October draws to a close with a melancholy air. Days are colder, dead leaves flutter to the ground after a last burst of color, before finally drifting away to be tossed by the winds in all directions. Something about this image that inspires vintage, romantic songs like “Autumn Leaves”… and brings memories of a Love, once held close.

How fitting therefore that the world we know, lets go of October with a celebration of the spirit gone into another realm. In many western worlds, they call it Halloween. Adults dress up like ghosts, zombies, etc. and go about trying to scare each other. Later, though, as an influence of Christianity, the affair has graduated to a more convivial , fun thing. It has become like a children’s costume party with lots of angels, demons, princesses, pirates, cowboys, fairy tale characters, witches, etc. Candies and chocolates greet those who come to the door of houses decorated with lighted pumpkins. “Trick or Treat!”

But in the Philippines, there is the tradition of “All Saints Day” (Todos los Santos or “Undas”) which is a way of remembering dead loved ones by prayers, bringing flowers, and lighting candles at their grave. This custom of going to where loved ones are laid to rest, is a hold-over from the Philippine history of being under Spanish rule hundreds of years ago. In Latin American countries, they call this custom, “Dia de los Muertos,” or Day of the Dead. But again, as in the celebration of Halloween, the solemnity of the day of the dead has become a fiesta of sorts.

People still go to cemeteries primarily to visit the graves of loved ones. But over population has turned cemeteries into cities of the living, for at least a day or two. Grave yards are invaded with bright lights, music blaring from boom boxes, food vendors, balloons, relatives and friends turning the visits into private parties. Nothing wrong with this, as long as you do not disturb others around you. People must honor their dead in their own way. I don’t think the dead mind.

Above (photo) the din of celebration, the underlying theme of recalling those who have gone ahead, has endured. This is what makes Todos los Santos a significant part of the Philippine culture. That no matter how busy the lives of people, Filipino tradition takes time to pause and set aside a day for remembrance. It is said that no one is really gone for good, if those left behind continue to think of them. In the Broadway play of “Les Miserables” there is a beautiful song that expresses this yearning for those who have journeyed ahead:

“There’s a grief that can’t be spoken
There’s a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone…”

Relationships continue beyond death like love waves reaching out, holding on to each other through the mystical distance. In Corinthians 13, it says, “Love endures.” So, in a practical sense, this day of remembering is a way for the living to cope with the reality that life on earth ends, to continue to another level of forever. It helps to see that you are not alone in facing this reality. The idea of Dias de los Muertos is to see others, thousands of others, who feel what you feel. Above all, it strengthens the belief that there is an after-life. For how can you stand facing the pain of missing someone, if there is not the reassurance that “someday in heaven, we will meet again?” The candle you light represents that faith, your hopes, your trust in that faith. When you truly believe that there is a God and a heaven above, you can cope with the left-over sadness of a good bye. There is always a morning that awaits you…beyond the evening of Dia de los Muertos.

Interesting Factoid

In a cemetery in Malabon, Philippines, is an infamous tomb that displays a statue of Satan standing above St. Michael. Many people wanted to tear it down but this ominous edifice was erected at the request of Don Simeon Bernardo, the man who was buried there, in 1934. In order to appease the neighborhood that lived in fear of this demonic presence, the townsfolk decided to enclose the characters in a steel cage somewhere around 1970.

There is a blog in Tumblr.com called Philippine Urban Legends that gets into this in more detail.

click on image for enlargement

Orinially published in 2009.

The post The Day of the Dead: All Saints Day – Dia de los Muertos appeared first on Traveling Boy.

Photos courtesy of Rene Pernia, Iligan City Tourism Office

Viva! September in Iligan City, island of Mindanao, Philippines, is fiesta time. The Iligan fiesta is focused on Michael, “an archangel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He is viewed as the field commander of the Army of God against the Devil’s forces during Lucifer’s uprising in heaven.” (Wikipedia)

Attending the celebrations after years of staying abroad, I was brought back to nostalgia. The tradition of bringing down the ancient statue of Saint Michael to the main altar for main viewing on the first day of the novena, started the festivities with a bang. Literally!

There were heated discussions among the parishioners whether the ritual of putting on the helmet, cape and sword of Saint Michael as he is brought down should be followed or not. Traditionally, the honor of dressing the statue was always given to the town fathers. This time however, the bishop wanted to emphasize the separation of Chuch and State. The ceremonial donning of helmet, cape and sword was omitted.

The new ritual lead participants from the civil side: Iligan City Police Chief, Senior Supt. Celso Regencia holds the bunch of flowers, symbol of peace, that he will offer at the altar; Mayor Cruz is ready to go to the altar with his offering of lighted candle; Rep. Belmonte has just returned from offering the Holy Bible, quite in contrast to the ritual in previous years.

Before Vatican Council II, the image of the patron saint was the dominant icon in the altar of the Catholic Church. At the Iligan Cathedral today, the image of the Risen Lord dominates. (That is Mayor Cruz offering the lighted candle.)

The image of the patron saint is up the right side of the altar. Pagpakanaug refers to transferring the image to a lower platform, for easier access when taking it out for the procession, and also to put it within reach of the venerating faithful.

There are always two sides of the question. “Tradition!” shouted one side. “Politics!”said the other. The dilemma of tradition pitted against modern times, is as old as when men started to organize themselves as a social unit.

