317. SAN NICOLAS DE TOLENTINO, A Folk Ensemble

The visionary and wonder worker San Nicolas de Tolentino (b. c. 1246/d. 10 Sep. 1305, canonized in 1446) played such an important part in the religious history of the Philippines.  The mission province of the Augustinian congregation was created in Madrid in November 1621.  When the last wave of missionaries arrived in the country in 1606—the Augustinian Recollects ---they also named their “provincia” after the good saint. The ‘Recoletos’ ministered in the uncharted regions of Zambales and Upper Pampanga

SAN NICOLAS 1. Height: 18"

Originally thought to be a San Antonio, this heft santo wears the trademark Augustinian cincture, which certainly identifies it as San Nicolas. The well-carved santo sits on an 8-sided ochovado base with traces of floral painting on the front panel. races of gilding on the hems and edges of the santo's habit.

For some two hundred years, the Philippines was a primary “misión viva” of the province, which made possible the opening of seminaries in the country. By the nineteenth century, the Recollects gained greater socio-religious significance in the country, and the conversion and evangelization of Negros was the zenith of their achievements.

It is no wonder that so many San Nicolas images were made in the country, thousands carved by untrained Filipino artisans, to be enshrined on humble home altars for veneration and adoration. Four different San Nicolas antique carvings from my collection are shown on this page, to illustrate the varied styles and visual interpretations of Filipino santeros of long ago.

SAN NICOLAS 2: Height: 17 1/2"

A very folksy santo with not much carving details. But the charm lies in its folksy character. Nonetheless, the overextended sleeves of the Augustinian habit are accurately captured in this santo.

His life story struck a chord with Filipinos who prayed for him to work miracles—in the same way that the vegetarian saint, who, upon being served a roasted partridge on a plate, brought the bird back to life by making the sign of the cross. This gave rise to his popular iconography that shed on the rim, shows him in his black Augustinian habit, holding a plate with a bird perched on the rim, and a cross in his other hand.

SAN NICOLAS 3, Height: 14"

This slimmed-down version of San Nicolas is handsomely carved and stands on an ochivado base. He has a downcast gaze, and his rigid pose is broken by his one foot that steps forward, Traces of gilt, including the outline of a star on his chest, which is one of his attribute--in reference to the guiding star that led him to Tolentino.

The ‘saniculas” cookie tradition that remains to be popular in Pampanga can be traced to an episode in the saint’s life when San Nicolas became emaciated after a long fast. The Virgin Mary and San Agustin came to him in a vision, and they told him to eat a cross-marked bread. He did so and he recovered. He then distributed these ‘St. Nicholas’ bread among the sick, who were miraculously cured of their illness. Instead of crosses, the ‘saniculas’ is imprinted with the figure of the saint.

In Banton, Romblon, a church built in the 16^th century is dedicated to him, and his feast day during the annual Biniray festival. In Pampanga, a 440-year-old Augustinian church, was founded in his honor in 1575. The massive, heritage church houses a second-class relic of San Nicolas that is venerated after the Tuesday mass.

SAN NICOLAS 4: Height: 11"

This is the smallest among the Santos Nicolas in my possession, and also one of my first santos. This small folk santo has a long, narrow head that sits on a small, short body. It bears traces of paint, and is remarkably complete, save for a missing hand and a plate. Bought in Baguio in the early 80s, it comes from Ilocos.

A San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish Church, built in 1584, can also be found in Cebu City, one of the oldest in the country. San Nicolas is also recognized as the titular patron of the cathedral of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija—the site of Gen. Antonio Luna’s assassination. He is also the ‘pintakasi’ of Lambunao and Guimbal (Iloilo), Surigao City, Capas (Tarlac), Buli and Cupang (Muntinlupa), San Nicolas (Ilocos Norte) and La Huerta (Parañaque).

His patronage also extends to animals and babies, mariners, sailors and watermen (he saved 9 passengers on a ship that was about to go down), dying people and  holy souls.

