most propitious placement of the foundations to avoid the ill luck brought by the Bakunawa.

Some shamans were believed to be able to control the physical world through incantations, talismans, potions, or their spirit intermediaries. Healers are more strongly associated with sorcerers than mediums. In most cases, a healer is also a sorcerer. In order to cure or counteract sorcerous illnesses, healers must themselves know sorcery.

In contrast, in Visayan societies, the most powerful shamans were sorcerers known as dalagangan (also dalongdongan or busalian). They could purportedly command the elements through magic spells and the strength of their kalag (or dungan) which was equated with "spiritual power." Their alleged powers include conjuring fire or water, flight, shape-shifting, invisibility, invulnerability, and the ability to call down disasters.

That which has great value in all parts is sorcery; and they hold it in such high esteem, they refuse to communicate any secret of it. The famous sorcerers are feared. These sorceries are that they are implicit compacts made with the spirits. For it also seems impossible that there are herbs of so powerful poison that they can kill so instantly that some persons kill, with only the breath alone by chewing those herbs; and others, by burying those herbs where one has to pass. They also use figures, which they dedicate to the person in question whom they wish to harm, and these accordingly torment that particular individual; the figure continues to aggravate the evil upon the sorcerer’s enemy.

Sorcerers are also believed to have powers that cause harm to other people covertly. Healer-sorcerers who practice this kind of sorcery usually justify it as a form of criminal punishment, as it is a widespread belief that black magic does not work on people who are innocent. Their targets are usually "wrongdoers" like thieves, adulterous spouses, or land grabbers. Sorcery of this type is seen as a kind of "justice," especially for people who cannot (or fail to) legally prosecute a wrongdoer.

There are also "true" sorcerers who are said to have hereditary sorcerous powers. Unlike healers, they do not consider the justice of their actions. These sorcerers are often conflated with aswang, evil vampire-like supernatural beings capable of appearing human (or were originally human).

The negative counterparts of the shamans are collectively called as witches. However, these witches actually include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations depending on the ethnic group they are associated with.

Visayans also believed that supernatural forces filled the natural world with signs and portents that it would be unwise to ignore. These were indicated by the behavior of birds and reptiles, or could be elicited by casting lots or by omen-seeking ceremonies conducted by Babaylan or other diviners.

Any snake or lizard crossing the path, even a common house lizard that "spoke to" somebody descending the house steps, was a warning to turn back. A sneeze was also enough to interrupt any activity, including business transactions that were going badly. If somebody happened to ask them about their plans, hunters turned around because their quarry would then have been forewarned and hide. A monitor lizard under the house was a sure sign of impending death or disaster; though if it was killed, enshrouded, and buried like a human being, its life might be accepted as a substitute for the householder's. But the most famous of these omens was the limokon, a kind of turtledove with striking green and white plumage and red feet and beak, also called koro-koro from its call. Fortunetelling by palmistry was himalad, from palad, the lines in the palm of the hand. (Old folks were said to be "broken" because they had as many cracks in their palm as an old pot.) Luknit was to cast lots by four crocodile teeth or boar's tusks, and tali was a stone or egg which the diviner made stand upright on a plate. The most popular method of divination was to ask the Diwata to answer questions by causing some inanimate object to move: Abiyog was to swing, like a bolo suspended from a cord, and kibang was to move or wiggle, like a winnowing tray or a shield laid convex-side down. Mangayaw raiders before putting to sea were sure to board a small baroto without outriggers and, sitting perfectly still on the center line, ask the Diwata to rock the boat if it was propitious to proceed with the expedition. If they received a favorable response, they asked who it was who had rocked the boat, naming a list of possibilities, and then offered a predeparture sacrifice to the one who had favored them.

Babaylan were highly respected members of the community, on par with the noble class. Babaylans were powerful ritual specialists who were believed to have influence over the weather and could make use of various spirits in the natural and spiritual realms. Babaylans were held in high regard since they were believed to possess powers that could block the dark magic of a spirit and heal the sick or wounded. Among other powers, the Babaylan could ensure a safe pregnancy and child birth. As a spiritual medium, Babaylans also lead rituals with offerings to the various divinities or deities. As an expert in divine and herb lore, incantations, concoctions, remedies, antidotes, and a variety of potions made of various roots, leaves, and seeds. Hence, the Babaylans were also known for their specialization in medical and divine combat. As remuneration for their services, they received a good part of the offerings of food, wine, clothing, and gold, the quality and quantity of which depended on the social status of the supplicant. Thus, the Babaylan held a lucrative as well as prestigious role in society.

Shamans of the many ethnicities in the Philippines always have another role in the community, aside from being spiritualists. A shaman could be a merchant, warrior, farmer, fisherfolk, blacksmith, craftsperson, weaver, potter, musician, or even a barber or chef, depending on the preference and skill of the shaman and the need of the community. Some shamans have more than two occupations at a time, especially if a community lacks people with the needed skills to take upon the role of certain jobs. This tradition of having two (or more) jobs has been ingrained in certain cultural societies in the Philippines, and is still practiced today by certain communities.

