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| Devotees dancing the pandanggo |
The celebration of Fiesta is a tradition that has deeply penetrated the veins of every Christianized Filipinos of whatever ethnic group. The commemoration of the
Santo Patron’s feast day is a celebration of the best that the town has to offer in thanksgiving for the many blessings that had been bestowed to the people and the devotees in the previous year through the intercession of the town’s patron saint and to pray for the same abundance and blessing for the coming year. The highlight of the celebrations would be the
Misa Concelebrada to be presided usually, by the Local Ordinary with priests from other parishes in the diocese concelebrating, and a grand procession in the afternoon participated in by the townsfolk and devotees coming from different places to pay homage and reverence to the
Santo Patron.  |
| The Three Patron Saints of Obando |
Fiesta in the Town of Obando
But in the town of Obando, Bulacan, the celebration of the fiesta has been made famous far and wide because of one unusual element – a fertility dance that serves as a panata, or a form of a promise by couples whose longing for a child had been fulfilled, and a form of supplication for the blessing of a child for those couple who are still childless.
Another distinct feature of the Obando fiesta, is that it lasts for three consecutive days, honoring one of its three patron saints each day. From May 17 to 19 each year, the church of San Pascual Baylon draws throngs of devotees from various places which include childless couples, individuals looking for a partner in life, farmers and fishermen as well as tourists to join in the three-day festivities in honor of Obando’s three patron saints. They attend mass, pray in the church and participate in the long procession enlivened by the dancing of the devotees. Childless couples, enthralled by stories of people who had struggled for years to have children, and suddenly were able to after visiting the church or participating in the dancing during the fiesta, would join in the dancing.
Such couples would pray and hope for the same miracle, joining those who are namamanata, in fulfillment of a vow in thanksgiving for the children whom they believe were born through the patrons’ intercession.
Early History of Obando
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| Santa Clara, patron saint of childless couples |
Obando which used to be a part of the town of Meycauan was established on May 14, 1753. The town was named after the incumbent Governor-General of the couintry at that time, Don Jose Francisco Solis de Obando. It used to be called Catangalan (Catanghalan).
In 1588, Catangalan was declared an encomienda under the supervision of a native Don Felipe Armanlalangui. There were around 800 inhabitants in the area at that time and their main pre-occupation was farming and fishing.
The early settlers of Catangalan could have followed a set of tradition and belief system concerning their life, death, faith and government.
They could have also performed some forms of rituals in order to please or appease their deities. Among these is the fertility ritual of Kasilonawan, headed by a katalonan or high priestess. The ritual normally lasts for 9 days which was celebrated with much drinking, singing and dancing. The ritual was held in the home of the datu, the head of the barangay.
Fertility was an important element of primitive cultures because it ensures the survival of the tribe. Sterile women were considered low class citizens and were mocked by society. Hence, a ritual to heal women of their sterility was of primary importance. The deity they called linga was the center of the Kasilonawan ritual. The native Filipinos celebrated and believed that their lives and destiny were in the hands of nature.
For many years, Catangalan remained as a small village. Until the Franciscan missionaries established a chapel in Catangalan and there, they enshrined an image of St. Clare, hence St. Clare became the first patron saint of Obando.
Tbe present day Parish of San Pascual Baylon and also the Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Senora de la Inmaculada Concepcion de Salambao was established by Franciscan missionaries under the leadership of Fr. Manuel de Olivencia, the first curate of Obando on April 29, 1754. The church was destroyed during the liberation war of 1945 and was later on rebuilt in 1947 through the efforts of Fr. Marcos Punzal, the parish priest.
Origins of the 3 Patron Saints and Feast Days
As to the reason why there are three patron saints and three feast days in the town of Obando, there are no records as to how the said feasts originated. But Obando has for long been the “town of three saints’ since its earliest history. Two of the patron saints, San Pascual Baylon and Santa Clara ng Assisi are indicative of the influence of the Franciscans who ministered in the area even before the parish’s foundation in 1753.
The third patron, the Nuestra Senora de Salambao is an image of the Virgin Mary said to have been fished out in nearby waters in 1763. The image was enshrined in Obando church along with the images of the two other saints. Records say that the feast days of the three patron saints were already being celebrated during the Spanish colonial period.
The fertility dance on the other hand is likely the Christianized version of the pre-Spanish fertility celebration called kasilonawan, where local babaylans (dancers) danced as a form of offering to the deities of nature. It appears that the Friars infused Christian elements to this ritual by substituting Christian saints for the native’s deities, with Santa Clara taking on the role of preventing and curing infertility and later on adopting it as a purely Christian festival.
The connection between the life stories of Santa Clara and San Pascual Baylon and the particular causes they represent in Obando is difficult to establish. The Universal Church celebrates San Pascual Baylon’s feast day on May 17. His name could have been chosen because it sounds like the world baile, Spanish for dance. Sta. Clara’s feast occurs in August, but for centuries in Obando, it has been always been celebrated on May 18, perhaps to supplant the pre-Christian fertility ritual on that day. Elsewhere in the Philippines, Santa Clara is also sought for issues on fertility and also symbolically connected to eggs, but still the connection is difficult to discern because Santa Clara is a celibate nun. The feast day of the Our Lady of Salambao, the local patron is observed every May 19. The image of the Virgin occupies the most prominent place in the church’s retablo mayor.