SOURCE:
Nicholas of Tolentino:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Tolentino

224. CLAUDE TAYAG SANTO COLLECTION

Artist, painter, culinary chef, restaurateur, watercolorist, furniture designer, food and travel columnist, award-winning author, furniture designer, antique collector--there are so many hats that  Claude Moises Tayag (born 1956, Angeles City, Philippines) wear, and the great thing about him is, he wears them so well--making him a master of everything that he chooses to venture in.

But this Kapampangan "Renaissance Man" describes himself as a self-taught artist, a passion he indulged in as an architecture and economics student at the University of the Philippines. Mentored by another great Kapampangan artist and literary giant, Emilio "Abe" Aguilar Cruz, Claude (pronounced as "Cloud") acquired a taste for all aspects of the creative arts, spurred by his collecting interest--Philippine colonial santos.

Claude started collecting antique miniature santos; he put a ceiling to the height of santos he would buy--no more than 8 inches tall. He would sadly walk away if a santo that initially caught his fancy measured more than 8 inches, and he stuck to this collecting discipline, amassing these Lilliputian santos slowly, but surely.

In fact, they were his inspirations in 1978, when he first barged into the Manila art circuit. Claude exhibited his vivid watercolor santo paintings, collated in a folio of plates, now just as collectible as his artworks.

His art grew to include paintings of Philippine festivals, the landscapes of the northern highlands--all vibrantly painted with characteristic spontaneity and vigor. But though he put on hold his santo collecting, his love for these folk images--he was partial also to primitive carvings--never waned.

In his spacious "Bale Dutung" (House of Wood) in an Angeles subdivision, Claude keeps his collection on a large antique table. The centerpiece urna is flanked by santos--mostly of heavy wood-- of all titles and patronages--but all under 8 inches.

There are Ninos and Virgins, heads of saints and tableaus, mostly with Bohol provenance (santos from this province are typically small, painted with folksy colors and carved from heavy wood.

It is interesting to note that in 2015, Claude returned to his first love--watercolor painting. When he took up his brush again, it came as no surprised that he chose for his subjects once more--colonial folk santos, no less!

On this spread are some santos from his fabulous, but well-selected collection. I had the privilege to personally view them some years ago, when he and lovely wife, Mary Ann, hosted a small dinner for his high school batchmates--which included me! Proud Class of 1973 of Sacred Heart Seminary (now Chevalier School) in Angeles City.

Here we are at the Golden Anniversary of our high school, where we were both named outstanding alumni of  Sacred Heart. Beyond collecting santos...we also collect memories!

217. SACRED LEGACY: Santo Collection of the Zaragozas of Guagua and Quiapo

The Zaragozas are an old family whose lineage can be traced back to the Cepeda family of Sta. Teresa de Avila. A relative of the mystic saint, Gen. Agustin de Cepeda arrived with Legaspi in Manila and became its mayor in 1657. Another relative, Agustina Zaragoza fought against the French at the age of 18 in 1808, to become the toast of the Spanish Army.

The family’s Philippine bloodline was begun by Rafael Zaragoza, who was assigned to Nueva Ecija to protect the Spanish interest on the burgeoning tobacco industry in the Philippines. He fathered two children, Jose and Miguel Zaragoza. Jose married Rosa Roxas of Quiapo, with whom he had a son, Elias--the first Filipino to graduate from Yale University in 1906.

I first heard of the Pampanga connection of the Zaragozas of Quiapo from stories in Guagua about the spectacular Santo Sepulcro of the Velez-Infante that has been processioned annually every Good Friday, for over two centuries. A member of the family, Rosario Velez R. Infante would go on to meet and marry Elias Zaragoza, thus establishing the Guagua-Quiapo ties.

