Sinulog Part 3: The City Centre Procession

To continue the series of posts about Sinulog here is a short video of the our second procession of Saturday 14th January. In the afternoon the statue of Santo Nino was processed along the streets of city centre Cebu at the head of a 3km long column of people. It took us about 4 hours to complete the route.

The Santo Ninos you can see in the video are not the real Santo Nino, but some of the many replicas!

Operation Second Chance

Up until quite recently children in the Philippines who were convicted of criminal offences were treated in exactly the same way as Adults. If their crime merited prison then they were sent to adult prisons.

A few years ago the Documentary Bunso brought this situation to light. It is perhaps the most disturbing film I've ever watched. The film follows the stories of three young boys being held in a Filippino prison. I have attached a short clip at the end of this post but I recommend that you see the whole film if you can find it.

In response to this film, and to the disquiet of those working in the prison service here things have changed.

Today Steph and I went to visit Operation Second Chance which is what we would call in the UK a Young Offenders' Centre. Conditions are still harsh, 169 boys and 5 girls are kept in quite cramped conditions, occupying large communal cells. Facilities are very limited, they had not been able to wash for seven days because there is a problem with the water supply. However crucially these young people are separated from the adult prisoners.

Operation Second Chance is a government run centre, however the Salesians are very involved in the work which takes place there. There is a (nearly) full-time member of staff there funded by the Salesians. They have provided a woodworking workshop and a library where education and skills training can take place.

The Salesians are also involved in the rehabilitation of the boys after they leave the centre, they have a home which accepts the boys after they are released.

Sinulog Part 2: The Parade Through Pasil

After we disembarked from our boat after the Fluvial Parade we were launched immediately into a parade through the streets of Pasil which is one of the poorer areas of Cebu, the video below hopefully gives a small taste of the joy of that procession. This local parade was something organised quite separately from the big city centre parade. It was an experience of religious celebration at its most popular level.

Last weekend Cebu was collectively celebrating in a way that we just don’t have any more in Western Europe. Virtually everyone takes part in the collective celebration, estimates went as high as 3 million on the streets. As we walked through the city people were outside on the streets, smiling widely and shouting out “Pit Senyor” (“Come Lord”) to everyone who passed by. Communities gathered together, slaughtered a pig, lit a fire and roasted it right there in the street offering food to all who passed by. Overweight women could be seen everywhere waving and dancing with Replica Santo Nino statues!

Sinulog Part 1: The Fluvial Parade

Last weekend Steph and I were fortunate enough to experience Sinulog.

Sinulog celebrates the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines in 1521. The Spanish conquistador Magellan landed in Cebu and shortly after baptised many of the local inhabitants (probably more by coercion than conversion). As a baptism gift he gave the community a statue of the child Jesus, the 'Santo Nino'.

This Statue of 'Santo Nino' is still kept in the basilica of the Santo Nino here in Cebu. Once a year he is taken out for a huge celebration. Sinulog is the biggest event of the year in Cebu, literally millions of people flock here from across the Philippines.

On the Friday the statue is taken to the Church of the Virgin Mary on the nearby Mactan Island, from there, on the Saturday morning, he is brought back to Cebu by boat. Thousands of people line the shoreline to see the boat sail past, waving to Santo Nino as he passing, and a lucky few (including us) get to be aboard boats taking part in this fluvial parade.  

Once ashore a 5 hour procession starts which this year travelled nearly 7km and was about 3km long, the back markers arriving an hour later than the statue at the front.

The day culminates in a mass at the basilica celebrated before enormous crowds, many of whom kept a long way from the altar by the number of people present.

Sinulog is a day of celebration which is very hard to describe in words (hopefully the video below and those coming later will help). Music, dancing and singing abound. Replica Santo Ninos, often outnumbering people, being waved and held aloft at every visible angle. Real joy and exuberance rings through the streets. They certainly know how to celebrate!

Thank You for the Christmas Cards

The Philippines postal service is rubbish, despite that a few Christmas cards have made it to us all but one of them after Christmas was already over! Many thanks for thinking of us.

Feeling Loved

Today is my birthday. It goes without saying that it has been a bit different from any previous birthday I've celebrated. 

Being far away has not meant it has been depressing, in fact quite the opposite. One of the joys of being in a different culture is being able to be surprised. I have been genuinely overwhelmed and humbled by all the greetings I've received from the community here. 

Likewise the messages and presents sent from the UK have also been especially meaningful this year. Receiving a Christmas pudding in the post, or an English magazine, would barely merit a mention in normal life but from the perspective of being far away they are real sources of joy. 

I feel very loved.

the video below is my christmas present from Br. Francis, another unexpected joy........

“You intended to do me harm, but God intended to turn it to good”

Today is the feat of the Epiphany! A feast day which in the Western Church celebrates the visit of the wise men to the baby Jesus. In the Eastern Church it is a much greater celebration marking the Birth of Jesus, the Baptism of Jesus, the visit of the wise men and the changing of water into wine at the Wedding at Cana.

Over the last few months since arriving here in the Philippines I have been spending some time each day reflecting on the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel, the chapters which refer most closely to today's feast day. These reflections have gradually become a piece of writing. For those of you who are interested what I've written is available at the link below.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzVxKp_r3opxOTYwNWE4YzYtNDM5My00OWZjLWI0YTctNjRmNDg0NTQyMjBl

The text is quite long and quite technical so will probably only be of interest to those of you interested in biblical theology and who have enough leisure time to read it. It also has nothing to do with the Philippines except that it was written here.

If any of you are interested and do find time to read it then your opinion, ideas and feedback would be appreciated!

Holiday on Bohol, Part 2: Jungle Living

Tiny pin pricks of light

      dabble through palm leaf lattice.

A gentle patter of rain

drums down on distant leaves.

Goats play and joust

while insects flutter.

Unknown beasts call out shrieking,

unseen from forest walls of every shade of green.

Mosquitoes feast on fresh white flesh,

as giant ants walk in ordered file.

Salamanders run along shadowy beams,

then stop, then run.

The symphony of jungle of life,

lingers long and touches deep.

Holiday on Bohol, Part 1: Peaceful Silence

The gentle stirring of the sea,
the shimmering surface of the water
    reflecting its green tinted sandy bottom.
Light sparkles from wave crests
    while far out boats silently drift along.
Just a touch of breeze drifts
    cooling the tropical air.
All around is silence, not a shout, not a cry,
    only the waves softly breaking nearby.
Oh what beauty! Oh what peace!

New Year in Cebu

Over the course of the last few years I have had the privelege to experience New Year in several different cities, and in all of these places they like fireworks. Last night however was of a completely different order of magnitude, it isn't possible to exaggerate how many fireworks the people of Cebu launched.   

Happy New Year Everyone