Gridcrosser: Physicality of Piety: The Traslacion of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo

The Traslacion is famous for the intensity of the devotees, some of which try to get near and touch the image

The Black Nazarene is one of the images of Jesus Christ that inspires intense veneration among the dominantly Catholic Filipinos. It is the image of Jesus of Nazareth with dark complexion, carrying the cross on the way to His crucifixion.

Every year on January 9, the image is brought out for the commemoration of its transfer or traslacion or arrival at Quiapo Church, also known now as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene.

Held in Quiapo, a densely populated district of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, the annual traslacion procession has caught the attention of and fascinated the whole nation as well as the world for its fervent devotion and massive number of participants.

A Quiapo resident, Fernando “Butch” Zialcita, who is an anthropologist and a professor at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University, where he heads the Cultural Heritage Studies Program and specializes in heritage and identity, art and its cultural context and the interface between the foreign and the indigenous, shared his thoughts on this Filipino Catholic tradition in an interview in December 2018, parts of which was featured in the short documentary “Poong Nazareno: The Feast and Traslacion of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo, Manila” (International Information and Networking Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2021).

Roel Hoang Manipon (RHM): What is the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene?

Fernando N. Zialcita (FNZ): Traslacion in Spanish simply means “to transfer.” So, it’s an important event that takes place [where] one image is transferred to another place, or one image is brought into procession around the district and brought back to the church. Maybe, the idea is to have people participate in a procession because it’s an act of piety. It also dramatizes their belief. So, basically, traslacion is that. It creates an occasion for pageantry and celebration.

RHM: What is the background and history of the Traslacion of the Black Nazarene?

FNZ: Technically, the first transfer, I think, took place in the 1780s. Kasi (Because) originally the Nazareno (the Black Nazarene, as colloquially called in Filipino) was not in Quiapo Church. I think originally it was in the church of the Recoletos in Intramuros. But for some reason or the other, the Recoletos took pity on the people of Quiapo, so they had it transferred. So ‘yun, traslacion (So that’s it, the traslacion). Pero (But) now when you talk about traslacion, it’s really just bringing the image around the district.

RHM: What is the history of the Black Nazarene image?

FNZ: Actually, I did research on this but the exact date of the arrival we don't know. We know the exact date of the coming of the Recollects who brought the image with them. I think it’s about 1605 or something like that. So, they propagated the devotion to the Nazareno, through the cofradia, which means “confraternity.” So, it caught on. So very popular with all social classes. It’s not only for the working man but even for the middle class, it’s important.

RHM: What are the practices preceding the Traslacion?

FNZ: I have to admit something. I’ve never really been inside the church during the transfer to the andas. What is andas? There are two kinds of floats in the Philippines. One is you carried on the shoulders. That’s andas. It’s common in Spanish-influenced countries. The other one is more Filipino, the karosa. It’s a carriage on wheels. So, it’s easier. That’s more common the Philippines. I think this one is andas, so it’s pulled along. Now, I don't know exactly what takes place inside the church, the transfer. Prayers were said and then it’s brought down. There are two images. There's an image that stay in the high altar. Another image is brought from a side chapel and put on the float. And then it’s carried out. As it is carried out, the bells start peeling. So, after several rounds around the district, it finally is brought back to the church. Now, people want the Nazareno to pass their particular street because they feel blessed by the visit.

RHM: What are the beliefs associated with the Traslacion or the Nazareno that are particular to the practice?