The family history is recounted in one journal, written by a descendant, Arch. Ramon Ma. Zaragoza, entitled “From Guagua to Quiapo”. Ramon’s father, incidentally , is the 2014 National Artist for Architecture, Jose Ma. Zaragoza, renowned for designing sacred structures including his masterpiece, the Sto. Domingo Church. In his family chronicle,

Zaragoza called to mind those bygone days when his forebears participated in Quiapo fiesta processions, fielding the twin carrozas of Sta. Teresa de Avila and San Juan de la Cruz.

He also wrote about the religious artworks that filled their ancestral houses, which survived numerous catastrophes and saved by current family members—including the prized La Dormicion dela Virgen Maria—a most exquisite antique ivory treasure that is now under the care of Arch. Ramon.

 On this page are a few more of the ivory santos from the Velez-Zaragoza collection, all reproduced from “”From Guagua to Quiapo”: Budhi, A Journal of Ideas and Culture, Vol. , No. 2, 2006. Ateneo de Manila Press.

With Arch. Ramon Ma. Zaragoza.

153. Santo Stories: SAN PANCRACIO

One of the lesser known saints venerated in the Philippines is the young Roman St. Pancras (St. Pancratius, San Pancracio). Little is known about this young boy of 14 who was reared by a Christian uncle and who found martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian who had him beheaded. San Pancracio’s cult became popular in England after St. Augustine of Canterbury dedicated his first church to the young boy saint. In the Philippines, the Paco Cemetery Chapel holds him as its titular patron.

 This saint has a very distinctive iconography. He is often shown in a centurion costume complete with leather sandals, knee-length tunic, draped with a red cloak to symbolize the blood of martyrdom. He holds a book with Latin inscription: "Venite Ad Me et Ego dabo vobis omnia bona." ( "Come to me and I will give you all that is good.")

His right index finger points heavenward indicating that the promise in the book he holds comes from God. Another emblem of his martyrdom is a palm leaf which he also holds close to his body. Large images of San Pancracio are rather rare in the country.

This particular all-wood example, about 48 inches tall, was found in a Bulacan antique shop. It is carved from light wood, with portions of the back hollowed out in two sections to make it lighter when borne in processions.

 Outfitted with glass eyes (one missing), he also has a vintage halo which may not be original to the piece. The original paint is intact with the usual age scruffs and minor paint loses. There are some damages to his fingers and to the base. I was told that this San Pancracio came from an old visita in Makati, but that could not be verified.

******

 O glorious St. Pancratius, 

I beg thee to obtain for me all the graces that I need, 

but especially health and work, 

so that I may appear before thee to thank God 

for the favors I received through your powerful intercession. 

Amen.

20. RESURRECTING OLD SAINTS

By Alaine Ty
Photographs by George V. Cabig

(From: Design & Architecture Magazine, June 1999. p. 74-78)

“The walls of the houses are often covered with the engravings of saints and on the tables are many glass globes and urns containing saints, virgins and little figures of the Divine Child, which generally have the face as well as the hands of ivory, and silver clothes richly embroidered. In well-to-do houses, there are so many that they resemble a storehouse of saints rather than habitation…”

Thus did the Spanish official Sinibaldo de Mas write about the furnishings of 19th c. well-to-do mestizos in 1842. This historical footnote might just as well have described the abode of art collector Dr. Gerard Salgado, whose living quarters in San Juan is a veritable treasure house of antique santos.

The house is a rambling residence and antiques-and-furniture shop owned by the good doctor’s mother-in-law—the well-known Viring de Asis of Jo-Liza Antiques. On the ground floor, showcases of antique furnishings and reproductions—from massive aparadors to crystal chandeliers to bamboo birdcages—merge into a labyrinth redolent of bygone eras.

In this quaint setting, the scattered collection of antique santos take on the mystic aura of their surroundings, their delicate ivory faces seeming to exude a lifelike glow. Protected from the elements in their glass cases, they stretch out their ivory hands in gestures of blessing and solace, or gaze back at onlookers with rewarding, lifelike eyes.

1.

