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Balete Tree

Ficus virens

Status: Not endangered in themselves, however many native/old/iconic baletes are declared as heritage trees, and ficus trees in general are an exceptional resource for wildlife, including many endangered and threatened species in tropical forests.

In their natural habitat in the Philippines, ficus trees grow by sending out long hanging aerial roots. When the roots touch the ground, they grow into new trunks, resulting over time in a tangled webwork of cascading roots and trunks. As the tree grows older and these grow thicker, a Balete tree gains a mysterious character, riddled with secret inner chambers where supernatural forest beings dwell. When an individual is first called to shamanism, they are often found sitting beneath a Balete, in this gateway place of the physical and spiritual world.

Engkanto are spirits of the unknown world. The term came from Spanish, "Encanto", who when they first came to the Philippines, were overwhelmed by inhabitants of Tagbanua cosmology: the dieties, diwata (nature), anito (ancestral), sirens, and monsters.

In the animistic culture of the Philippines, engkanto are frequently associated with ancient Baletes. Extremely old Balete trees, hundreds of years old, or even over a thousand years old, are known to be favored hosts, as well as providing shelter and food for birds, animals and insects. They are treated with respect for the richness they provide, and cared for as being integral to the ancient framework of the land. Sacrifices are sometimes left for the inhabitants (both the earthly and the supernatural). These great trees are accorded an amount of deferential fear as well, for some of the spirits they house are dreadful and terrible, and it is best to tread lightly so as to not to draw their baleful attention.

 

References:
De Guzman, Daniel. "Down the Roots of Mystical and Sacred Trees in Philippine Lore". The Aswang Project, Feb 2017. https://www.aswangproject.com/mystical-sacred-trees-philippines/

clark, Jordan. "Tagbanua (Tagbanuwa) cosmology: Multi-Layered Universe, Deities, Diwatas and creation Myths", Aswang Project, Jan 2020. https://www.aswangproject.com/tagbanua-cosmology/

Demetrio, F. (1969). The Engkanto Belief: An Essay in Interpretation. Asian Folklore Studies, 28(1), 77-90. https://doi.org/10.2307/1177781

Seki, K. (2001). Rethinking Maria cacao: Legend-making in the Visayan context. Philippine Studies, 49(4), 560-583. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42633499