Holy Happenings 
by Ellen Joy Anastacio
April 2003

Holy Week has always had a special significance to Roman Catholic Filipinos. As one of the major periods in the liturgical calendar, most devout Catholics adhere to the rules and activities of this 40-day observation of Christ's passion. It starts on Ash Wednesday, when people flock to church to have crosses imprinted in their foreheads with ashes, all the way to Easter Sunday.

But aside from the normal way of celebrating Holy Week in the Philippines, like hearing pabasas, following the Way of the Cross, attending Masses, observing the Washing of the Feet, listening to the 7 last words, attending processions, especially the Salubong on early Easter dawn, Filipinos have infused the Holy Week observations with our a distinct Filipino brand of Catholicism. Some are sanctioned by the Catholic Church, some are not, but they all represent the intense spiritualtiy and devotion that Filipinos have.

Let's take a look at some of the unique ways Filipinos observe Holy Week here!

Moriones Festival. Celebrated in the southern Luzon island of Marinduque during Holy Week, the Moriones is a colorful 7-day celebration that transforms the towns of Boac, Gasan, and Mogpog into a big outdoor theater. This festival commemorates the conversion of Longinus, the blind centurion who pierced Jesus side during his crucifixion and was healed by the blood that splattered from Jesus' side. He was subsequently beheaded.

Moriones comes from the word morion, (meaning mask or visor), which refers to the part of the medieval Roman armor that covers the face. The term Moriones, meanwhile, refers to the masked and costumed penitents who go around Marinduque for 7 days, looking for Longinus. They represent the angry masked centurions who hunted for Longinus after his healing and conversion to Christianity. The highlight of the celebration is the capture of Longinus and his decapitation, held at noontime on Easter Sunday.

Via Crucis. During Holy Thursday, devotees from Cebu City and other neighboring towns and cities head over to Banawa Hills, which is comprised of over 12 hectares of rolling hills occupied by life-sized statues depicting the stations of the cross.

Ang Pagtaltal sa Guimaras. Guimaras, a small island across Iloilo City, and the home of the Trappist Monastery, is also the home of another unique Holy Week celebration. On Good Friday, locals enact Christ's passion and death, culminating at the Balaan Bukid (Holy Mountain), the site of a huge cross planted in a chapel overlooking the Guimaras Strait.

Holy Week in Bantayan Island. Contrary to the rest of the Catholic world, Bantayanons do not abstain from meat during Holy Week. Rather, they actually serve feasts of lechon, sizzling sisig, and other fare fit for a fiesta during this time. And believe it or not, this is actually sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, when, in the 1800's, Pope George granted them a Papal dispensation to continue it! This practice stems from fishermen's refusal to go out fishing during these days, for fear of serious injury that may prove to be lethal during Holy Week.

Meanwhile, during Holy Thursday and Good Fridays, extremely large carrozas that need more than 30 men to pull them, are brought out by local families. These carrozas, which are also family heirlooms, are decorated extravagantly, sometimes reaching up to P100,000! And before it can even reach the Church, they have already been stripped of their decorations by the people who believe that the flowers and water from these carrozas are blessed, and have been given the power to heal.

Crucifixion in Pampanga. Undoubtedly one of the most controversial and highly-touted observations of Lent in the Philippines, the Crucifixion in Guagua, Pampanga, has attracted a lot of tourists and media since it started in 1946. Numerous men flagellate themselves until their backs are crisscrossed and bleeding, all the way to the site of the crucifixion.

Here, as a sign of their repentance and huge faith, the men are prepared for crucifixion by tying them to a wooden cross then piercing their hands with wooden spikes or 5-inch nails, to mimic Jesus' crucifixion at Calvary. Thousands witness the men undergo a trance-like state as their crosses are erected in the field. 

Seeing how Catholicism is uniquely practiced in the Philippines, one gets the impression that its religions in many ways are like its food, culture, and even politics. In many aspects, these are by-products of our colonial past. However, the muddled fusion of native and foreign has resulted in a truly unique collective psyche that is, the Filipino.



Back to top
Comments or suggestions