On the landing of the second floor, Christ Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane stands on a base engraved with the name of its carvers, Talleres de Castilla de Villalobos. In the vestibule is a tableau of the Cavalry scene, complete with Mater Dolorosa, Mary Magdalene and St. John gazing at the Crucified Christ.

A dermatologist by profession, Dr. Salgado is a self-confessed late bloomer in the art-collecting scene. He started in 1988 with contemporary paintings (“only those by living artists”, or artists whose paintings he had bought before they dies). The saints came by way of his mother-in-law.

2.

His image of the Immaculate Conception, with attendant angels on a base of light wood, has been dated from the 19th c. It was the same statue sold years ago by Viring de Asis to a Swiss couple. Dr. Salgado had found it on sale at another antique shop. He immediately remembered the base gathering dust in the Jo-Liza bodega and quickly bought the santo to be reunited with its base. Now it stands in the vestibule of the living quarters.

“My mother-in-law has brokered items for the Intramuros Administration, the Central Bank and the Metropolitan Museum collections”, Dr. Salgado relates. “She was always expressing regret that she did not collect this or that item. That gave me the idea to collect these antique santos. Their value increases with time. It’s a good idea to have representatives of Filipino antiques. It’s one way of showing off our cultural heritage. When foreigners visit our store, they’re so amazed at the lovely collection of antiques that we have here”.

He has from 40 to 50 santos at one time in his collection. When a new one catches his fancy, he sometimes “upgrades”, as he calls it, putting an older item from his collection up for sale in his mother-in-law’s shop downstairs.

3.

He shows off some of his favorite pieces: one of Jesus the Carpenter, holding a bucket of tools made of silver (“you can tell what the santo is by its ornaments”). The image is not dressed, showing a wooden body and movable limbs, capped by an ivory head and fitted with ivory hands.

4.

There are several priceless figures of solid ivory; n exquisitely detailed 18th c. crucifix with the body of Christ leaning to the right, following the curve, presumably of the elephant’s tusk from which it was carved; an image of San Antonio de Padua; and a later piece, an early 20th c. San Isidro Labrador. “It’s very hard to get whole ivories”, Salgado comments.

Also among the santos are the 3 most popular Archangels: St. Michael brandishing his dagger and shield over the Devil; St. Raphael, childlike, carrying a fishing rod from which dangles a pure-gold fish; St. Gabriel, holding a book. All have finely worked ivory features and hands.

5.

“Sometimes, it is difficult to place the exact date when each piece was created”, Dr. Salgado tells us. “But the range is most likely between the 17th, the time of the Spanish friars, and the 19th centuries—the latter being the most plentiful because many santos from this period were preserved”.

He shows us a Goanese santo that traces its origin to one of the major centers of religious ivory carving in the olden days. Goa was located on the Indian subcontinent near what is now Pakistan. Together with Spain, Portugal, Mexico, India and China, its artistic style influenced carvers in the Philippines.

The art of ivory carving for religious images was introduced to the islands with the coming of the Spaniards. The islands were converted by the friar orders, each assigned to different provinces. Wherever they went, these missionaries brought with them devotions to the saints for their order, and attendant religious paraphernalia, including ivory santos. As the friars were busy building their churches, they commissioned skilled Chinese artisans to carve replicas of their ivory santos.

In Dr. Salgado’s collection is an example of an early santo, its Chinese origin belied by a set of heavy-lidded eyes slanting upwards at the corners. He also points out a 17th c. Madonna and Child, its features not as refined as the polished faces of 18th and 19th c. santos.

6.

It is believed that Filipino artisans were trained in the art of ivory carving in the early 18th c., when record showed the friars extolling the artistic skills of some “indios and mestizos”. Their images possess European or mestizo features.

Soon, ivory santos from the Philippines became a coveted item, and a brisk and often illicit trade ensued between the islands and Mexico and Spain. They were not listed in ships’ inventories and were often smuggled in the crew’s personal belongings. With this, many large pieces left the country at the height of the ivory carving trade and only a handful of antique santos can be found in the Philippines today.

