Moriones of Marinduque

            The show must go on: Longinus was  beheaded at midnight of Black Saturday.

 The carnival spirit of Marinduqueños remained unquenched as they staged the annual
  Moriones festival, one of the Philippine versions of Brazil’s Mardi Gras.

            Tradition holds that Longinus was
Roman soldier who pierced the left side of
Jesus as He suffered on the cross. Blood
from the wound fell on the blind left
eye of Longinus, and miraculously cured
it. The soldier became a believer, provoking
 the ire of other Roman soldiers.

  The highlight of the festival is the mad chase of Longinus, ending with the pugutan
– his beheading.

  Morions roamed the streets of Boac, Mogpog and Gasan, from Holy Monday to Easter Sunday dressed in colorful Roman soldiers’ costumes and fierce looking masks and helmets made of wood, papier-mache, carved wood and other indigenous materials and brightly-colored tunics. Aside from scaring the kids, or engaging in antics or surprises to draw attention., lucky tourists got Morions to perform a harana for them.

           

Like in most part of the Philippines, the Holy
Week is the peak season of the province,
and that most of its income from
 tourism was generated by this weeklong
 festival. The Moriones or Moryonan tradition
is one of the festivals in the Philippines
where cultural practices or folk history is turned into street festivals. Lent is the commemoration
of the suffering, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a 40-day-long
observance (excluding Sundays) that
begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends with Easter
Sunday. As Catholics see this season as a time for personal conversion and atonement, various acts redemption are committed by the faithful.It is a pantomimic dramatization that complements
other Lenten rituals such as the traditional self flagellation by the penitents and the chanting of Christ’s passion, which in some version will include parts of the Book of Genesis
and the Revelation.

A tourist brochure exhorts visitors to immerse themselves in a “a culture preserved through the centuries; festive traditions and colorful customs in the cozy ambience of its quaint town.”

A local once told me “There are three kinds of people: First, those who have experienced Marinduque; second, those who have heard of and plan to visit the islands; and lastly, those poor benighted souls who will never learn of Marinduque in their lifetime”

The first  time that i watched the Moriones  was in holy week of 1996, a month after one
of the country's worst environmental  mining disaster  happened  when more than 2.5 million
metric tons of mine tailings were discharged to the Boac River from the MarCopper's Tapian
 pit.

Fr. Allan Malapad, parish priest of
Buenavista town,  said in his Easter Sunday
 homily that year       the Moriones aptly
showed the “evil” man has tried for a long
time to hide. In strict theological sense, the destruction of the environment and its
ecological imbalance is the betrayal of Christ.

In some cultural nuances, the mask
had a connotation of duplicity and betrayal,
 while in others, it had strict ritual purpose The mask is both a sign of disguise and hope, of pretension and dream.. Besides its dramatic
effect, it signifies the wearer’s distancing from the character; meaning, the actors are
 faithful followers of Christ, while the characters (Roman soldiers) they represent are pagans and persecutors of Christ and his disciples. This dichotomy is important, because no fervent
Christian wants his or her piety put in doubt.

We will be seeing more Morions as they make the 2016 elections the biggest nationwide Moriones festival. And so the latest real-life telesersye about the rich and the famous continues to unravel before us -  in a country notorious for kickbacks, patronage and philandering, and where candidates are regularly caught buying votes, ballot boxes are switched, and defeated candidates usually denounce the winners for fraud. The elections have  become the arena for the elite to carry out profiteering and political showmanship. Good public relations (PR) campaign  mask the incompetence of the political elite who have become alienated from Philippine society, and who tend to represent their clans' interest, rather than various interest groups.


An article  by Quijano de Manila from the Philippine  Free Press November 1961 issue caught my attention: “The Judas in Philippine politics, who has all this time campaigned and posed as the champion of the common people, will betray the very masses whom he swore to defend and protect. The Biblical sale of Christ for 30 pieces of silver has found its counterpart in the twentieth century.”

The provincial wide schedule of Moriones 2013 was as follows:

PALM SUNDAY, March 24

5:00 a.m.         Holy Mass in all Parishes

7:00 a.m.         “HOSANAHAN” (Procession in all town centers celebrating Christ entry to

                        Jerusalem with participants showing off their gaily decorated palaspas, palm fronds)

8:00 a.m.         Holy Palm Sunday Mass in all Parishes

3:00 p.m.        Holy Mass (Boac Cathedral)

4:00 p.m.        “Estacion Heneral” Makeshift altars mounted in front of selected

                     houses in the Poblacion serve as the STATIONS OF THE CROSS. (All Parishes).

