Obando Fertility Rites
Encyclopedia
The Obando Fertility Rites is a Filipino
dance ritual. Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo
materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan
, Philippines
wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of their patron saints San Pascual Baylon (St. Paschal), Santa Clara (St. Clare
) and Nuestra Señora de Salambao (Our Lady of Salambao
), while singing the song Santa Clara Pinung-Pino.
participants in the fertility dance are outsiders from other towns in the Philippines; most are asking the patron saints for a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife or good fortune. They dance on the streets as a form of a religious procession primarily in order for the spirit of life to enter into the wombs of women. This is the magic and mystery of Obando, Bulacan.
The feast days are held for three consecutive days with dancing: May 17 for St. Paschal, May 18 for St. Clare and May 19 for the Our Lady of Salambao.
The Philippine national hero, José Rizal
, mentioned this fertility dance ritual in his 1887 Spanish
novel, Noli Me Tangere
(Chapter 6: Captain Tiago).
The Feast usually starts in the morning of May 17, with the mass of the current Parish Priest. Afterwards, the procession of the three Saints will follow, followed by the dancing of the devotees and the musical band. This continues for the duration of the festival, with the image of the particular Patron Saint of the day leading the procession.
is the oldest patron saint of Obando, Bulacan. She was the first saint to be enshrined at the chapel built by the Franciscan missionaries in Catanghalan, the old name of Obando Town.
St. Clare was a nun in Assisi, Italy, during the 13th century, who founded a congregation known as the Poor Clares based on the devotional teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Clare has been considered the patron saint of good weather because her Spanish name meant the brightening of the skies after a season of storms, which later became the basis why the residents of Obando, Bulacan, believed in offering eggs at the base of the altar of St. Clare to pray for good weather. Eggs are offered to St. Clare because her name also means claro (albumen) in Spanish.
The introduction of St. Clare by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries as a replacement for the pagan gods of the ancient Filipinos resulted in the transformation of the old Kasilonawan ritual into the offering of the fandango
or dance for St. Clare to prevent women from becoming barren. This transformation from pagan rituals to Christian ceremonies enhanced the conversion of Filipinos to Catholicism
.
Eventually, St. Clare became the pilgrim’s patron saint of an individual who would like to request for a mate and to bear children, female babies in particular.
, or San Pascual Baylon, was introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Like St. Clare, he also became the patron saint of fertility, wealth and abundance. St. Paschal’s surname, Baylon, was taken to mean "one who likes dancing", ultimately derived from the Spanish word bailar, the verb form of "dance".
There is an anecdote about a miracle St. Paschal worked that tells of a childless couple from the neighbouring town of Hagonoy, Bulacan
. They encountered a crab vendor who recommended that the couple to go to Obando to participate in the mid-May dance ritual in order to ameliorate their condition. Upon arrival at the Obando Church, the couple was stunned when they discovered that the face of the image of St. Paschal inside the church looked exactly like the face of the crab vendor they had met earlier. This story forms the basis for St. Paschal's patronage of childless couples who wish to have children, particularly male babies.
, also known by the long title "Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
of Salambao", was also introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Local legend narrates the miraculous discovery of the Virgin Mary's image when three fishermen named Juan, Julian, and Diego dela Cruz caught it with their salambaw, a fishing net supported with bamboo crosspieces and mounted on a raft. At the time they were fishing at a place known as Hulingduong, Binwangan, at the town of Tambobong or Malabon. When the fishermen decided to bring the image of the Virgin Mary to the neighbouring town of Navotas, their fishing boat suddenly became heavy and immobile. When they eventually decided to bring the image to Obando, their fishing boat quickly lightened and became easy to paddle. Thus, the image of the Our Lady of Salambao was added to the high altar of the Obando church. Our Lady of Salambao eventually became the patron saint of fishermen and a good harvest.
In 1972, the new parish priest Rev. Fr. Rome R. Fernandez and the Komisyon ng Kalinangan (Commission on Culture of Obando) helped in removing the ban on the ancient tradition and revived its practise which still continues to this day.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
dance ritual. Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan
Obando, Bulacan
Obando is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. It is 16 kilometers away from the Philippine capital Manila. Obando is landlocked, bordered by two cities from Metro Manila namely Valenzuela City in the east, Navotas and Malabon City in the south, Bulacan in the north,...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of their patron saints San Pascual Baylon (St. Paschal), Santa Clara (St. Clare
Clare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi , born Chiara Offreduccio, is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi...