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| Musikong Bumbong of Obando, Bulacan |
Local legend says that in 1763, three fishermen from neighboring Malabon went fishing in Manila Bay when their net, locally called a salambao, suddenly fished the statue of the Virgin from the waters. When the brothers tried to take the Virgin to their hometown, the boat became heavy and would not move, but when they propelled their vessel towards the direction of Obando, the boat moved swiftly. They concluded that it was a sign that the Virgin wanted to be enshrined in Obando. The image was enshrined in the church of Obando and is portrayed with nets around her. Though found in June 19, which might have been appropriately chosen as her feast day, the feast day chosen was May 19 to link it to the two other feast days so as to create a three day town feast.
Because of word of mouth testimonies of childless couples who miraculously conceived a child by going on a pilgrimage to Obando and participate in the fertility dance, its fame reached many places in the country. As a matter of fact, the country's national hero, Jose Rizal, even mentioned this tradition in his novel, Noli Me Tangere.
Pilgrims coming from various provinces would arrive carried by boats and barges with multi-colored decorations and receive accommodations from the hospitable people of Obando and would stay in the town until the festivities ended. The most common form of payment in exchange for their accommodation and food was through the purchase of candles being sold by the household.
The Obando Fertility Dance continued until the latter part of the American colonization of the Philippines.
During the second world war, the church and most parts of the town were set in to fire by the Japanese and the original image of the Virgin and the other images did not survive the fire. New, larger images were commissioned to take their places through the generosity of some families and confraternities.
Due to its association with pre-Christian pagan practices, the dance was banned by Church authorities for years after the war. But the people's devotion could not be stopped. Devotees would still discreetly dance the pandanggo as the procession passed by the streets.
Revival of the Fertility Dance
Only in 1972 when the street dancing ritual was revived through the effort of then parish priest Fr. Rome Fernandez who collaborated with the local Commission on Culture of Obando for the lifting of the ban.
There was a renewed energy and enthusiasm all around. The procession suddenly became alive once more. The trombone musicians came back and the images of the three patron saints were dressed up and given homage and veneration through never-ending dancing.
The original Sayaw sa Obando was danced to the tune of “Santa Clarang Pinung-pino,” (St. Clare, Most Refined). As European and Filipino traditions blended, parishioners danced dressed in the local baro’t saya. They borrowed the pandanggo, and a combination of various dance steps and added some hip, hands and feet movements to “make the Spirit of Life enter womb.”
Santa Clara, pinung-pino
Ang pangako ko ay ganito
Pagdating ko sa Obando
Sasayaw ako ng pandanggo
The Three Feast Days
Each of the feast days follows the same format. It begins with a mass at dawn, and in the procession, the saint whose feast day it was, is placed in front of the procession while the two others follow behind in the procession.
Boiled eggs with color-coded ribbons which stand for a particular intention: for a good life, material and financial well-being, good spirit, enlightened mind, good health and, for a blessing of a child are offered to Santa Clara.
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| Retablo Mayor of Obando Church |
Masses are held hourly throughout the morning. At around 8 in the morning, a procession begins in the plaza in front of the church participated in by several marching bands, dancers and pilgrims. Five groups of dancers, each with a marching band to back them up, dressed in distinct costumes of baro’t saya, dance the same choreographed steps. The Musikong Bumbong, a musical band with bamboo instruments from Obando always goes first. The costumed dancers in the procession are not usually the people who are praying for children themselves, but they pray for, and lead, those who are.
The mode of the dance today has been choreographed with five basic steps, each of which has a silent prayer component:
1. Dancers clasp their hands with the thumbs pointed upward toward the heart while waltzing and praying, “Lord, we believe You will give us a child.”
2. Women dancers’ arms and hands move as if to push their abdomen upward while the men hold their arms and hands at their back, both praying, “Lord, please heal me.”
3. Women dancers move their palms clockwise as if massaging their abdomen, and point to the heavens, while the men dance with their hands at their back, also pointing to the heavens praying, “Lord, please give us a child.”
4. Couples join hands together to show unity and love for each other so as to have a child.
5. Couples waltz together with their arms swaying from left to right as thanksgiving.
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| Obando Church |
Masses continue to be celebrated in the parish church until the procession returns and the image of the patron saint whose feast day is being celebrated that day, is brought up towards the altar.
Generally, the three patron saints’ feast is associated with particular intentions. During the feast of San Pascual Baylon, devotees pray to find a life partner. Sta. Clara on the other hand is invoked for fertility and a child, and Our Lady of Salambao with guidance about religious vocation or blessing for a good fortune. Those couples who are praying for a child would usually come during the feast of Sta. Clara while some devotees believe that if the couple wanted a baby boy, they should come during the feast of San Pascual Baylon. But the couple asking for the 3 saints’ intercession may participate in all of the three feast days.
On the feast day of Santa Clara, the parish priest would present to the congregation a couple who was able to conceive a child through the intercession of Santa Clara, by participating in her feast day the previous year. The mother presents the baby to the congregation as they cheered for such blessing received by the couple.
References:
Obando: Feasts of the Three Saints and Fetility Dance retrieved from https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/feasts-holy-days/obando-feast-three-saints-philippines. on June 18, 2020.
Obando: Legend of a Dance retrieved from https://obandopilipinas.wordpress.com/about-obando/about/ on June 23, 2020.
Photos: CTTO
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