The New Cathedrals

The Philippines, a third world country of which 80% are Roman Catholics, is known for the many number of huge malls. It is the new community center where most of the Filipinos’s leisure time is spent. In fact, four of the largest in the world, are found in Metro Manila alone. Several big malls are also scheduled to open in other major urban centers around the country. Population in the top 10 cities alone where these major structures are found stood at 17 million, 19% of the total (2007 census).

The malls provide a venue for the mainly consumerist lifestyle of the Filipinos fuelled by remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who, in 2010, sent over $18.8 billion in remittances. This coupled with the booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry with the country now considered the top provider followed by India employing 350,000 Filipinos and in 2010, revenues are at $5.7 billion.

It is in these circumstances: a large Catholic population in cities and the booming mall culture that the Roman Catholic church has extended church services to the malls. The holy mass, a common sight, is often held on specific days of the week either held at the main atrium, at some quite area at the upper floors or at dedicated chapels within the mall.

These are the new cathedrals.

This is an ongoing project and has been exhibited in Noorderlicht Photo Festival 2011

About the Photographer

Estan Cabigas is a freelance photographer based in Makati City, the Philippines. His work has been exhibited locally and abroad including Chobi Mela V International Festival of Photography. He got his Diploma in Photojournalism at the Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism and focuses on Filipino Faith and Spirituality as his long term project.
More about the photographer

Paete’s Rite of the Dead

The lakeshore town of Paete in the province of Laguna is famed for its wood carving industry. During the Semana Santa or Holy Week, the spectacular jointed image of the Santo Sepulcro undergoes a unique ritual, the Pagsusuob, that can only be said as a pre-hispanic rite of the dead that is more closely identified now with the mummification rituals of high ranking citizens in some remote areas in the Cordillera region.

This image, allegedly 16th century brought by missionaries from Mexico, is a lifesize carving of the dead Christ lying in state that for most of the year is placed at one of the niches at the church’s side altar retablo.

After the Palm Sunday mass, the image is borne on the shoulders of the men and is transported to the house of its recamadora or caretaker, the Afuang family, who every year for countless generations, receives the image for a week and opens the door to devotees.

On Holy Wednesday, the house becomes unusually busy. Several women bring their blankets and a pail full of lambanog (coconut vodka) is mixed with agua de coloña, an aromatic oil. By 9 AM, the ritual starts.

The image is undressed except for a blue skirt covering the pelvic area and is then seated at a high chair. The wig is replaced with a bandana. The blankets and pillows cushion the icon. After rubbing it with the liquid mixture, a wooden frame is hastily assembled in the middle of the room and draped with more blankets until it covers the entire Santo Sepulcro. While this is done, the rest of the people gathered in the small room sing prayers at the side.

From 1000H – 1500H, the image is smoked with incense and the devotees take turns slipping their legs inside the kubol or makeshift tent and pray. Some intrepid souls would go inside and spend a few minutes. They believe that it cleanses the body and heals them of their ailments.

After five hours, the blankets covering the kubol are taken down, one by one, and the wooden frames disassembled. The image is then dressed with a new garment offered by a devotee and will lie in state while nightly vigils and prayers will be done until Good Friday.

An hour past 1200H of Good Friday, the Santo Sepulcro is brought down from the second floor of the house to the glass paned bier decorated with flowers, lights and carved angels. It will be borne again on the shoulders of men but this time, they are dressed in white and greater in number to be transported back to the church for the Good Friday procession.

The Pagsusuob ritual in Paete is one of a kind. During this time, however, the antique life-size image of the crucified Christ also undergoes the same process done under the church belfry.

This raises questions though. This particular rite might indicate that the mummification rituals practiced by the hill tribes of the Cordillera in North Luzon might have also been observed in the low lands. Is it possible that, to convince the people to accept Christianity, the missionaries adapted this one?

Day of the Dead

In the Catholic calendar, November 2 marks All Soul’s Day. For the Filipino, and just like in many cultures around the world, remembering the dead is a time honored ritual that has always been observed even during pre-Hispanic times.

