For
today’s generations, the moryonan of
Marinduque may remind them of cosplay or
costume play, a role-playing subculture that most likely started in 1990s, part
of popular culture in Japan, in which participants wear costumes of characters
from Japanese comics and cartoons as well as from other popular sources. But
the moryonan is much older and
focuses on just one type of the character, the Roman soldier during Biblical
times. Additionally, it has more serious meanings for participants, at least in
its early days.
This year marked my first encounter
of the moryonan, which has become an iconic Philippine practice, and
instantly I became enamored of it. The moryonan
is unique to this island province, about 250 kilometers southeast of Metro
Manila, at the southern edges of Tagalog country.
The Tagalogs of central Luzon most
likely have the richest Lenten traditions among the Christianized ethnic groups
of the Philippines. The capital and melting pot, Metro Manila, dramatically
slows down and relatively quiet during Holy Week, but the surrounding and
nearby provinces, predominantly Tagalog, such as Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and
Marinduque, become alive with different practices, rites and customs, many them
shared and common among them and several are unqiue. Most of them a blend
Western Catholic traditions, old folk practices and homegrown inventions.
The Holy Week celebration in
Marinduque starts in the early morning of Palm Sunday with hosanahan,
processions in which parishioners carry palaspas or palm fronds,
commemorating Jesus Christ’s entry to Jerusalem, as narrated in the Bible. This
is followed by a holy mass.
On Holy Monday, the moryons start
showing up in the streets and plazas of all the six towns of Marinduque — Boac,
Mogpog, Gasan, Santa Cruz, Torrijos and Buenavista. I arrived midweek, on Holy
Wednesday, surrounded by moryons. At the town plaza of Mogpog, the masks
and headresses were arrayed as moryons registered for the pagmomoryon.
Moryons are
the townspeople who wear moryon costumes, portaying Roman centurions or
soldiers during Biblical times, closely associated with reenactment of Roman
soldier Longinus’s (locally called Longino) martyrdom. They march or roam the
streets twice a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, during the
oppressive of the summer. Like other Catholic practices and rituals, pagmomoryon
is an act of penitence or penance, a show of gratitude or a way of asking
for blessings, adding to several Lenten practices introduced by Spanish friars
such as the sinakulo or passion play, and pabasa or the reading
of the passion of Christ, which are said to have started in the early 1700s.
Many locals recognize that the moryonan
started in 1870s in the town of Mogpog, then a barrio of Boac, by then
parish priest Dionisio Santiago. Others say it started with a farmer in the
village of San Isidro in Mogpog. They recall that in the early days, there were
only three moryons. One was Longinus, with a mask depicting one eye
blind, and another called Kapitan, who decapitates Longinus. Moryon is
derived from the 16th century helmet morion, which has become iconic morion
with popular depictions of early Spanish explorers and conquistadors. It is
likely that morions were used as part of the costumes before they developed
their own helmets and headresses.
Before long, other townspeople took
up pagmomoryon. The original moryon characters had masks carved from
wood, thus the term “moryong kahoy,” while the others were common
soldiers, wore papier-mache masks and were called “moryong papel.” In
those times, townspeople were not able to identify who the participants were
behind the masks. Moryons were careful to hide their identity. Locals
tell that they hid their masks and costumes in mountains and fields and
returned them surreptitiously to don them when Holy Week arrives. Their arrival
was announced by the beating of the kalutang, a native bamboo instument.
Friends from Marinduque remember
childhoods spent with the moryons. They roamed the streets and were
feared by children, who taunted them: “Moryon bungi,/may tae sa binti./Hinabol
ng pari./Takbo pauwi.” The moryons would chase them off, and
many children would cry from fear, but parents would let them be.
Now, children themselves are also
participating as well as women when before only men do the moryon. Pagmomoryon
is often passed down to children. Participants have been increasing through
the years. In Boac on one Holy Wednesday, more than 300 people participated
while in Mogpog there are about 200.
Over the years, different styles in
the masks, which are now all made of wood, and costumes also developed. There
is a difference in the headdresses between the moryons of Boac and
Mogpog. The Mogpog moryons are more colorful, crowned with flowers made
of palara or any shiny paper, which represent the number of years a
moryon will carry on with the panata or vow. On the other hand, the Boac
moryon costumes have the galea, the Roman centurion helmet which is
marked by a crest, which made of horse hair, bird feathers or bristles of
synthetic materials.
