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Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Ang Birhen Mater Dolorosa.








A few days later they will change her outfit again to black clothes.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Ang Birhen Mater Dolorosa.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Ang Birhen Mater Dolorosa.

Paete’s  image of Mater Dolorosa is unique. The statue can move by an ingenious system of strings. The original system of strings is not in use anymore because it was found too difficult to operate. It was replaced by a system that is much easier. The wooden structure was made in Paete under the instruction of Spanish friars. The statue has two sets of heads and hands. The Mater Dolorosa was carved by Maestro Mariano Madrinan. The face for Holy Wednesday and Maudy Thursday is somewhat dark while that of Good Friday evokes sadness. Both sets have a movable head which can be turned upwards or downwards. The hands can be arranged in such a way to suggest the act of being blessed.
The clothing is also changed accordingly; a blue set is used for Holy Wednesday while black clothes are used for Good Friday. The statue of the Mater Dolorosa participates in all the Holy Week processions.

 

 

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Senakulo (passion play).

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Senakulo (passion play).

The Senakulo (from the Spanish cenaculo) is a Lenten play that depicts events from the Old and New Testaments related to the life, sufferings, and death of Christ.

Due to conflicting schedules I was not able to witness the play in Paete but had just enough time to take a few pictures of some of the participants.

You can see my coverage of the senakulo in Makati here and Marinduque here.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Palm Sunday.

Devotees continue to pray and take turns in kissing the hands and feet of the statue.

On Good Friday the Siete Palabras (Seven Last Words of Christ) is recited until 3 pm, the time of Christ's death. A short procession then goes to the house to which the statue belongs to and then proceed to return to the church. The Sto. Entierro is borne on the shoulders of the town's male devotees. It is said that if the carroza (carriage) feels heavy you have gravely sinned, while if it feels light you are said to have sinned little. The statue is  then paraded through town in a solemn manner. Afterward, the flowers that adorned the carroza are handed down to the faithful along with a piece of thread from the pillow where the Señor laid his head. The faithful tries seizing this in the hopes of a miracle or cure.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Palm Sunday.


One explanation for this ritual refers to the pre Spanish traditions among Cordillera tribes (Northern Philippines) to place the body of their deceased relative seated on a sangadil, or "death chair," made of pine boughs. They usually placed the dead body facing the house's front door, to welcome well-wishers before the deceased journey to the afterlife. Smoking the corpse with a wet fire helped preserve it for the five-day burial feast.

Another reason might be that this ritual is done to protect the wooden statue and preserve it from pests.

MCH one of my blog visitors offer following explanation.

If I may offer an explanation, the smoke is symbolic of the prayers of the saints going before God, as Revelations 5:8 states. Aside from that it also serves to perfume the statue, since it was often the case, especially in older times, that the Sto. Entierro of the parish would also be the corpus of the main crucifix. I think it has also something to do with the body of Jesus being anointed with spices after He was brought down from the Cross, as per the Gospels.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Palm Sunday.

A kubol (tent) is build with the help of wooden frames and covered with dozens of blankets that are also considered holy by their owners after the sinusuob (smoking). The statue of the deceased Christ is smoked for exactly five hours. During the five hours devotees come and go. Whilst praying and placing their feet inside the kubol they hope that God will answer their prayers. Then the kubol is disassembled and Jesus is dressed with new clothes and returned to his bed.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Palm Sunday.

On Wednesday morning devotees arrive with blankets and bottles of lambanog. The lambanog is mixed in a big bucket and mixed with agua de coloña. The statue is then transferred from the bed to a wooden chair in the middle of the room. There it is washed with the prepared liquid. Some of the liquid used is kept in small bottles that will be distributed to the devotees. The used liquid becomes sacred and is believed to be a good cure for any ailment.

To answer the remarks/questions of Vera and Brommel. The face, hands and feet of the statue are black because it is a very old statue and only those parts are normally exposed to the (sun)light. It is definitely not a "black" Jesus.

Paete's Holy Week rituals.

Palm Sunday.

A mass is held and afterwards the 16th-century statue of the Dead Body of Christ, or Señor Sepulkro to Paeteños, is brought home to its recamadero (owner and keeper of the statue).

According to town historians, the Catholic image of the deceased Jesus Christ is the oldest, most miraculous and most important statue of Paete. It is said to have been brought by Spanish friars from Mexico. What is special about this statue is that it has movable joints which allow it to be moved like a human being.
 
The statue of the deceased Christ is placed on a bed and a vigil is held from Sunday until Wednesday morning.