Natural forces like celestial bodies or flowing waters were personified for reverence or worship. Chief among them were the sun and moon, especially the new moon whose regular waxing from a thin silver to full brilliance so strongly suggested prosperity and fertility. Stars and constellations connected with the agricultural cycle were invoked for good crops. To the winds themselves were addressed prayers for fair weather and favorable winds. There were river Diwata, both in general and as resident in particular streams, and important Diwata and spirits of the sea which received all these waters. Part of ordinary river traffic were little rafts-or, in the case of community sacrifices, large ones-headed downstream bearing the offerings and paraphernalia of ceremonies celebrated along their banks. As for spirits dwelling in the mountains, hunters were sure to offer their first catch to them. Crocodiles were held in special veneration because of their obvious danger: they were addressed as Grandfather, and were offered symbolic foodstuffs by the prudent when crossing rivers or even on entering boats. The spirit of the strangler fig, or balete tree, was also given offerings in recognition of its sinister powers: "There is no ancient tree to whom they do not attribute divinity, and it was a sacrilege to think of cutting one under any circumstances." Dangerous cliffs or strange rock formations were also invoked for safe passage: many porcelain plates that had contained offerings were to be found on a rocky promontory on Potol Point, the northwestern headland of Panay.

Visayans considered themselves vastly outnumbered by a variety of invisible beings, spirits, and deities. Gods were called Diwata and ancestor spirits, umalagad, both words still in use among Visayans living in the remote mountains of Panay. These were generally benevolent or neutral and could be approached ritually for good crops, health, and fortune, but they also caused illness or misfortune if not given due respect They thus functioned to sanction approved social behavior. Naturally malevolent beings, on the other hand, had to be avoided or kept off by precautionary acts, and ranged from the mischievous to the ghoulish, the most common and fearful being those who ate away the livers of living persons. In modern Visayan also named duende, meaning hobgoblin, or encanto, enchanted.

Diwata is a term for Gods or Godhead, and Visayan maniwala or magdiwata meant to invoke or deify them, and diya was a Panay synonym. They had individual personalities and names, which differed from place to place: “in every town they have their God, all called Diwata in general, but as a personal name, that of their town." Their number must have been legion considering that individual shamans during seances named different ones with whom they were in communication or who took possession of them. Some Diwata constituted a genuine pantheon, a hierarchy with specific roles to play, particularly in connection with birth, longevity, death, and the afterlife. Others were the patrons of specific human conditions: Dalikmata, a Diwata with many eyes, was invoked in the case of eye ailments, while Makabosog moved men to gluttony.

The soul or élan vital was kalag: when people set new rice aside for the deceased, they would say, "Himulaw, himulaw, manga kalag: ayaw kami pagsuli [Eat, souls, eat: let it not be bad for us]" and a spirited, forceful man was called kalagan na tao. The kalag might separate from the body during dreams, illness, or insanity, or be carried off by Diwata for envy or desire, especially those who were bugus, that is, perfect, handsome, or otherwise enviable. Daay was the Diwata's desire for such a person, a beautiful woman for himself, a powerful man for a son. Women were therefore advised, "Dika mag bukas sang paño sa olo mo kay daayon ka [Do not uncover your head lest you be desired]." The loss of kalag might also result in a kind of enchanted death-linahos inkamatay. "There are those among the Visayans who remain like dead for two or three days, and afterwards revive and recount visions."

Ancestor spirits specifically were called umalagad, from alagad, a follower or voluntary assistant, and they were venerated as personal guardians of companions. They were invoked on leaving the house and during agricultural rites in the field, and were considered essential shipmates on any sea raid, sometimes going on board in the form of a python. It was these umalagad and kalag, rather than the Diwata, who were the main objects of Visayan adoration, receiving not only formal worship conducted by priests and priestesses, but domestic offerings and routinary acts of reverence on the part of laymen.

The natives of these islands have neither time nor place set apart for the offering of prayers and sacrifices to their Gods. It is only in case of sickness, and in times of seed-sowing or of war, that sacrifices are offered. These sacrifices are called Babaylan, and the priestesses, or the men who perform this office, are also called Babaylan. The priestesses dress very colorfully, with garlands on their heads, and are resplendent with gold. They bring to the place of sacrifice some kind of earthen jar full of rice-wine, besides a live hog and a quantity of prepared food. Then the priestess chants her songs and invokes the demon, who appears to her all glistening in gold. Then he enters her body and hurls her to the ground, foaming at the mouth as one possessed. In this state she declares whether the sick person is to recover or not. In regard to other matters, she foretells the future. All this takes place to the sound of bells and kettle-drums. Then she rises and taking a spear, she pierces the heart of the hog. They dress it and prepare a dish for the demons. Upon an altar erected there, they place the dressed hog, rice, bananas, wine, and all the other articles of food that they have brought. All this is done in behalf of sick persons, or to redeem those who are confined in the infernal regions.