According to Dr. Salgado: “Most of theses santos were from ancestral homes of old families, some of whom commissioned artists to carve santos for their altars. How they looked was determined by the financial status of the family: rich families have ivory santos of fine workmanship; poorer families have statues made of wood, and the style is less elaborate”.

Church santos, though already rare, can be found all over the archipelago, wherever the Spanish influence has penetrated. Some collectors were even surprised to find santos from Batanes, which is a distant and almost inaccessible province. But Dr. Salgado postulates, the ones from old cities such as Manila, Cebu and Vigan—which used to be a highly urbanized place during Spanish times—are most refined.

There are many types of antique santos, and just as many types of collectors. “Some collect only wooden santos. Others just solid ivory. Still others collect only Virgin Mary, or only Santo Ninos, or the saints after whom they were named”, Dr. Salgado offers. “I, myself, am not too fond of wooden santos. I prefer santos in the ‘ilustrado’ style, those with refined features and fine workmanship”.

Whatever the preference, antique santos display the devotion and care Filipinos lavish on their religious icons. This is most clearly illustrated by the bastidor—santos with plain wooden torsos that were meant to be clothed. The frames were practically engulfed in layers of rich raiment, usually silk, or clothe of gold, embroidered with gold or silver thread, and decorated with precious stones. The Blessed Mary was often given a hooplike frame—all the better to show off the magnificent skirt of her elaborate gown.

7.

Heads of santos were adorned with coronas (crowns) or diademas; some had facial aureoles called rostrillos; others wore wigs known as cabelleras. It is said that the cabelleras of old were the tresses of women who had taken their final vows before entering the nunnery. These images were displayed within glass domes called virinas, and rested on bases that were often intricately carved and gold-leafed.

The doctor points out some of his ‘overdressed” (he describes with an indulgent smile) santos whose robes had become so tarnished as to appear black. The robes are extremely delicate, thus virtually impossible to clean. A statue of St. Peter, clothed in fragile satin and clutching a solid gold key, stands safely in its virina in Dr. Salgado’s bedroom. Elsewhere, a statue of the Blessed Mother in her tattered gold robes overlooks the stairwell.

8.

“One of the thrills of collecting”, he confides, “is preserving the clothes. Another is preserving the virina. Because they are of glass, few have survived and are very expensive.”.

The santo has become an integral part of the Filipino home. Call it superstition. Call it misplaced religious fervor. The fact remains that most Filipinos want to keep a religious artifact in their home. It makes them feel safe—even those who are not so religious. Dr. Salgado admits, “I have an altar in my room where I pray every day. Occasionally, I change the santos I place there. I clean them myself. They make me happy”.

And perhaps the saints are happy, too, protected and cared for by a devoted believer.


CAPTIONS:
1. Agony in the Garden, late 19th c. Provenance: Quezon Prov., Ht. 30 cm. with base. Ivory head and hands, vestment with gold embroidery.

2. Virgin of Mount Carmel, 19th c. Ht. 48 cm. with base. Ivory head and hands, gold ornaments, vestment with gold thread embroidery (restored).

3. Crucifixion tableau with solid ivory Christ, 19th c. Santo Nino the Carpneter, 18th c. Ht. 65 cm. Ivory head and hands.

4. San Antonio de Padua, 18th c. Ht. 26 cm. Solid ivory.

5. L-R. St. Raphael, 18th c. provenance: Batangas. Ht. 64 cm. with base. Ivory head and hands, gold ornaments, vestment with gold thread embroidert. San Miguel, 18th-19th c. Ht. 47 cm. with base. Ivory head and hands, Silver ornaments.

6. San Fernando, 19th c. Ht. 41 cm., with base. Wood, gilded. Virgen Dolorosa, 19th c. Ht. 45 cm. with base. Ivory head and hands, wood, gilded. Crucified Christ, early 18th c. Solid ivory. San Roque, 19th c. Ht. 21 cm. Ivory head and hands.

