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.
***
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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