– Rachel Luna Peralta
On January 19, 2020, the streets of Avenida Comercial de Macau and Avenida Panoramica do Lago Nam Van reverberated with the chants of devotees dancing to the pulsating Sinulog beats as the Filipino community celebrated the 20th Sinulog Festival in Macau. Sinulog is one of the Philippines’ grandest festivals – an annual celebration of faith and culture.
Sinulog is both a religious and a cultural festival attended by thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who make the event festive and spectacular. Novena masses were held for nine days, and a Holy Mass was celebrated on Sunday, January 19, at the St Augustine Church.
It was followed by a procession carrying the image of Santo Niño (Holy Child) and dance competitions at Sintra Square. Various Filipino groups in their dazzling, colorful, and extravagant costumes and props took part in the competitions.
This year’s theme “One Beat, One Dance, One Vision for Peace” called on Filipino devotees to unite and pray for peace in the country and the world. In fact, Viva Pit Seňor is a shortened version of the Cebuano phrase “sangpit sa señor” which means appealing or crying out loud to God for a particular intention.
In her inspirational message, the Philippine Consul General of Macao, Lilybeth Deapera, described Sinulog as an important event saying, “The devotion to Santo Niňo symbolizes humility and trust. I know that in every parish in the Philippines, the image of Jesus as a small boy, typically dressed as a king, is a mainstay of Philippine Catholic life. The faithful believe that the Santo Niňo is their protector and has the power to grant and answer their prayers. I hope that whatever it is you are asking for, it will be granted.” She stressed, though, that this should be accompanied by hard work.
What is the real essence of Sinulog?
For the locals of Cebu in the Visayan region of the Philippines, Sinulog is synonymous with Santo Niño, whereas for domestic and foreign tourists, Sinulog is a festival.
In 1565, the locals began celebrating the Sinulog in honor of the miraculous image of the Child Jesus or Santo Niňo. Sinulog is derived from the word “sinug” which was a dance depicting the flowing water of Pahina River, performed by the Sugbuanons or the natives of Sugbu. However, such dance was considered a paganistic practice.
Sinulog is both tangible and intangible heritage that traces its roots to the Spanish conquest of the Philippines five centuries ago, when Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator serving the King of Spain, conquered the Philippines. Magellan arrived in the Visayas on March 16, 1521 and on April 7, the seeds of Christianity were sown in Cebu City. A week later, the King of Cebu, Rajah Humabon along with his wife, Queen Hara Amihan, and other natives were baptized. As a baptismal gift from the chronicler of the expedition, Pigafetta, the image of the Child Jesus (Santo Niňo) was given to the Queen baptized as Reyna Juana. Pigafetta wrote:
“While the chaplain was getting ready for the ceremony, I showed her an image of Our Lord, a small statue of the Child Jesus and the cross. Upon seeing them, she was moved with contrition, and with tears in her eyes, she asked to be baptized…. That day, there were about 800 persons baptized, including men, women, and children. The queen asked for the statue of the Holy Child to take the place of her idols, and I gave it to her.”
In an interview with Fr Rick Anthony Reyes, OSA, the Spiritual Director, Archivist, and Librarian of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niňo de Cebu in Cebu City, he narrated that the 1521 expedition was marred by resistance and hostilities; hence the colonization stopped. He said that it was not until 44 years later, in 1565, to be exact, when another group of Spanish colonizers to the Philippines, led by Fray Andres de Urdaneta and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, arrived and rediscovered the image in a box. Thinking that the discovery of the image of the Child Jesus was providential and a miraculous sign, they stayed and continued their efforts of colonization and evangelization and since then, those who were baptized started to venerate the image of the Holy Child.
As a cultural event, Sinulog comes in various layers.
In the first layer, Sinulog is a dance offered by a devotee to the Seňor Santo Niño, patterned after the slow and peaceful current or flow of the Pahina River. The footwork is two steps forward, one step backwards. Based on legends, Fr Reyes narrated that when the image of the Santo Niňo was given to Reyna Juana as a baptismal gift, she danced. Dance was a part of the pre-Spanish Filipino culture.
The second layer is Sinulog used to show devotion and piety to the Holy Child, performed by the elderly women or candle vendors who inherited such tradition from their ancestors. These women candle vendors pray and dance for people who come to the Magellan’s Cross located beside the Minor Basilica but may be shy to dance themselves.
The third layer is Sinulog as a festival. Inspired by the previous layer, the local government unit of Cebu commenced the Sinulog Festival in 1981 to attract more tourists to the city. It involves dancing performances in two categories – Sinulog-based category and the free interpretation category.
The Sinulog Festival is the “mother of all festivals” in the Philippines. The tourism potential of Sinulog Festival has made it a major, most important cultural and religious festival in the country and elsewhere in the world, like Macau, where Filipinos thrive. Its jovial and festive flare aside from religious characteristic sustain its multi-faceted, multi-layered nature as an event.
As the Philippines celebrates 500 years of Christianity in 2021, Sinulog will continue to exude an even more vibrant and celebratory mood as it is expected to draw more people to Cebu – devotees and tourists alike – chanting Viva Pit Señor!
Note:
The historical accounts mentioned in this article are sourced from a conference paper co-authored by the writer:
Couto, U., & Peralta, R. L. (2020). Sense of community and diaspora festivals: The case of two festivals in Macao. The 5th International Conference on Events – ICE 2020. April 14-17, 2020, Capetown, South Africa
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