Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sinulog in Cebu City

Time flies so fast, I didn’t realize I’ve been missing a lot of celebration back in my hometown. One of them is the Sinulog, the fiest in honor of senyor Sto. Nino. I used to go in a procession, light a candle, say a prayer and offer a dance. In 9 days of celebration, group of people from different establishmentsand companys or schools offer their own prayer through dancing and shouting PIT SENYOR! As one of the member of teachers dance troop in the school i was working before, we always had this dance halad (dance offering) at the fuente osmena and a dance prayer at the basilica church pilgrimage area. I heard from my friend there, that they have been practicing for the sinulog sa kabataan dance. This week is the sinulog festival celebration.The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines. The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity. The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which is “like water current movement,” which describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance.


Here is a tidbits of history how it arrived in cebu.

Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in honor of their wooden idols and anitos. Then Magellan came and introduced Christianity. He gave the Sto. Nino (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cubu’s Rajah Humabon who was later named Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about 800 of their subjects. Unfortunately however, shortly after the conversation, Magellan went into reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of Mactan, Rajah Lapu-lapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the encounter. That was last April 27, 1521.
From then on, the celebration of sinulog become a tradition to all of us who believed in the miracle of the Senyor Sto. NiÑo. As the year passed a lot of toursist go there to witness the said celebration.
Sinulog is a nine-day fiesta celebration in honor of Sto. Nino. The celebration entails two major activities: the religious procession on a Saturday and the grand street parade the following day.

8 comments:

kathy January 15, 2010 at 11:29 AM  

Agoy! dancerous diay ka sis? daw beh, sample.. sample... hehehhee...

Hay bibo na sila didto, si dhemz ray nabulahan sa atong tnan.. hehehe

Cge lng ugma'g naa na imong airplane, ubana bya dayon ko ha...

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Mel Alarilla January 15, 2010 at 12:40 PM  

Yes, the Sinulog festival is one of the grandest celebrations in the Philippines witnessed by hundreds of thousands of local and foreign visitors. It is unfortunate that I have not seen it yet since I am based here in Luzon. It is indeed very nostalgic to reminisce on your previous experiences of the festival including dancing for the Senor. Thanks for the post. God bless you all always.

Willa January 15, 2010 at 4:20 PM  

hayz....kelan kaya ako makakarating ng Cebu, buong buhay ko nasa maynila ako, puro kaguluhan,pollution.Next time talaga pag nakauwi ako,punta ako ng Cebu.:)

Lulu January 15, 2010 at 5:56 PM  

mommy wil... dumiretso ka na rin sa bohol ha hehehe

mami shy I really don't miss the sinulog but I miss our fiesta! waaaa today is our fiesta!

ruby January 15, 2010 at 6:29 PM  

sus sinulog na sad oh, puno na gyud ang barko run gkan sa cdo padulong sa cebu...

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Life Moto January 15, 2010 at 7:42 PM  

i used to join the procession when i was a child. but seldom when i got married.

Voyage Montreal January 16, 2010 at 1:46 PM  

wow, looks amazing in the pictures

Juliet January 16, 2010 at 4:00 PM  

hi she, ay sinulog naman diay didto no? bitaw sa cebu pa ko present gyud ko diha ug lakaw lakaw kuyog akong mga barkada, karon wla na gyud. gimingaw na hinuon ko didto nila :-)

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