A few days before, boat and bus terminals are clogged with passengers. Planes are fully booked and highway traffic leading out of cities is bumper to bumper. It is a time when people go back to their roots, to their provinces and hometowns and especially gather in cemeteries to offer flowers, light candles and pray.

During the day and well into the night, people stream into cemeteries to clean plots or negotiate for electrical connection. It is one of the most lively places to be. Mini family reunions are held, food and stories are shared. Some stay for an overnight vigil of prayers, karaoke and games. While drinking has been banned, some still imbibe secretly.

In some places, one can still see food and cigarette offerings laid down infront of the tomb. In Cebu province, some still observe the “palina,” a short and quick ritual wherein the cemetery visitor passes over smoke. It is believed that doing this will prevent spirits from following back to the home.

Images were taken in 2006 and 2007.

Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno

The Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno or the Black Nazarene image of Quiapo in Manila has one of the most popular devotions in the Philippines. Every 9 January, devotees converge at the grounds of the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene to commemorate the translacion, or transfer of the image from the second Recollect Church in Intramuros to its current location in 1787.

The image was brought to the country by the Augustinian Recollects when they first arrived in 1606. It was said that it turned black when it caught fire during the voyage. The Recollect Fathers promoted the devotion to the suffering Christ and in 1621, the Cofradia de Santo Cristo Jesus Nazareno was established. Two papal bulls, one in 1650, establishing the confraternity and one in the 19th century, granting plenary indulgence, further helped spread the devotion.

Today, fanatical devotees often suffer bodily harm, cuts and bruises, and sometimes, death, as they try to move closer to touch the image in the hope of a miracle as the carriage bearing the image follows its yearly route around the basilica. It is also carried out during the Good Friday procession.

Images were taken in 2006 and 2007.

La Naval de Manila

In 1646, the invading Dutch greatly surprised the then Spanish colony that in the ensuing naval battles, 5 to be exact, the combined Filipino-Spanish forces consisting of two merchant galleons faced eighteen warships of the Dutch. The outnumbered defenders fought and triumphantly won. This encounter is historically known as the Battle of La Naval.

The victory was attributed to the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary that the commander and crew of the victorious defenders made a pilgrimage to Sto. Domingo Church at its original location in Intramuros, Manila. In 1662, the Cathedral Chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila declared it a miracle. Upon the orders of Pope Pius X, the image of the Nuestra Senora del Rosario – La Naval de Manila was canonically crowned in 5 October 1907.

The Our Lady of La Naval is the patroness of the Philippines and Sto. Domingo Church, which transferred to its present location in Quezon City in 1954 when the original edifice was bombed out during World War II, is considered a National Shrine. For many Filipinos, it is an important pilgrimage site.

Every October, on the occassion of the icon’s feast day, devotees flock to pray and pay homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

A Ritual of Faith

Self flagellation as an act of mortification has its origins in the 11th century in Italy that spread to Europe including Spain. The practice was introduced in the Philippines by Spanish missionaries during the late 16th century. In the past 400 years, it has been adopted and adapted to become an indigenous ritual. Today, it is mainly performed in Central Luzon, Metro Manila and some provinces in Southern Tagalog and climaxes on Good Friday of Holy Week.

Practitioners, do it as a petition or supplication in the form of a “panata” or vow, sworn for a fixed period of years. It is intended for the healing of a sick relative or a member of the family or, in many instances, as a spiritual investment in the hope that God will grant grace or blessing for the family as well as protection from harm and misfortune.

Flagellants are Roman Catholics. For them, this is the most important and most solemn of days wherein this kind of self mortification is the ultimate expression of sacrifice in order to share in the passion and suffering of Christ.

In the town of Infanta, Quezon, around 5 hours trip east of Manila, the self flagellation practice is unique because of the elaborate costume that these men don. The outfit consists of a skirt, called a “saya” made from dried banana leaves, a flog called the “panyabat”, tipped with wooden pegs and a floral headdress called the “tukarol.” According to studies, parts of the costume were buried before in fields for abundant harvests but now, this agricultural connection is no longer observed.

In the 1950s, as much as 300 men perfomed this ritual. By 2009, only around 30 were to be found.

This work has been shown in:

• International Orange Photo Festival 2010 (Changsha, China)
• Moi de la photo 2010 (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)