Kawas (mythology)


Kawas refers to an Amis supernatural entity. Though the Amis have converted to Christianity, their spiritual beliefs and Christianity has syncretised, and the term kawas is still used.
Kawas are divided into 6 groups: gods, ancestors, souls of living, spirits of living things, spirits of lifeless objects, and ghosts. 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 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, i.e. such as a religion.