7. Various ivory santos, 18th-19th c.

8. San Pedro , 18th -19th c, Ht. 66 cm. with base. Provenance: laguna. Gold ornaments, vestment with gold thread embroidery.

19. RETRO-SANTO: Sto. Niño de Romblon

If Cebuanos have their revered Sto. Niño de Cebu who is honored through a rambunctious celebration called Sinulog, the people of Romblon province also have an ancient image of the Holy Child—the Sto. Niño de Romblon—which has been an object of veneration for many generations.

Tradition has it that the small Niño image was commissioned by an Augustinian fraile, who had the figure carved in the Philippines, based on the original Sto. Niño de Cebu. This particular Cebuano Niño was carved by a Flemish artist, brought to our Islands in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan. The replica image was meant to be shipped to Madrid, but when the galleon carrying the image stopped over at Romblon, a typhoon stopped the ship from leaving. The Sto. Niño was thus taken down from the vessel and brought to the local church where a Holy Mass was offered. After the rites, the Sto. Niño could not be moved from its place, and so the galleon left the image behind.

For over 4 centuries, the Sto. Niño de Romblon resided at the Cathedral of San Jose, until it was stolen in 1991. Today, the precious image of the Holy Child remains missing, and the one venerated in the church is just a decade-old replica. Nevertheless, the religious fervor of the people of Romblon continues to burn brighter every year, fuelled by the unabashed pageantry of the Biniray Festival, which serves as a tribute to their beloved patron.

Held in the capital town of Romblon every 2nd week of January, the Biniray Festival is marked with dancing, music and street revelry—echoing the same carnival spirit of Cebu’s Sinulog. The festival re-enacts the attempt to remove the image from the church with the highlight of the fiesta happening on the Bay of Romblon. Here, a flotilla of boats is launched to circle the bay seven times. A land parade follows, with costume revelers accompanying the Sto. Niño de Romblon throughout the streets of the town, carried on a bamboo-supported palanquin.

The Biniray Festival is but one of the many fiestas that not only pays homage to the Christ Child but also the people of Romblon to express their faith and folk piety to the full.

9. Retro-Santo: STO. NIÑO OF CEBU

One of the greatest and oldest relics to be handed down by our Spanish colonizers to the Filipinos is the revered and ancient image of the Santo Niño of Cebu, an image intimately linked with the Christianization of our islands.

Ferdinand Magellan, the intrepid voyager and discoverer of the Philippines had sailed on to Cebu after sighting the coast of Samar and setting up camp in Homonhon in 1521. Arriving on 7 April 151 in the port of Cebu, Magellan was welcomed by the friendly chieftain, Rajah Humabon. After provisioning his ship, Magellan paved the way for the evangelization of Cebu with the holding of the 1st Mass in Cebu, which saw the baptism of Humabon and his queen, who was re-named Juana. In Pigafetta’s account, Juana was said to have shed tears upon seeing the image of the Holy Child Jesus which was shown to her together with a statue of Our Lady and a Crucifix. She asked for the Child image and was granted her wish.


The Spaniards fled Cebu on 1 May 1521, after Magellan’s death in the battle of Mactan. They were to return only to Cebu after 44 years, with the successful expedition of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1565. This time, the natives, under Rajah Tupaz, were not as friendly;. Legazpi, thus, dispatched a party to take over Cebu. The natives, howvere, had burned the settlement and fled to the mountains. When Spaniard Juan Camus went to survey the burnt and deserted ruins, he found a box that contained the image of the Child Jesus, the same image donated to Juana 44 years earlier. Filled with awe, Camus was said to rush and shout , “Para el cuerpo de Dios, Hijo de Maria, hallado has!”. Apparently, the image was kept by the natives as an anito, as it was found with flower offerings.


It has been established that the Santo Niño image was typical of those statuaries made in Flanders during the 16th century. By then, the devotion to the Child Jesus was deeply entrenched in Spain, and Belgium exported such statues to the country. The image must have been bought in Seville prior to the trip to the Philippines. No document exist if the Santo Niño came from Flanders as a black image, but a story exists of a convent padre painting the image black in a moment of boredom and melancholia.