) and Nuestra Señora de Salambao (Our Lady of Salambao
Our Lady of Salambao
"Our Lady of Salambao" is one of the three patron saints of the town Obando, Bulacan, near Manila in the Philippines...
), while singing the song Santa Clara Pinung-Pino.
Festivities
Among the fiestaFestival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
participants in the fertility dance are outsiders from other towns in the Philippines; most are asking the patron saints for a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife or good fortune. They dance on the streets as a form of a religious procession primarily in order for the spirit of life to enter into the wombs of women. This is the magic and mystery of Obando, Bulacan.
The feast days are held for three consecutive days with dancing: May 17 for St. Paschal, May 18 for St. Clare and May 19 for the Our Lady of Salambao.
The Philippine national hero, José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, mentioned this fertility dance ritual in his 1887 Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
novel, Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
(Chapter 6: Captain Tiago).
The Feast usually starts in the morning of May 17, with the mass of the current Parish Priest. Afterwards, the procession of the three Saints will follow, followed by the dancing of the devotees and the musical band. This continues for the duration of the festival, with the image of the particular Patron Saint of the day leading the procession.
Saint Clare
St. ClareClare of Assisi
Clare of Assisi , born Chiara Offreduccio, is an Italian saint and one of the first followers of Saint Francis of Assisi...
is the oldest patron saint of Obando, Bulacan. She was the first saint to be enshrined at the chapel built by the Franciscan missionaries in Catanghalan, the old name of Obando Town.
St. Clare was a nun in Assisi, Italy, during the 13th century, who founded a congregation known as the Poor Clares based on the devotional teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Clare has been considered the patron saint of good weather because her Spanish name meant the brightening of the skies after a season of storms, which later became the basis why the residents of Obando, Bulacan, believed in offering eggs at the base of the altar of St. Clare to pray for good weather. Eggs are offered to St. Clare because her name also means claro (albumen) in Spanish.
The introduction of St. Clare by the Spanish Franciscan missionaries as a replacement for the pagan gods of the ancient Filipinos resulted in the transformation of the old Kasilonawan ritual into the offering of the fandango
Fandango
Fandango is a lively couple's dance, usually in triple metre, traditionally accompanied by guitars and castanets or hand-clapping . Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has an instrumental introduction followed by "variaciones"...
or dance for St. Clare to prevent women from becoming barren. This transformation from pagan rituals to Christian ceremonies enhanced the conversion of Filipinos to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
.
Eventually, St. Clare became the pilgrim’s patron saint of an individual who would like to request for a mate and to bear children, female babies in particular.
Lyrics of the song or novena to St. Clare
- "Santa Clarang pinong-pino / Ako po ay bigyan mo / Ng asawang labintatlo / Sa gastos 'di magreklamo!"
- (English translation: "Saint Clare, most refined / Upon me please bestow / Spouses thirteen in all / As for the expense, I won’t complain!)
- A variation: "Santa Clarang pinong-pino / Ang pangako ko ay ganito / Pagdating ko sa Obando / Sasayaw ako ng pandanggo."
- (English translation: "Saint Clare, most refined / My promise is as such / When I arrive at Obando / I shall dance the fandango.")
St. Paschal
During the 18th century, after the founding of Obando, Bulacan, as a Spanish municipality, the Franciscan missionaries built a church. At that time St. PaschalPaschal Baylon
Saint Paschal Baylon was a Spanish friar and is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He is the patron saint of Eucharistic congresses and Eucharistic associations.-Life:...
, or San Pascual Baylon, was introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Like St. Clare, he also became the patron saint of fertility, wealth and abundance. St. Paschal’s surname, Baylon, was taken to mean "one who likes dancing", ultimately derived from the Spanish word bailar, the verb form of "dance".
There is an anecdote about a miracle St. Paschal worked that tells of a childless couple from the neighbouring town of Hagonoy, Bulacan
Hagonoy, Bulacan
Hagonoy is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2007 NSO census, it has a population of 126,329 inhabitants distributed in 25,900 households. It is the birthplace of Former Senator Blas F...
. They encountered a crab vendor who recommended that the couple to go to Obando to participate in the mid-May dance ritual in order to ameliorate their condition. Upon arrival at the Obando Church, the couple was stunned when they discovered that the face of the image of St. Paschal inside the church looked exactly like the face of the crab vendor they had met earlier. This story forms the basis for St. Paschal's patronage of childless couples who wish to have children, particularly male babies.