Moreover, the Boac moryon masks are
said to be more handsome, while those in Mogpog are fiercer. In Gasan, they can
be grotesque, almost like the face of the devil.
Costumes have become elaborate over
the years with the coming in of new materials and styles inspired by Hollywood
movies of Biblical stories. The additions of embellishments are reminiscent of
the adornments of the Philippine jeepney, showing the floridness of folk sense
of designs. There are now brestplates, most of them shiny, made from metals or
fiberglass, showing well-defined torsos with visible abs and chests.
War skirts and sandals are made of
strips of leather or leatherette. Capes range from velvety to furry.
Moryons have
become fixture during Holy Week, participating in many events such as
processions, passion plays and reenactments.
The
Sinakulo
in Boac
The sinakulo, the folk
dramatization of the passion of Jesus, mounted during the Holy Week in many
parts of the country, usually starts on Holy Wednesday in many towns of
Marinduque.
In the capital town of Boac, it was
mounted at the Boac Morion Arena, constructed on the bed of the Boac River,
reclaimed for the sinakulo and other activities. It was an expansive
stage, taking up half of the open-air theater’s periphery. Half of the stage is
of natural geologic formations such as a low hill with grass growing, used for
outdoor scenes. The main stage was meant to look like a palace. An artifial
cave was put up beside the hill.
The sinakulo started with the
story of Adam and Eve, who are the first ones to have sinned, and Old Testament
prophesies, tracing the history of salvation. On the second night, the play
included scenes such as Jesus’s miracles, His betrayal, the Last Supper and the
suicide of Judas. Dialogues were recorded and the actors lip-synced.
While the sinakulo is ongoing
at the arena, there was a trade fair and tiangge at the adjacent area
and next to it an entertainment area where people can eat and drink while
watching live band performances. I felt ambivalent about the drinking and live
entertainement because they destroy the solemn mood and traditions of the Holy
Week.
According to Jing-Jing Garcia Loto,
tourism officer of Boac, these were run by the “local association of business
owners in Marinduque for the benefit of the local business and to provide
another entertainment for tourists visiting Marinduque.”
The Church requested a suspension of
the entertainment at least for two days, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
The
Via Crucis
The Via Crucis (Way of the Cross)
reenacts Jesus Christ’s carrying of the cross to Calvary, going through
fourteen “stations.” In Boac, it continued the story of the sinakulo via
a street processsion. It started at half pass ten in the morning at the Morion
Arena. In last night’s episode of the sinakulo, Jesus was brought to
Pontius Pilate, who let the people decide on his fate. They wanted him crucified.
On Good Friday morning, he was dragged out into the streets by the moryons
together with two criminals, whipping them while they carried their crosses.
Spectators who had waited for them on the streets heckled and goaded the moryons
to hit them more and more vigorously. At this point, the townspeople became
part of the reenactment. It must have been a purgative experience for them,
this crying out for more pain.
Trailing the Via Crucis were several
flagellants, locally called antipo, who whipped themselves with pieces
of wood and bamboo until their backs, arms and legs bled. They went around the
streets and cemeteries. They also cut themselves with blades to let out more
blood. At the end, they washed themselves in the river and claimed their wounds
are healed.
The Via Crucis ended at the Morion
Arena where Jesus was curcified on a small hill, which is part of the sinakulo
stage. One of the Roman centurions, Longinus (Longino), who was half-blind,
stabbed Jesus at the side with his spear. A drop of his blood went to
Longinus’s blind eye and suddenly this blind eye was able to see. This Chistian
legend of St. Longinus is only hinted in the Bible, and the moryonan of
Marinduque is notable for its retelling of the story. Longinus’s story would be
told in the evening in the last part of the sinakulo called “pugutan” or
“the beheading.”
Meanwhile on the streets, more
moryons were going around. A group caught the attention of many people. It was
a family of moryons, sporting identical design themes. One of them, Eric
Morales, was a carver of moryon masks as well as a maker of moryon
costumes from Sibukaw, Mogpog.
