For the longest time, I had wanted to grace once again the Sinulog Fiesta in Cebu. However, work schedule always get in the way. This year , I found myself again in the same situation. Not wanting to miss out on the chance to celebrate the Feast of Sto Nino, I sought out the next best option, which was to find out how this is celebrated in Metro Manila. There are places in the metropolis that have their own celebration of the Sto Nino Feast day. In the district of Pandacan in Manila, the Feast of Sto Nino is celebrated every 3rd sunday of January and activities start a week before.
On the Saturday before the Feast day of the Sto Nino, Pandacan residents don colourful Filipino attire and take to the streets in a dance celebration. This is the Buling-buling. And so, on 15 January , a Saturday, I took a short break from my paper chase to experience a different kind of celebration.
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| the Pandacan Church, the center of the Buling-buling celebration |
The Buling-buling organised jointly by the Roman Catholic Parish and the Iglesia Filipina Independente (Aglipayan Church) of Pandacan. That is wonderful to note. It is also the local community, working together for the successful staging of the festival.
Just before 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Aglipayan Parish Priest together with the Hermano & Hermana Mayor and their congregation, walk 2 blocks over to the Pandacan Roman Catholic Parish to meet the other congregation.
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| the Aglipayan Congregation headed by their Parish Priest (center) and the Hermana & Hermano Mayor (at the back) |
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| the Roman Catholic Parish Priest (center) meets his Aglipayan counterpart. |
Witnessing the meeting of the 2 congregations gives one goose bumps. It was a poignant moment which symbolises ecumenism for 2 rival Catholic faiths. The first time I experienced such an event.
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| the 2 heads of congregations prepare for the march |
At exactly 3 o'clock in the afternoon the bells of the Pandacan Church started to peal, signaling the commencement of the march to Liwasang Balagtas.
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the march to Liwasang Balagas begins |
The congregation reached Liwasang Balagtas, while a choir of children welcomed them with a rendition of 'Alleluia'. An ecumenical prayer service lasting around 30 minutes was held. The service was presided over by the Roman Catholic Parish Priest together with his Aglipayan counterpart.
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| the ecumenical prayer service |
The prayer service started with opening prayers, followed by the singing of 'Papuri sa Diyos', the Liturgy of the Word, the Gospel, the singing of the Lord's Prayer and the final blessings.
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| the 2 congregations sing the Lord's prayer together |
It was wonderful for 2 Catholic congregations to pray together. What a memorable moment it was when the 2 congregations sang together the 'Papuri' and later on the 'Ama Namin'. It gave a lot of meaning to these prayer songs. The prayer service showed us that 2 rival Catholic groups can come and pray together. At the end of the prayer service, the final blessings were given after which the 2 images of the Sto Nino de Pandacan were brought by both Parish Priests to the carosa.
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| the 2 images of the Sto Nino de Pandacan are brought to the carosa |
The Buling-buling then finally started with the 2 Parish Priests blessing the crowds along the way of the parade route.
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| the acolytes at the head of the Bulng-buling march |
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| the Aglipay and Roman Catholic Parish Priests bless the congregations |
During the street parade, the participants danced the traditional buling-buling to the jumpy sound of a marching band. What differentiates this street dancing from those of other fiestas is that it is based on a centuries old tradition. It doesn't have noisy drummers with dancers who 'dance' their patron's image after which they shout "viva!" for their patron. In contrast, the Buling-buling participants do a dance of praise and thanksgiving for the Sto Nino. They have marching bands and dancers follow the classic dance movement doing steps left and right with arms swinging in tempo.
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| the Buling-buling dance |
The street dancing passes through the banderitas-strewn streets of Pandacan.
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| Buling-buling passes through decorated streets like this |
Upon reaching the Aglipayan Church, the bells of the church peal and the Aglipayan Parish Priest shakes the hand of his Roman Catholic counterpart in a fond farewell.
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| the Aglipayan Church |
The Roman Catholic party then continues on to the Pandacan Parish Church. At the end of the procession, the image of the Sto Nino is met again with pealing bells. The Parish Priest then blesses the image of the Sto Nino before it is enthroned in the main altar.
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| The Roman Catholic Parish Priest blesses the St Nino image |
The Buling-buling is a wonderful showcase of ecumenism, community spirit and thanksgiving. Though this may last only for around 3 hours and may not be as grand as the Sinulog, Dinagyan or Ati-atihan, what it lacks in duration it makes up for good-natured gaiety. It is also not commercialised as I didn't notice any big banners and banderitas advertising telecom companies. Neither did I notice trucks of comercial sponsors which usually accompany the tail end of any commercialised fiesta parade. There were no mobile fastfood outlets which sadly is a fixture in most fiestas in the country where the traditional spirit has started to erode.
The festivities having ended, I went home feeling good to have graced the Buling-buling. It was a a wonderful experience and because of it, you get a kind of 'high' that lingers on through the whole week. What I am happy about is knowing that a tradition is still alive and preserved in this day and age. We do hope that this tradition will continue to go on and will not be commercialised. Buling-buling is a slice of the traditional rural experience in a thoroughly urban setting. If you are looking for a pocket-sized fiesta that is accessible, this one fits the bill and it is right in your doorstep.
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