(The San Jose de Placér Parish Church
in Iloilo City, Philippines)
There are many ways on how we express our
devotion to Jesus, and there’s one such expression where the celebration is
more than just praying. It’s also dancing and singing!
On the feast day of the Santo Niño, the
Child Jesus, who is at the center of the most popular festivals of Cebu
(Sinulog), Kalibo (Ati-Atihan), and Iloilo City (Dinagyang), all in the Philippines, the Catholic
church and devotees organize and hold extravagant parades in His honor, and I
was lucky to have attended one in Iloilo City. And I was happy I did!
Every January, on the eve of the last day
of the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City, Ilonggos gather in front of the San
Jose de Placer Parish Church next to the Plaza Libertad to sing and dance with their Sto. Niños. This is called religious sadsad.
(Inside the church is brightly lit for
the special occasion)
At around 7 PM, right after the holy mass
at the San Jose de Placer Parish Church the day before the Dinagyang Festival’s
main competition, I join the hundreds of devotees right in front of the
church where adults and kids alike carry all sizes of Sto. Niños –
from baby Sto. Niño to child-sized ones – all dressed in fancy costumes and
colors.
‘Sadsad’ is a Visayan word that means dancing, and a religious ‘sadsad’ is an activity where devotees dance and sing to express their gratitude and devotion to the Sto. Niño, an activity that is both religious and cultural, and participated in by Ilonggo devotees of all ages in front of the San Jose de Placér Parish Church, a church that has seen history for more than 400 years as its site was founded in 1607 and its belfries were built in the 1890s by Ilonggo laborers. Its bells have been summoning Ilonggos to church for more than a century with its sound heard all the way to the neighboring Guimaras Island depending on the direction of the Panay breezes.
‘Sadsad’ is a Visayan word that means dancing, and a religious ‘sadsad’ is an activity where devotees dance and sing to express their gratitude and devotion to the Sto. Niño, an activity that is both religious and cultural, and participated in by Ilonggo devotees of all ages in front of the San Jose de Placér Parish Church, a church that has seen history for more than 400 years as its site was founded in 1607 and its belfries were built in the 1890s by Ilonggo laborers. Its bells have been summoning Ilonggos to church for more than a century with its sound heard all the way to the neighboring Guimaras Island depending on the direction of the Panay breezes.
(Devotees dance and chant during
the religious sadsad)
With rhythmic music blasting from a
loudspeaker installed at the entrance of the church, a commentator leads the
chanting while the devotees dance, moving their feet from left to
right, and sway while raising their Sto. Niño. In front of the church where a
small stage was set up, a huge Sto. Niño stands and is being wiped non-stop with handkerchiefs
brought by devotees.
The devotion to the Sto. Niño dates back to
the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in the Philippines, almost 500 years ago,
when only a handful of natives were converted to Christianity. And I stand among the thousands of devotees dancing, I was fascinated by the most
expressive celebration of faith I have ever witnessed, and I, too, joined in
their prayers of gratitude, continued blessings, and peace and safety while
everyone cheers the Child Jesus with
“Viva! Señor Sto. Niño!”