5:30 a.m.         Holy Mass in all Parishes.

HOLY MONDAY, March 25

7:00 a.m.         Holy Mass at the Moriones Arena, Boac (Ceremonial Morion Mask Rites)

7:30 a.m.         Holy Mass, Start of Mogpog Moryonan 2013 Mogpog Covered Court,

                         followed by Parade & Opening Ceremonies.

8:00 a.m.         Registration of Morions (By tradition, morions register in designated

                         places in the Poblaciones of all towns).

                        LENTEN PARADE Sta. Cruz Municipal Employee, DepEd, Cast of

                        Pang-Mahal na Araw na Pagtatanghal and MASK

                         (Moriones Association of Sta. Cruz)

9:00 a.m.         “COMMUNITY PARADE OF COSTUMES”

                        (Boac Town Center, Public and Private sector officials and employees

                        in morion inspired costumes of biblical characters, turning the town

                        into a small Jerusalem. Similar activity of wearing kaftan and parade

                        of morions is undertaken in Torrijos by the public and private sector form

                         Monday to Holy Wednesday. In Sta. Cruz “PABASA” is held at the

                        municipal lobby.

10:00 a.m.       OPENING OF MARINDUQUE EXPO 2013

                        (Boac River Bed) c/o The Provincial Government of Marinduque

                        Opening of LEGION Photo Exhibit 2013

                        (Boac Covered Court)

3:00 p.m.        Morion Parade (KMMK, MISTAH & LEGION) Boac, Poblcaion

6:30 p.m.        Torch Parade, Boac Poblacion followed by Mass and Installation of

                         New MISTAH Members (Boac Cathedral)

HOLY TUESDAY, March 26

5:30 a.m.         Holy Mass in all Parishes.

7:00 a.m. -      PABASA NG PASYON sa mga Parokya

10:00 p.m.      Visita Iglesia to 7 Parochial Churches

8:00 a.m.         Registration of Morions (All Towns) Parade

9:00 a.m.         Morion Parade (KMKK) Poblacion, Boac, Parade

10:00 a.m.       Visita Iglesia/Parade of MISTAH, Our Lady of Peace & Good Voyage –

                        Balanacan, Mogpog

1:30 p.m.        Visita Iglesia of MISTAH, St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Malabon, Sta. Cruz

2:30 p.m.        Parade/Visita Iglesia of MISTAH, Holy Cross Parish, Poblacion, Sta. Cruz

Morion Parade – LEGIONS

4:30 p.m.        Visita Iglesia San Isidro Labrador Parish, Poblacion, Mogpog

HOLY WEDNESDAY, March 27

4:00 a.m.         Pabasa ng Pasyon (Kiosk, Gasan)

5:30 a.m.         Holy Mass in the Parishes

6:00 a.m.         Pabasa ng mga Barangay ng Boac

8:00 a.m.         Community Parade of Costumes

(Participated by Public and Private Sectors, Official and Employees

    in Morion Inspired Costumes of Biblical characters, turning the town center

  into a small Jerusalem with BULATING on the streets of   Boac. “

 PAGPAPAKASAKIT NI JESUKRISTO”, Mogpog, Poblacion.

“KALBARYOHAN”, Sta. Cruz, Poblacion (Holy Wednesday to Good Friday)

3:00 p.m.        Morion Parade (KMKK, MISTAH & LEGIONS) (Poblacion, Boac)

4:00 p.m.        Holy Mass in all Parishes

5:00 p.m.        Holy Wednesday Religious Procession, All Town Centers

7:00 p.m.        “SENAKULO PART I (The Creation)

Presented by the Provincial Government of Marinduque in cooperation with

the Sinakulista (Moriones Arena, Boac Riverside)

HOLY THURSDAY, March 28

8:00 a.m.         Visita Iglesia/parade of MISTAH, St. Joseph Spouse of Mary Parish,