When found, the image was covered with a white cloth. Its nose tip and encarna paint had somewhat rubbed off. Only a red velvet bonnet remained of its original vestment. Legazpi ordered the building of a church to house the image, with the name Santisimo Nombre de Jesus. It was erected in 1571 by Augustinian missionaries. The image was kept here, until it was taken for safekeeping by a certain Dña. Catalina Jimenez in the early 17th century, It was returned to the church, which was burned several times in history, reposing finally in the present church of San Agustin, finished on 16 January 1740. In due time, Cebu became the primary center of devotion to the Holy Child in the Philippines. Today, devotion to the Santo Niño remains strong and widespread throughout the country.


Legendary miracles have been attributed to the workings of the Santo Niño, including saving Cebu from a fire in 1631, the safe delivery of a ship from a deadly storm in 1629, and the rendering of Cebu invisible to invaders several times. People believed that the image’s regal cape gave the islands protective invisibility before the eyes of predatory invaders.

During World War II, the holy image was guarded by Augustinian fathers and remained unscathed, even though it had fallen from its altar and hanged precariously on one the electric candle bulbs in its niche. Its ebony face was repainted in pale yellow by an artist commissioned to restore the santo.


Some vestments and accessories of the Santo Niño date back to the 16th century and are still preserved at the church museum. In 1965, the 4th Centennial of the Christianization of the Philippines was observed, and the celebrations were centered in Cebu. The church was given the title of a Basilica (Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu) and the image was canonically crowned.


SOURCES:
1. The Santo Niño of Cebu, by Mrs. Rosa C. P. Tenazas, 1965. San Carlos Publications.
2. Santo Niño, The Holy Child Devotion in the Philippines, ed. By Abe Florendo, published by the Congregacion del Santisimio Nombre del Niño Jesus. Manila, Philippines © 2001.

7. AN AGE OF ALTARS, part III

Spain is acknowledged for its rich, emotional widespread Marian following; the fervor spread to the Philippines. Virgin Mary was easily popularized as a maternal figure; perhaps the native predisposition was affected by the fact that in a number of locales, priestesses reigned over pagan rituals and if a man presided, he adopted an effeminate manner.


Each order had its variation of the Mary theme. The Virgen de la Consolacion, also called Virgen de la Correa, was a favorite of Basque immigrants and an Augustinian rendition of the Mother and Child figure; in keeping to the apparition of Sta. Monica, Mary and the Babe wear black leather Augustinian belts. Her cofradia began in Intramuros in 1577 and devotions were strong in Cebu and Bacolod. The same Order ran Malate Church with its Virgen delos Remedios and spread the cult to Pangasinan; it also favored the Angustia or Piedad processioned on Holy Thursdays.


Franciscan manifestations of Mary include Virgen de los Desamparados; the Spanish made replica of Valencia Cathedral’s Lady of the Abandoned was touched to the original before shipment to Sta. Ana Church in 1719. These friars in brown brought the Loreto following to Manila’s Sampaloc district in 1619. Among the most effective of their Marymases are those to Nuestra Señora de Dolores in Pakil, Laguna and Nuestra Señora de Penafrancia in Bicol, They brought a statue of Mexico’s Guadalupe Virgin for Pagsanjan in 1687 and in Los Baños, attributed the hot springs’ curative powers to Nuestra Señora de las Aguas Santas de Maynit.


The Immaculate Conception appeared to St. Francis; beyond a doubt spread of the devotion is due to his Order, although many renditions of her image are also found in towns ministered to by other groups. Jesuits, like Franciscans, were fond of Nuestra Señora de Iluminacion, also called Virgen de Candelaria.


It was Sto. Domingo de Guzman himself who first saw Nuestra Señora del Rosario and her rosary beads. The local cult climaxed in the Virgen de la Naval sculptured by a Chinese convert in 1593.


