Tao Ocean Spirit Belief (Anito)

The Tao flying fish legend recounts how, in ancient times, the ancestors did not know how to distinguish among different fish species and cooked flying fish together with other fish, causing widespread illness throughout the community. One night, the Flying Fish Spirit (the Black-winged Flying Fish) appeared in a dream to an elder, revealing that flying fish were a sacred gift from the heavenly spirits to the Tao people and must be cooked in dedicated pots, never mixed with other fish. The Flying Fish Spirit also taught the elder the proper methods for catching flying fish, the rules for their consumption, and the various taboos that must be observed. Upon waking, the elder shared these teachings with his people. From that time forward, the Tao established their entire cultural system around the flying fish. The strict seasonal regulations — when fishing may begin, when it must end, and how the catch is to be preserved and distributed — became the foundation of Tao social order.

Tao spiritual practice takes place not in temples but in intimate connection with the sea and the natural world. Before the flying fish season, the men of the community gather at the shore for the Summoning Ceremony, casting chicken blood upon the waves to call the flying fish. When a new boat is launched, the community offers pigs and chickens, anointing the hull with their blood to pray for safe voyages and abundant catches. The Tao observe strict food taboos — men and women eat different species of fish, and elders and children each have designated species they may or may not consume.

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.