                      Poblacion, Gasan

9:00 a.m.         Misa ng Krisma in all Parishes

                        Morion Parade (KMKK, MISTAH & LEGIONS), Boac, Poblacion

10:00 a.m.       Visita Iglesia/Parade Sto. Niño Parish – Buenavista

                        Kalutang Competition (Gasan People’s Park, Guingona Park)

11:00 a.m.       Visita Iglesia/Parade MISTAH – St. Ignatius de Loyola Parish

2:00 p.m.        Visita Iglesia – MISTAH Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Matuyatuya, Torrijos

3:00 p.m.        Parade of Morions (Legions, KMKK, MISTAH)

5:00 p.m.        Holy Mass in all Parishes in celebration of the Last Supper

                         Holy Procession (Aglipayan Church – Buenavista)

6:00 p.m.        Start of Vigil at the Blessed Sacrament – Boac Cathedral

6:00 p.m.        Religious Procession – Gasan Independent Church

7:00 p.m.        “SENAKULO PART II” (Last Supper)

                        Presented by the Provincial Government of Marinduque in

                        cooperation with Sinakulista, Moriones Arena, Boac, Riverside

7:00 p.m.        SENAKULO (Buenavista Coastal Park)

GOOD FRIDAY, March 29

6:00 a.m.         Pang-Umagang Panalangin – Boac Cathedral

                        Tawak Drinking (Ritual, Drinking of Herbal potion against poisonous

                         bites, Brgy. Mercado, Boac)

6:00 a.m.         Flagellantes (Self-flogging by penitents), Boac Cemetery

8:00 a.m. -      “DAANG KRUS, KALBARYO NI KRISTO

12:00 p.m.      (Sta. Cruz Town Plaza)

9:00 a.m.         “VIA CRUCIS” (The way of the Cross, Reenactment along the streets of

                          Boac in cooperation with the Sinakulistas culminating at the Moriones Arena)

9:00 a.m.         “VIA CRUCIS” in Mogpog and Torrijos

12:00 p.m. -    Tawak Drinking (Guingona Park, Gasan) Flagellantes. (Self-flogging by

1:00 p.m.        penitents) Gasan and Mogpog cemeteries

1:00 p.m.        “HULING PITONG WIKA” all parishes

3:00 p.m.        Celebration of the Passion of Christ (Boac Cathedral)

4:00 p.m.        Pagpaparangal at Pagsamba sa Krus na Banal (Boac Cathedral)

5:00 p.m.        GOOD FRIDAY Religious procession – all towns

8:00 p.m.        Moriones Festival Presentation – “KRISTO ANG TAGAPAGLIGTAS”

                         (Sta. Cruz, Poblacion)

                        PUGUTAN (Buenavista Coastal Park c/o Municipality of Buenavista)

8:00p.m.        MORIONES FESTIVAL PRESENTATION,

                        “KRISTO ANG TAGAPAGLIGTAS” (Sta. Cruz Town Plaza)

BLACK SATURDAY, March 31

6:00 a.m.         Pang-Umagang Panalangin

9:00 a.m.         Morion Parade – Legions, KMMK, MISTAH

4:00 p.m.        Morion Parade (LEGIONS) Boac, Poblacion

7:00 p.m.        SENAKULO (Beheading of Longinus) c/o the Provincial Government

                         of Marinduque (Boac Moriones Arena)

7:30 p.m.        Pugutan Play (Guingona Park, Gasan)

                        LEGION TORCH Parade (Boac Poblacion)

8:00 p.m.        Torch Parade (MISTAH) Poblacion, Boac

9:00 p.m.        BLESSING OF FIRE and EASTER MASS (in all Parishes)

EASTER SUNDAY, March 31

4:00 a.m.         “SALUBONG AT BATI” “ALELUYAHAN”

                        (Ritual and Dance celebrating the appearance of the Risen Christ before the

                          Blessed Mother. Designated Area in all town centers.

5:00 a.m.         Holy Easter Mass, all Parishes

6:30 a.m.

8:00 a.m.

7:30 a.m.         “GASANG-GASANG EASTER SUNDAY STREET DANCING

                         FESTIVAL w/ HIGANTENG MORION”

10:00 a.m.       “TRADIOTIONAL PUGUTAN” Mock beheading of Longino

                        (Mogpog Covered Court)

11:00 a.m.       Brotherhood and Camarederie (MISTAH)