FNZ: Well, I don't think it’s particular to Quiapo. I mean, in general, the belief that when the image of the saint or a holy figure passes in front of your house, it's a blessing. Now, what makes this different is the physicality. Let me explain that. I have to nuance it because throughout the Philippines, physicality is a very important part of processions because Filipinos are very physical in their display of faith, especially the men. The men, many men are not happy with just praying, you know, in silence. They have to show their faith through a masculine way, through in this way competition, struggle with other men. So now, physicality is also shown in other processions throughout the country like the [traslacion of Our Lady of] Peñafrancia. The image is transferred from ah church to church, and men struggle to touch it. Why the touching? Because the belief is the image represents Christ. So, when you touch the image, you get some of the blessings, some of the power of the image, which you can give to others. That’s why they buy a handkerchief like that and then you pass it on to others. So, they can bring them to their homes and use them for curing purposes. It’s very indigenous. It’s both. It is Catholic but also very indigenous.

RHM: What makes the Quiapo traslacion Filipino?

FNZ: The physicality. Well, even in Spain, celebrations are quite physical. But this one is different because it’s the men competing with each other to touch the image. It reminds me actually of the Naked Festival in Japan. The Japanese have a festival called Festival of the Naked. Men in their loincloths enter a room that’s dark. First of all, there’s a light. Then a sacred stick is thrown by the Shinto priest in the middle of the men. The lights turn off and the men scramble for the stick. Scary, no? It lasts only for several minutes because finally somebody retrieves the stick and the lights are turned on again. But this is Japan, an advanced country, very technological. It has a similar custom. It’s popular among Japanese. Now, I think both Japan and the Philippines value again the fact that men, to show their masculinity, must exert the effort.

Now, in the Philippines, I think there’s another thing to remember. In a sense, the image of Christ is treated like an anting-anting, like an amulet. In the Philippines, you cannot get the full strength of the amulet unless you pass through trials. So, the trial is for the men to show that they’re able to withstand all the pulling and pushing. Only then can you get the full power of the image. Because there are beliefs in amulets like, for example, ‘yung on Good Friday, if you bury a cat at the crossing of two streets, you can get it. Leave the cat there until the bones dry. And then, you get the bones again but it has to be done at midnight. See, there’s an element of threat. There’s a belief, for example, of the banana tree as a mutya, an essence. If you stand under the banana tree at midnight of Good Friday and let the mutya enter your mouth, you can get the power of the banana tree. But you have to battle with dangerous spirits. You cannot just get it easy, on easy terms. So, it's the same principle. You get the full strength of an amulet only if you exert power. I think that’s the underlying belief in Quiapo.

RHM: Who are most attracted to the practice?

FNZ: First of all, men. I think you’d get men of different ages. But I see a lot of young men, from youth to middle-aged. I think also one reason for the attraction is because they go in groups. They go in barkada (friend group). The men come in groups, each with a banner and they call it estandarte. They come in groups. And I think part of the attraction is you’re coming with your friends, and you show off to each other that you’re manly. I think it’s part of it. Now, the women joined only now. Women are joining within the past fifteen years. Now, women feel more liberated so they join in denims and t-shirts. They join to compete with the men. It’s a sign of feminist liberation.

RHM: Do you think this is also a kind of rite of passage for the young men?

FNZ: Yes, I think so. It’s the same principle I notice in the flagellation, which people connect with sin, it’s not. Another thing, Filipinos are obsessed with sin. It’s really a rite of passage for many people. It’s a way to show that you’re strong. Hindi ka takot (You are not afraid). I notice also in Pampanga and Bulacan— I’ve studied the flagellations there—there are people who do it alone but there also young men who do it in barkada. They do it in groups. So, you can infer that this must be a way of showing solidarity with the group.

RHM: Has the Traslacion practice evolved? Has it changed much?

FNZ: Oh, yeah. My mother tells me that before the war, all this competition was hardly there. I mean, it’s not like what it became in the 1950s, sixties, seventies. Now, it’s really disorderly, and my mother was saying—because she’s from Quiapo—before it was more orderly, before the war. And also, it was a formal occasion for the families living in Quiapo. People were dressed in formal clothes watching the procession. Kasi (Because) what I think, what has happened is this: Manila became very proletarian after World War II. You know, massive migration to the city because this was where the factories were opening up. I don't think everybody had equal chances in Manila. You may get a job but how much does it pay and we didn’t give you housing. I think it was part of these insecurities also. That is why it expanded, it attracted a lot of men who wanted to pray for relief from their sufferings. And it has grown in ever since. In the 1950s and sixties, that was already big but still relatively orderly compared to today. Today, wow, it has grown large.

