'Calling to the Lord' in a postcolonial context
For days surrounding the feast, indeed, constantly on the Sunday of the feast — at Masses, in song and in processions — the streets of Cebu resonate with cries of Pit Señor! or Viva Pit Señor! Oddly, though, when asked what “pit” means, people tended to draw a blank. Pit is not a common word today in any other contexts. A couple of well educated interviewees suggested that it meant something like “Call to the Lord” or “Follow the Lord,” but even they professed difficulty. “We’ve lost a lot from our parents’ generations,” one said.The contemporary Sinulog celebration builds on a history of tig sinulog and other sinulog dancers, but so many specifics of that history of the dance and the celebration are, like the word pit, obscured as a result of the colonial experience.
It is hard to ignore how central the colonial experience is to the story and celebration of Sinulog. It recounts the arrival of foreign conquerors on two occasions when the encounter resulted in conflict and death. More than a century ago, Filipinos fought to free themselves from Spanish colonial rule, and value the independence they won, including from Spanish control of the Church. Yet at Sinulog the arrival of the Spaniards is reenacted in highly idealized form and celebrated, as if it only brought good things, the Santo Niño image and the faith.
At the same time, Cebuanos are aware of the event as distinctively Cebuano, as somehow their event and their history, a kind of incarnation, which may be why some Filipinos spoke of it as an extension of the Christmas season.
The basilica of the Santo Niño houses the image of the child Jesus that is said to be the one brought to Cebu in 1521. Throughout the novena and feast, pilgrims line up to visit that image, but pay no less attention to other images that copy original the Santo Niño. And many are more indigenized. As photos posted here show, the “look” of devotees’ own Santo Niño varies considerably. He is larger or smaller, a smiling boy with more European features, or is browner with black hair. He ranges from more regal to more ordinary and boyish, though almost always in blessing with some form of dress that indicates his special status.
1. The first Santo Niño was a baptismal gift by Ferdinand Magellan.
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu (then called Zebu) on April 1521. One of his goals was to introduce Christianity to the inhabitants of the island.
Cebu’s Rajah Humabon, along with his wife Hara Amihan and subjects, were baptized and converted to the Christian faith by Father Pedro Valderama, the expedition’s priest.
Magellan then gave an image of the Child Jesus to Amihan – christened as Juana to honor the Charles I's mother – as a baptismal gift, according to the journal of Antonio Pigafetta.
The same image can now be found at the Basilica Menore de Santo Niño in Cebu.
2. The Sinulog dance is said to originate from the adviser of Rajah Humabon.
The word "Sinulog" was derived from the Cebuano adverb "sulog" which roughly translates to "like water current movement."
The dance steps used in the ritual are believed to be from Rajah Humabon’s adviser, Baladhay, who was allegedly cured from sickness by Santo Niño.
According to historical accounts, Baladhay, then ill, was found to be shouting and dancing shortly after he was placed in an area where the Santo Niño and other pagan gods were displayed. He said the image of the Santo Niño was trying to awaken him.
I personally went to Cebu to pay homage to the Sto. Nino...it was a first for me. I was able to attend 3 days of the Novena. It was surreal because there were so many people attended the Novena Masses--which happened every hour as early as 4:00 am til 6:00 pm. I went to the Basilica of Sto. Nino. Of course, all churches also have their Novenas.
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| My brother concelebrated the Mass. |
I have compiled my photos...hope you like them.
“The Sto. Niño also reminds us that this identity must be protected. The Christ Child is the protector of this great country,”...Pope Francis
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