Viaje Marinduque | Being Good on Good Friday

April 22, 2011 - Good Friday

Stiff neck - I woke up with this painful feeling.

I saw the Teodoros busy making suman outside their house. I approached them. They asked me where I want to go on my Friday stay. I told them that watching the Moriones Festival is my priority, then perhaps a waterfalls and caves hopping. Then they said, "mamaya sa bayan meron Moriones at senaculo, pero yung cave at waterfalls hopping mahirap yun gawin kasi patay si Hesus"


A highly religious belief that Jesus' death on Good Friday makes the caves and waterfalls adventure unsafe. So rather than committing a faux pas, I crossed out the caves and waterfalls hopping on my itinerary.

But then again they told me that if I really want to see a waterfalls there is one not too far from their house, the Kawa Kawa Falls.

The Kawa Kawa Falls

At 8:30 AM, we started walking towards the falls. We have 2 options on reaching this falls, ride a trike or do a hike. I chose the latter one. It was a 30 minute hike from their house, we passed through the rice field, a river and a cemented trail. Then they showed me the shortcut, passing through the mountain side.

just passing by the farm

the falls seen from afar

After 25 minutes, I've heard the sound of the rushing waters. Yey, we reached the Kawa Kawa Falls. The entrance is only P10. 

gate to Kawa Kawa Falls

The water is clear and cold, sadly I can't dip on the water. I did not bring extra clothes and towel (akala ko kasi bawal maligo kasi nga patay si Hesus). So I shoot na lang at the place, and also ate halo-halo.

The upper falls

the 2nd falls

my halo halo

hindi makaligo

the third falls

also the third falls

my feet on Kawa Kawa Falls

We stayed there until 11:00 AM. Then again we walked our way back to their house.


Back at the Teodoro house, I had a lunch, took a bath, and had a siesta moment.

the Teodoro Family, bonding moment

By 2:00 PM, shhh, we're all still sleeping

By 3:00 PM, we're now busy preparing ourselves for the prusisyon and the senaculo.

Before 4:00 PM, we were on our way to bayan.

The Morions and the Procession

We arrived at the bayan at exactly 4:00 PM. For the first time in my life, I saw real morions. I wasted no time, quickly took shots of them. Had a picture with them too (super na-amazed ako, sabi ko sa sarili ko pwede na ako bumalik ng Manila).

the very first morion I saw

woohoo.. had a pictur with a Morion

grrrr! sinong siga dito?!

Their masks were simply astonishing. The extreme facial expressions were painted and carved from wood. Their colorful costumes were very much like those of the Roman soldiers. I wonder how difficult it is to wear such bulky costumes. They were also armed with fake swords, axes, and shield.

a blue morion

a purple morion

a black morion

the morions without the mask

I saw a lot of kids crying and running away from the morions but some really enjoyed posing with them.

he's not afraid

According to the locals, a morion mask might cost 2k plus. I wanted to buy sana pero hindi ko afford so I borrowed na lang.

woohoo, a few seconds experience

At the church plaza, the saints were being prepared for the procession around the bayan of Sta. Cruz. We decided to join the procession so we bought first our candles (P10). People were flocking the place, everyone equipped  with candles.

Mary Magdalene

St. John the Evangelist

candles for sale

The procession started when the "Kristong nakahiga" arrived at the church plaza at 5:20 PM. After some 10 minutes walk, everyone passed the light of the candle. The locals would always say, "walang sunugan ng buhok." Seriously, there were cases daw that people in the procession would accidentally burn the hair of the person in front of them.

just outside the church's gate

the light is being passsed

the people of the procession

mahaba pa yan hanggang dulo

An hour had passed, it was darker, and we're still on the procession. Candle lights on darkness was really a great scene. As the saying goes, "sa hinabahaba man ng prusisyon, sa simbahan pa rin ang tuloy." Literally, we ended up at Sta. Cruz Church after more than an hour.

"Kristong nakahiga"

men pulling the carosa of the "Kristong nakahiga"

candles in the night of the procession

People would leave their candles at the tirikan and would say a prayer or a wish (super init sa tirikan, hindi ko matirik yung sa akin kaya inuwi ko na lang for souvenir). Your wish would come true if you completed the procession.

the super hot tirikan ng kandila

After the procession, the Marinduqueños would stand by the church's gate and make salubong of the Saints. Then they would fanatically grab the flowers used in the procession. They say that it will bring luck to them.

The Senakulo

Everyone was heading into the town plaza, getting a nice place for the senakulo (reenactment of Jesus' life, death and resurrection plus the story of St. Longinus)

But before we joined the crowds in the town plaza, we indulged ourselves first inside a Mami House. What would one expect inside a Mami house is of course a "mami" - a hot bowl of soup with noodles and pieces of meat and veggies. But hey, they have something different here, "dadi". If there's a "mami" there should also be a "dadi". Sadly there's no "anak" on the menu.

The taste is just like the typical mami, though it has an egg on it.

After the satisfying meal, we immediately went to the town plaza to watch the senakulo (super siksikan).

It was my first time to watch a live senakulo, and the feeling was totally different. The story were all taken from the bible, from Jesus' birth, his passion (grabe yung feeling nung pinagbuhat na siya krus) and his death.

the old man at the beginning of the story, I forgot his name

scene from the bible, Jesus and Mary Magdalene

Jesus being taken down from the cross

The Story of St. Longinus

St. Longinus was the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus. He was blind in one eye, healed after it touched Jesus' blood.

He was also the commander of the Roman Soldiers tasked by Pontius Pilate to guard Jesus' Tomb from robbers. But on the third day, Jesus rose again. Everyone, including Longinus witnessed this.

Pontius Pilate then ordered the soldiers to keep Jesus' resurrection secret. But Longinus refused to follow Pilate's order, he ran and spread the good news to all the people. 

"Dakpin si Longino," ordered by Pontius Pilate after St. Longinus converted into Christianity.

Logino ran towards the audience, shouting "buhay si Hesus"

Longinus was beheaded and became a martyr in defending Jesus Christ.

Longino received Pilate's sentence

After the "pugutan" the presentation ended.

Realization

I was touched by the story of Jesus and St. Longinus. At dahil dito, the religious me gained 1 percent.

The Religious Me = 26%
The Secular Me =  74%

The Peryahan

Before we went home, we proceeded first to the town's perya (town fair). I don't have coins with me so I was not able to play around. Only a few people mostly teens went to the perya. Their perya don't have rides, just pure gaming.

piso pisong taya

We finally decided to go home by 11:40 PM, we rode a trike (8 people in one trike). I sat on the roof, feeling the freezing evening breeze.

By 12 midnight, we already got home.

End of day 2

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Summary of expenses:

Kawa kawa falls - P10
Candle - P10
Dadi - P15
Moriones experience - priceless      

Total expense for Day 2 = P35 plus priceless experience

Viaje Marinduque | The Heart of the Philippines
Viaje Marinduque | Maundy Thursday Madness
Viaje Marinduque | Being Good on Good Friday
Viaje Marinduque | Blacker Black Saturday
Viaje Marinduque | Easter Sunday, Resurrection of the Thursday Madness

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