Our Lady of Salambao
On June 19, 1763, the image of Our Lady of SalambaoOur Lady of Salambao
"Our Lady of Salambao" is one of the three patron saints of the town Obando, Bulacan, near Manila in the Philippines...
, also known by the long title "Our Lady of Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
of Salambao", was also introduced to Obando, Bulacan. Local legend narrates the miraculous discovery of the Virgin Mary's image when three fishermen named Juan, Julian, and Diego dela Cruz caught it with their salambaw, a fishing net supported with bamboo crosspieces and mounted on a raft. At the time they were fishing at a place known as Hulingduong, Binwangan, at the town of Tambobong or Malabon. When the fishermen decided to bring the image of the Virgin Mary to the neighbouring town of Navotas, their fishing boat suddenly became heavy and immobile. When they eventually decided to bring the image to Obando, their fishing boat quickly lightened and became easy to paddle. Thus, the image of the Our Lady of Salambao was added to the high altar of the Obando church. Our Lady of Salambao eventually became the patron saint of fishermen and a good harvest.
Ban and revival after World War II
During World War II, the church and a large portion of Obando were ravaged by fire and included among the damaged properties were the images of the three patron saints. A few years after the war, the Archbishop of Manila and the Obando parish priest forbade the practise of the fertility dance because of its pagan origin. During this prohibition, normal religious processions were still conducted but without the lively street dancing.In 1972, the new parish priest Rev. Fr. Rome R. Fernandez and the Komisyon ng Kalinangan (Commission on Culture of Obando) helped in removing the ban on the ancient tradition and revived its practise which still continues to this day.
External links and further readings
- Laya, Jaime C. and Michael Van D. Yonzon. Through the Years, Brightly: The Tadtarin, and Joaquin, Nick. The Summer Solstice, PIA.gov, retrieved on: 09 June 2007
See also
- Obando, BulacanObando, BulacanObando is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. It is 16 kilometers away from the Philippine capital Manila. Obando is landlocked, bordered by two cities from Metro Manila namely Valenzuela City in the east, Navotas and Malabon City in the south, Bulacan in the north,...
- Obando ChurchObando ChurchThe Obando Church or the Church of Obando is one of the oldest and most historic churches in the Philippines. Its parish is located at the town of Obando in the province of Bulacan, on the island of Luzon...
- Colegio de San Pascual BaylonColegio de San Pascual BaylonColegio de San Pascual Baylon or the College of St. Paschal Baylon Colegio de San Pascual Baylon or the College of St. Paschal Baylon Colegio de San Pascual Baylon or the College of St. Paschal Baylon (CSPB, formerly Escuela Catolica [Catholic School] and St. Pascual Institution (SPI) is a...
- San Lorenzo Ruiz
- Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
- Jeronima de la AsuncionJerónima de la AsunciónThe Servant of God Mother Jeronima of the Assumption, P.C.C. was the foundress of the first Catholic monastery in Manila and the Far East. Mother Jermonia's monastery became known as the Monastery of Saint Clare in Intramuros, Philippines...
- Religious of the Virgin MaryReligious of the Virgin MaryThe Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary is a ecclesiastical community of vowed religious Roman Catholic women of pontifical right and approval founded in Manila, Philippines. The community was founded in 1684 by Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, a Filipino Roman Catholic...
- Pontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio Filippino is the college of Filipino diocesan priests studying at pontifical universities in Rome, Italy. It was formally established as an institution with pontifical rights by Pope Blessed John XXIII on June 29, 1961 through the Papal Bull Sancta Mater Ecclesia...
- The First Filipino NunMartha de San BernardoMartha de San Bernardo was the first Filipina Catholic nun in both Philippine and world history.-Biography:De San Bernardo belonged to an affluent and influential family in Pampanga, and was a ladina, a Spanish-speaking Filipina that had no Spanish lineage...
- Sexuality in the PhilippinesSexuality in the PhilippinesSexuality and sensuality in the Philippines or Filipino sexuality refers to human sexuality and sensuality as perceived, expressed, experienced, and valued by the Filipino people. This encompasses sexual behavior, sexual practices, and sexual activities exhibited by Filipino men and women of the...
External links
- Obando Fertility Rites, Around the World in 80 Faiths at BBC.com