Recollect devotions include those to Virgen de la Salud and Nuestra Señora del Carmen. The latter is a Carmelite devotion. Recollects on their Philippine trip stopped at the Carmelite padres in Mexico who presented them with a Mother and Child wearing Carmelite scapularies; this image was enthroned in Quiapo’s San Sebastian Church. Recollects are known to have used the Paciencia santo, Christ scourged at the pillar, in Eastern rites.


Many home altars had San Isidro Labrador; he is Madrid’s patron and it is no wonder spiritual pioneers introduced this Spanish-born to the Colony. In fact, many settlements and churches are dedicated to the various patrons of the parish priests’ hometowns in España.

Early missionaries used the saintly mélange to prove Christianity’s superiority over animism and Islam. Selecting a church titular or a town patron meant finding a saint whose attributes or “powers” related to the Asian community, many times in direct parallelism with pre-Spanish deities. San Rafael who carries a fish appealed to fishermen; San Isidro was ideal for farmers and when priests introduced the plow which is part of his iconography, natives considered it a gift from their heavenly sponsor.


Before long, localized rationales and signature symbols emerged. San Pedro Apostol became the cocker’s friend because of his feathered sidekick; bird beaks and whole animals disappeared from santo arrangements as talismans. A carabao replaced San Isidro’s ox; equestrian Santiago Apostol acquired a following of coachmen and jockeys; knifemakers identified with San Bartolome who carried the flaying knife of his martyrdom; San Nicolas de Tolentino’s breadroll transformed into a tarat known to fly back on his fiesta like Capistrano Mission’s swallows. And, as an indication of the language problem that existed despite the cleric attempts to promptly learn native dialects (considered faster and simpler than teaching Spanish to a multitude), San Pascual Baylon is favored by dancers because his family name recalls the Spanish verb bailar.


As the saints marched onwards unto more Virgen de Bien Aparecida in Santander, Nuestras Señoras de Fuensicia and Fuensanta in Segovia and Teruel’s Nuestra Señora de Tremedal—all Hispanic Madonna and Child variants. Island moon tips are occasionally pegged in the base’s sides whereas Iberian moons are small low-relief seldom wider than the Madonna’s skirt.


Many Immaculadas in the Murillo tradition find provenance in Franciscan towns; those in stiff farthingales with equally rigid cloaks pushed behind Mary’s shoulders or at least baring her forearms appear to be from Augustinian and Recollect areas. Bicol folk immaculadas may be in farthingales but their cloaks drape languildly and they retain the serpent and globe of Franciscan tradition that are usually missing from Visayan versions.


Religious art was strictly controlled by the Orders until in May 1785, Carlos abolished their censorship and hoped to encourage a migration of European artisans with free passage to the Colony. Advancements in ecclesiastic plastic arts were naturally obvious among church and elite, and more so after the Island’s art academy opened in 1855; sculpture was added to the original drawing and painting curriculum before the 1900s. Nevertheless, the parish priests’ preferences continued affecting community styles.


Popular santos retained a sculptural childlikeness as religion continued its permeating force. The Spaniards came, conquered, Christianized and were replaced by new orders.

Yet the saints prevailed and with them, an exemplary cultural confluence that neatly tied up the tropical Indo-Malay world with the profound age of Christianity, equality, and perhaps even more significantly, with the great civilizations that came before. For early Roman converts were unable to withdraw from their polytheistic habits and carried home venerable images thinly disguised at first as saints; and, unable to detach from the security of their artistic traditions, these reverent Christian-elects depicted their Messiah as a handsome youth resembling beloved Orpheus and Apollo, and even retained the latter’s most popular attribute as Sun God—the halo!

*Felice Sta. Maria’s works appear in periodicals like Archipelago, Contempo and Times Journal, as well as books like Filipino Heritage, Culinary Culture of the Philippines and Turn of the Century. Her title on antiques and heirlooms in the Philippine household will be released next year by GCF Publishing.