Sunday, May 26, 2019

Tradition of ‘bolibong kingking’ lives on in Loboc


Wake-uppers:
Scene: The 2nd Pamakwan Festival in Dimiao town on Saturday, May 25. In Dimiao, farmers grow different variety f watermelons- they vary widely in taste, texture and color. The town grows the sweetest watermelon in the province that visitors can buy directly from the farmers during the festival.

Scene: At least 500 stakeholders from civil societies and people’s organizations convened here to strengthen further local anti-poverty initiatives by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) as it introduced a five-year strategic framework development plan or the “Sambayanihan Serbisyong Sambayanan”. Present were NAPC Secretary Noel Felongco and Boholana Usec Pat Ruiz.


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Last Friday was my nth time attending the annual “bolibongkingking” in Loboc town. It was US-based insurance broker and travel specialist Andy Digal Doria who reminded me that the dance would start at 11  a.m.  But sadly, Andy missed it!

At the St Peter the Apostle Parish, I saw a woman who was dancing for almost two hours in front of the caro (carriage) of the Black Madonna.

Prof. Grace Odal-Devora, Ph.D. of the University of the Philippines- Manila joins residents of Loboc in Bohol province in dancing the "bolibong kingking," a time-honored tradition of the town in honor of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Extremadura. Photo by  Leo Udtohan 
It was easy to spot her in the crowd not just she donned in white and flowers adorned her head but people watched her body gestures, expressions leading to a graceful storytelling- that would feel inspired to see her passion.

Later, I learned it’s the famous Prof. Grace Odal-Devora, a faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of the Philippines-Manila. After the dance, she told me that it was her first time to dance the “bolibong kingking,” a ritual devotion of dance and music that survives for centuries as residents still perform it in honor to the town’s patron saint, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Extremadura (Our Lady of Guadalupe de Extremadura).

“Kasi alay yun (It was an offering),” said Devora, an expert on ceremonies, shamanism, ritual, and dance.

She said her visit to Loboc was to reconnect her roots and continue the vow of her father, a devotee of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Extremadura, who passed away in 2007.

She said that coming to hometown of her father in Dec. 2018 would lead her to discovering her own spiritual dance offering practice that started in 1985.

In Loboc, she found the expansion of her dance not only to the indigenous and pre-colonial dances, the Inter - Faith dance offerings, and now to the folk dances mixing the indigenous and traditional with the mainstream religious traditions in dances leading to the creation of folk traditional dances, including that of people's dances.

As a time-honored tradition, parents bring their children
in front of the statue of La Virgen Guadalupe de Extremadura
while dancing the "bolibong kingking" in Loboc, Bohol.
Photos by Leo Udtohan 
“Bolibong kingking” refers to the practice of  dancing in front of the caro (carriage) of a patron saint with the accompaniment of percussion instruments like gongs and drums. It is authentic, charming, and filled with life in every dance, move and story.

People in coastal areas such as Maribojoc and Tagbilaran call it “basao,”  while interior towns like Loboc, Sevilla  and Bilar call it “bong bolibong kingking” now known as  “bolibong kingking.” In Panglao town, people call it “guronggong.”

The “Basao” or “Bong Bolibong Kingking” is a unique and interesting practice in a fiesta in Bohol usually done after the Pontifical Mass until the next two days.

There is a variety of dance steps in other places but one thing is common, the dancers usually touch a part of their body that has an ailment. They believe that dancing in front of an image of a saint would heal their afflictions.

Men played the drums and gong accompanied by the symbolic dance ritual mirroring the people’s belief to the Lady. 

Devora said since the particular dancing style was not required, she did her own dancing, mixing her own inner-flowing movements with trying to follow what the others were doing.

“I am happy to see that many old women who had the vow of dancing for the Blessed Mother, dancing with great skill. I also saw many women and men of various ages, sizes and form, dancing. We were collectively dancing towards one harmony, despite our similar and diverse movements: a unity in diversity,” she later posted on Facebook.

Some parents carry and offer their infants while in front of the patron saint’s statue. Others wave their handkerchiefs or hold up candles to the statue of the saint.

In the Visayas, Catholic faithful venerates two black Madonnas- the Virgin de la Regla of Lapulapu and the Virgin de Guadalupe de Caceres (Extremadura) in Loboc town.

The devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe originated  from the hilly town Guadalupe  in Spanish region of Extremadura, close to the Portuguese border.

Like its Bohol descendant, the Spanish image is dressed like a queen, stands erect, and holds the Child in one arm. Both the mother and child are dark-skinned, and belong to the tradition of the “Black Madonnas” of medieval Western Europe.

Church records said the Augustinian Recollect brought the image of the Lady carved from black wood and stands 7 feet high.

The image was placed on a crate and was intended for veneration in Tagbilaran.  Since the people found it hard to open the enclosure of Our Lady, they chose to let her stay inside the crate while visiting several parishes in Tagbilaran.

The image went to as far as Carmen town overlooking the town of Loboc that was then plagued by a cholera epidemic that killed many people. However, feeling responsible for ignoring Loboc of the visitation of Our Lady  they pursued in bringing the image of the Lady to the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul on May 24, 1843.

And the crate bearing the image of the Lady was unlocked without difficulty. The Lobocanons with grief and with hope turned to Our Lady. There was a miraculous healing of the people during the outbreak which was attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Extremadura.

When the St. Peter the Apostle Parish or the Loboc Church was destroyed by the strong earthquake in Oct. 15, 2013, it didn’t stop residents and devotees to dance. Although it was held in a makeshift church  and in the  alternative church up to this year.

The Loboc Church is one of the four churches damaged or ruined by the 2013 earthquake in Bohol.

It is now nearing complete reconstruction with the churches of Cortes, Maribojoc and Loon.

Loboc’s San Pedro Apostol and Cortes’s Santo Niño churches were severely damaged during the 2013 earthquake while Loon’s Nuestra Señora de la Luz church and Maribojoc’s Santa Cruz church were totally ruined.

Spearheading the restoration and reconstruction of these churches and related structures is the National Museum.

The traditional dance, however, is struggling to attract younger followers. The challenge of keeping this tradition alive will depend on the residents.  Loboc has a population of 16,000.

For Marites Jala, 44, a resident of  Sitio Soso in Barangay Villaflor, dancing the “bolibongking” is not just a tradition but an exercise as well.  The catchy music can entice even the most die-hard, wallflower to move.

Residents dance the "bolibong kingking" believed to be a healing ritual wherein the faithful sway their bodies, especially the aching parts, in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin.

Jala brought her daughter, Anne Marae, 7, to dance together with other devotees.

“I want her to grow good, humble and God-fearing,” said Jala who was also taught to dance by her parents when she was a kid.

She said she wants her three children to observe the “bolibong kingking”  while a number of young people interest dwindled in the “age of smartphone.”

Loboc has been enjoying a tourism boom with its floating restaurant at the Loboc river and inclination to music as the home of the world-famous Loboc Children’s Choir.  But the “bolibong kingking” is seen only on May 23 and 24.

But Devora has another mission: to help preserve and continue the devotion.

“Gusto ko nga mag-survive kaya ngayon nag-decide ako next year pupunta ulit ako para maging tradisyon. Kasi ang feeling ko  nag-cocontribute yung positive energy mo if you participate. Actually, it creates some effect in people around you, they get encouraged,” she said.

(I want this tradition to survive. And now I decided to come back next year to become a tradition for me.  I have the feeling that your positive energy overflows if you participate. Actually, it creates some effect in people around you, they get encouraged.)

“Ako naman ipagpatuloy ko yung  (I would continue my) offering  because that’s where I was called to do,” she added.

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