By noon, many people were drinking tawak,
a dark potion concocted out of about 60 ingredients known only by its makers,
and these included roots, barks and leaves. Described as bitter and spicy, tawak
only acquires potency when drank on Good Friday and is said to be bestow
drinkers protection from snake venom and other animal poisons for a year.
The
Good Friday Procession and the Women Who Wear the Pupuwa in Gasan
Religious images on carrozas
or floats bedecked with flowers, ribbons, lights and other adorments are
wheeled into the streets on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in many parts of
the country, including Marinduque. On Maundy Thursday, the procession depicts
the agony and passion of Jesus Christ, while the procession on Good Friday, the
gieving Mater Dolorosa and Santo Sepulkro or the dead Christ are included.
After the Via Crucis in Boac, we
went to the next town of Gasan for its Good Friday procession, which is said to
be the most popular one in the island. Starting late afternoon, just before
sundown, the procession was led by men and boys in purple and black hooded
robes rattling the pataraka, a bamboo rattler. They were followed by altar boys,
religious icons on carrozas and parishioners. The procession was big but not as
dramatic and spectacular as the one in Paete, Laguna. A curious part of
procession is the “pagsusunong ng pupuwa,” a unique Gasan ritual done by
the women. While men do the antipo or flagellation, and the pagmomoryon,
the women do the “pagsusunong ng pupuwa” as penitence. They wore long
black robes or gowns, a black veil and a thick crown of pupuwa leaves, a
plant thriving in the forests of the Tagalog provinces. It is considered
medicinal in Marinduque. They walked barefoot in the streets of Gasan.
The
Pugutan
The Boac sinakulo concluded
on Black Saturday, culminating not only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ but
with the transformation and martyrdom of Longinus by beheading. In other towns
of the southern Tagalog province, “pugutan” happens on Easter Sunday. Moryons
chase after Longinus around town all morning, making the whole town the stage
for the reenactment and the real townspeople playing the townspeople who either
aid or mislead the moryons. Longinus will do his antics, and he will be
captured and escape several times, but the chase will end at noon with the
beheading.
The moryonan of Marinduque is unique
in the country for its emphasis on Longinus, and the pagmomoryon is most likely
a tribute to him.
The
Maker of Masks
Most agree that good mask carvers
are found in Mogpog. On Easter morning, we went to Sibukaw to find Eric
Morales. His working shed was open and littered with pieces of wood and tools
for carving. There were a couple more houses in the area. One is where his
parents live. His mother is a maker kakanin, native rice sweets, which
she sells early morming in the market. His father is well-known moryon mask
carver, but is now an invalid, unable to create masks.
Sitting
on a wheelchair, Renato “Atong” Morales is 72 years old and has suffered from
stroke 13 years ago. Thirty-seven-year-old Eric learned how to carve moryon masks
from his father, who learned it from his father and started making masks since
1960s. Mang Atong did not really teach Eric the craft but Eric learned it by
observing and assisting his father. Of Mang Atong’s eight children, five of
which are boys, only Eric is interested in wood mask carving. After high
school, he went on to study drafting but dropped out to go into wood carving
full time. He has been making masks as well as whole moryon costumes for
20 years now. He makes an average of 20 to 25 masks a year. He is also into
tattooing and T-shirt printing, also requiring creative skills, to augment
income.
Moryon masks
are made of santol wood or sometimes dapdap (Indian coral tree) wood, or
a combination both, santol for the face mask and dapdap for the
helmet. A mask, together with the helmet, sells for about P5,000. Mask only, like
the ones in Mogpog, is about P2,000. A whole costume, down to the gladiator
sandals, costs about P15,000. The chest armor is wrought out of “lata.”
Tin or maybe aluminum, I presume. Moryon masks are made-to-order and are
rarely redily available for tourists to buy instantly.
According to Eric, there are only
three mask makers in Mogpog. One is an assistant and student of Mang Atong in
the same barangay. Another is in the adjacent barangay of
Jamagdo, who I met five years ago.
Eric said he will continue doing moryon masks as
long as he can. Asked why he wants to make masks, he said he is just
“interested” in it and “ayaw kong mamatay ang tradisyon.” (I don’t want
the tradition to die out)
