ANITO SKULL PENDANT*, WEARABLE AMULET | 2021. Oxidized sterling silver; cast, hand-fabricated, hand-finished.
*These are made-to-order pendants will not be made or shipped until February 2023
Item Description: This solid sterling silver skull pendant is cast using the ancient technique of lost wax casting and attached to a chain by a sterling silver wire 'halo.' Oxidized sterling silver chain available in 20" and 24"; use the drop down menu to select. Alternative chain styles & lengths available upon request use the contact page to request before you purchase.
INDIGENOUS MEANINGS
This pendant is meant to be an amulet, helping the wearer remember & channel the wisdom & strength of their ancestors.
While I was doing research for a long-term art project exploring the history of colonization in the Philippines, I came across the story of an indigenous Filipino from the Ifugao tribe, who kept the skull & bones of his ancestors, including his father, wrapped neatly in blankets under the floor of his hut.
This might sound creepy to some, but I feel curious about how this practice could have prevented the disconnect & fear people sometimes feel around death. The blunt & inescapable realness of this approach feels almost preferable to the distancing practice of embalming & burying-people-in-boxes-tradition, that I’ve been raised with.
Anito, also spelled anitu, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities (diwata) present in many the indigenous animistic religions of precolonial Philippines. Anito can also represent carved humanoid figures that represent these spirits.