In the end, when all was said and done, a reasonable balance of power prevailed. The dressing up of the statue was done already when it was brought down to the altar, so there was no need for the Mayor and other government officials to take center stage and do the honors. Instead, the dignitaries were given place during the offertory of the Catholic Mass that followed. The Mayor, the Congressman, and the Chief of Police marched down the altar bearing symbols. The congressman carried the bible, the Mayor held a lighted candle, and the City Police Director had flowers. The latter was worth noting because the flowers symbolized peace.

In less than one hour the procession was over, from the Cathedral on Quezon Avenue, turned right to Cabili Avenue, right to Sabayle Street, left on Mariano Badelles Street, right on Roxas Avenue, right to Quezon Avenue back to the Cathedral. Photo shows the 6-lane Cabili filled by the participants. The 6 a.m. procession was faster because the image of Saint Michael the Archangel was this time positioned on a vehicle, instead of the human-pulled carriage as was done in the past.

Rep. Belmonte and Mayor Cruz watch the chopping up of this lechon (roasted pig), one of the 60 in the contest, to be eaten by the fiesta goers on Pagpakanaug Day, Sept. 20. This lechon festival is an idea of Councilor Marlene Young in support of Iligan’s Lechon Industry.

The rest of the traditions went on… the street dancing, the pageantry of costumes, the culminating drama of the fight of the good angels led by Saint Michael, against the bad angels who followed Lucifer. It ended with the glorious victory of God’s forces of Light. All’s well that ends well. Viva, Senor San Miguel!

Diyandi male dancers

Diyandi female dancers of the Higaunon tribe, natives of Iligan. Some have converted to Islam, some to Catholicism.

Young school children from Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, a town with a predominantly Maranao (Muslim) population, won first prize in the KSD contest. Note the locally manufactured handicrafts and attire won by the participants.

The Kiwalan street dancers won third prize.

For many decades, the Pagpakanaug ritual called for the taking down of San Miguel’s helmet to be handed to the Congressman, the spear to be handed to the mayor and the shield to be handed to the Chief of Police The image is now “lowered” without a change in vestment; the offering of the flower, the candle and the Holy Bible is now set in place.

During one of the many celebration parties we attended, the conversation centered on the traditions in Iligan City which have faded away from memory. One of the lamented ones was the ringing of the church bells during angelus, which was 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM everyday. It used to be that wherever they are, or whatever they happened to be doing, people would stop when the bells rung. They bowed their heads in silence and pray the Hail Mary angelus to honor the Virgin Mother. This only took a few minutes, but the pause was enough to remind the faithful of God’s presence in each life.

I remember, as a child, that wherever my brothers and I would be, as soon as we heard the Angelus, we ran as fast as we could for home. If we arrived late for prayers, we were made to kneel an hour before the altar with our arms outstretched. (Not really an hour, because in those days, no one watched the clock.) The humiliation and the younger cousins smirking at our ordeal, was enough to shame us not to be late again. In retrospect, I believe this was a good way for parents to check that the children were home before dark. Perhaps, if we still had that custom now, there would be less juvenile crime. Who knows?

Another way of checking on the older children, was the ringing of church bells at 8:00 PM. Unlike the angelus bells, this time, the bells sounded solmemn. “Gong! Gong! Gong!” To my child’s mind, it said, “The evil spirits will be roaming now. Go to bed! Go to bed!” My Mama would then tell us that it was time to say our good night prayers.

I liked it best when it was my grandma, Lola Ica, who would tuck me to bed. She taught me this prayer in Visayan. “Angel kong magbalantay/ Santos kong sangay/ Imo akong bantayan/ Sa akong pagkatulog. Sa ulo ko ug ti-ilan / sa sigkakilid ko magtimbang / Si Jesus and akong guimatan….” The gist of the prayer was asking for God’s grace and requesting Him to send angels to watch over my sleep, with Jesus above me, Mary and Joseph on each side. Then I would shiver under my blankets so grateful to be snug in bed , well protected. I felt so safe and secure then.

Speaking of Lola Ica, there is another tradition which makes me remember her so fondly. It was the “cantada.” Whenever it was the birthday of anyone in the family, she would wake up at dawn, then light the candles at the altar and wake everyone up. We would come in one by one, sometimes grumbling, sometimes just drowsily drop to the floor in front of the altar and go on sleeping. But we kids would soon awaken to the sound of singing. It was the “cantada” led by Lola Ica. With a strong voice she led the singing of praise to God, to thank him for the birth of —- (Here, she would mention the name of the birthday celebrant) — for making him part of our lives. Then everyone joins in the singing of praises to God, his angels, his saints , followed by the Ave Maria.

Looking back, I see now the importance of the cantada in the family. It made each one who celebrates a birthday feel esteemed. One may have rough times or feel ignored in the family at certain times in the year. But when one’s birthday comes, we can be sure that everyone remembers. As the family prays together for you and your life, you feel important. The mellow voices soft in the cool dawn, the candles lit on a dim altar; the lightening sky seen through the window; and the solemn faces of family members who gave up their sleep to thank God for you… What a manifestation of family love.

Thus, we in that party talked of tradition. But actually, I think, we were thinking and missing the family ties and community customs that held us when we were growing up. That life style only lives in memory now. But those of our generation who were part of it will always remember, and smile. Viva fiesta!

Part of the crowd that listened to the mayor at the Anahaw Amphitheatre near the city hall.

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