I mean the monsignor, who changed the route by having it started at Rizal Park early in the morning, was hoping he would shorten the procession. What happened is this? They started at Rizal Park, passed through MacArthur Bridge, passed through Recto, entered Quiapo. But it attracted more, more people from outside this district. Now, the monsignor also wanted to shorten the route by removing certain streets. Why does it have to pass all these streets? This is just a wooden statue. People didn't want that. Although there were fire trucks that were placed to block the way, the men physically lifted the fire trucks. Imagine. So, now it’s much longer, and probably I don’t want to watch it anymore because I cannot predict anymore when it will pass by such and such a time, because I used to watch it from a friend’s house. I knew more or less by eight o’clock, oh, it’s going to pass. No, I cannot, because it ends the next morning. Ah, forget it. Never mind. So, it became really became long. That’s one evolution.

Another evolution was in the 1950s and sixties, there was only one image. When I came back from my studies abroad, I realized, wow, so many images. Small images, big images, shamans, ordinary people presenting their own images like toys. In other words, it’s no longer as centralized as before. Before, it was centralized. Church only, one image. Now, many images. Decentralized. In fact, there are even shamans, you know, making this gesture; they’re blessing people on their own. In other words, people don’t have to get the blessing from the priest. The shaman can give you his blessing. So, decentralized now. It's amazing.

RHM: Have folk beliefs seeped into the religion and practice?

FNZ: That’s normal in any living religious tradition. I am teaching a class on people and culture in Southeast Asia. It’s the same thing in Thailand. They thought that Thai Buddhism would become purer kasi (because) more people are educated. Baliktad (It was the other way around). It has become actually more magical because people migrating from the province bring their own beliefs with them. It is more magical, more belief in amulets now in Bangkok.

RHM: The Traslacion has been criticized in many ways. What is your take on that?

FNZ: Well, let’s put it this way, my approach to their allegiance is different. I'm talking about Christianity. True Christianity should result in concern for other people whether you know them or not. That is true Christianity because the essence of Christianity is love, or specifically agape, sharing. I don't see that in the [Traslacion of the] Nazareno. It’s really sharing only with people you know, your barkada, or people in the procession. But I wonder how many of those who join have concern for their fellow human beings. But you can see the garbage, walang (no) sense of social responsibility.

RHM: What is the common way of transferring this practice? How is it transferred from generation to generation?

FNZ: Well, I think, it is easily transferred because, you know, the father did it, because the father showed the example and the family thinks it is effective so they follow. But I'll give you one example of an actual transfer. This Atenean friend who joins the procession. You would think Ateneans don’t join but some do. He’d join the procession because when he was born, he was a blue baby. No pun intended. His lungs were weak. So, the father promised that if the boy will grow strong, he would join the procession annually. So, the father died. It was passed on to him. By the way, in the Philippines, vows are passed on to children. That’s also the case in the flagellations. They’re passed on.

RHM: What is the most interesting aspect of this practice for you?

FNZ: The most interesting aspect? Well, I guess the immensity of the crowd. Huge crowds. Never seen elsewhere. Huge, immense.

RHM: Is there an explanation for this popularity?

FNZ: Well, many things. People need help. As a sign of masculinity. It’s also a way to accept, to get the bisa, the power of the amulet. In this case the amulet is the image of Christ carrying his cross. That’s the amulet.

RHM: Does this practice reflect anything about the Filipino?

FNZ: It reflects the way many Filipinos approach religion. For the educated, it’s more spiritual. It’s less physical. But for many Filipinos, especially the men, it has to be physical. It has to be.