The Holy Child( Bathala)

[melvin 1]

Bathala is a Visayan word for God. To be

more specific, ChildGod. He`s enshrined

today at the Basilica del Sto. Nino in

Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines. He`s the

Cebuano`s Patron Saint, because it was

here in Cebu island where Christianity in

the Southeast Asia began, after Magellan

planted the cross on her soil 379 years

ago, in the name of the King of Spain,

Philip.

Not much has happened to the Visayans af-

ter Spain abdicated her to the United

States of America in the early 1900s, a

taste of Japan in the middle 1940s, until

she got her independence after the World

War II.

The island of Cebu where the ChildGod( Bat-

hala) therefore is enshrined is the spot

where Balarama, Krishna`s Brother is found.

If you want to see Krishna`s twin Brother,

the ChildGod Bathala, then you are most

welcome to visit this web site: http:www.

mateo.bizland.com/ There you can see Him

as you click on the colored balls one af-

ter the other. That is one of the lost

shrines of Narayana I had been telling you

to search and uncover. To us, devotees of

the Lord Balarama, we, Visayans, worshiped

Him as our dear Sr. Sto. Nino.

 

A Prayer to Bathala in Visayan Dialect

---------

 

O Senor Santo Nino, nga nag-ingon Ka:

" Pangayo, ug makadayat kamo; pangita ug

makakaplag kamo, pagtuktuk ug abrihan ka-

mo," nangamuyo Kami kanimo sa bug-os na-

mong kasingkasing, dinha sa pulong ug sa

buhat, ug nga dili gayud kami muhunong sa

pagdayeg Kanimo. Himoa, O Senor Santo Nino

nga kami magbaton kanunay sa kahadlok ug

sa gugma sa Imong Santos nga Ngalan, kay

dili man gayud Ikaw mobiya sa pag-amuma ka-

nila nga Imong gilig-on pagbarug dinha sa

Imong gugma(love), pinaagi ni Kristo nga

among Ginoo. Amen.

[melvin 1]

 

The Sto. Nino of Cebu

---------------------------

 

Spain`s golden age of discovery began after the conquest of Granada; the discovery of

the Philippines in the early 16 th century

was one more link to the glorious chain of

Iberian conquests. On Sept. 20, 1519, a

fleet of five galleons under the command of

Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese navigator

at the service of the Spanish Crown, set

sail from Lucar de Barrameda in search of

the Spice Islands. They reached Samar, then

Leyte and finally, Cebu. It was in Cebu that

Magellan took possession of the Islands in

the name of the Spanish King, which Islands

would be named by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in

1543.

Magellan`s otherwise glorious career was

cut short when he got involved with the

rivalry between native chieftains. On April

27, 1521, he met his tragic death in the

hands of Lapu-lapu while apparently trying

to assert the power of Rajah Humabon.

Upon his arrival in Cebu, Magellan was

said to have planted somewhere near the sea,

as regulated by the Ordenanzas, a big cross

to symbolize the begenning of the Christian

faith in the Archipelago.

The cross, traditionally known as Magel-

lan`s Cross, was encased in hollow tindalo

in 1835 upon the order of the Augustinian

Bishop Santos Gomez Maranon to prevent the

devotees from taking it home chip by chip.

The same bishop restored the present tem-

plate, or kiosk, located at the present Ma-

gellan street and Colegio del Sto. Nino( the

school where I studied from kindergarten to

second year high-school). Revered by the

Cebuanos, the Cross of Magellan is hailed

by tourists as a symbol of the beginning of

Christianity in the Philippines.

 

Finding the Image of the Sto. Nino

----

 

Thinking that the Spanish galleon carried

with them retribution for Magellan`s death,

the natives of Cebu made themselves ready

against the Spaniards. Legazpi`s efforts for

peace- he had explicit instructions from the

King to befriend the natives- failed. Legaz-

pi ordered the ship`s artillery to fire;

promptly the native`s fled to the mountains.

Legazpi`s soldiers set shore. As they

were making a house to house inspection,

soldier Juan Camus found inside a box a

wooden image of the Holy Child. The image

was taken to a provisional chapel where Fray

Undres Urdaneta said a thanksgiving mass

for the success of the expedition, the mis-

sion of which was to Christianize the last

native in the Islands.

The image, observed Fray Urdaneta, was

like those made in Flanders(Belgium)during

the 16th century. It must be the very same

image given by Magellan to Rajah Humabon`s

wife, Hara Amihan, upon her conversion to

Christianity.

The image is refuted to possess miracu-

lous power. Aware of this, King Charles III

awarded it, during the 17th century, the

Toison de Toro or the Golden Fleece. During

the rites held to commemorate the fourth

centennial of the Christianization of the

Philippines in 1965, the Prince Juan Carlos,

now Spain`s reigning monarch, gifted it

with a golden crown.

The image is wooden, covered with a coat

of paint. During the Second World War, the

church was slightly damaged due to the bom-

bings of the Americans. To the relief of

the Santo Nino devotees, their beloved image

was found hanging by its clothes, intact

and entire.

Enshrined at the Basilica Minore side

chapel, the Santo Nino image has its coun-

terparts and replicas all over the Islands.

It has played a very important role in the

conversion of the Filipinos to the Chris-

tian faith.

 

The Sinulog Dance

-----------------------------

 

The Sinulog is a dance ritual of Pre-

Spanish origin. The dancer moves two steps

forward and one step backward to the rhyt-

mic sound of the drums. This dance resembles

somewhat the current(sulog) of the river.

Thus the Cebuanos call it sinulog. The

dance was meant to honor the anitos and di-

watas.

When the Spanirds arrived in Cebu, Magel-

lan offered, as a baptismal gift, to Hara

Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon and later

named Juana, the image of the Santo Nino.

With Magellan gone, the natives likewise

honored the Santo Nino with their sinulog.

Because the Augustinian missionaries

appreciated native culture, the sinulog was

preserved but limited to honoring the Santo

Nino. Once the Santo Nino Church was built,

the faithful started performing the sinulog

in front of the church, the devotees offe-

ring candles and the dancers shouting, "

Pit Senyor!"

During the annual feast( 3rd week of

January) of the Santo Nino, the basilica

turns into a dancing hall after the solemn

mass, with all the devotees executing the

sinulog. The dance continues during the

procession in front of the carroza(cart)

which bears the statue along the streets of

Cebu up to the late evening.

In 1980, the city authorities of Cebu

made the sinulog part and parcel of the

religious feast of the Santo Nino. A mardi

gras atmosphere was added, the innovation

becoming more colorful each year. The reli-

gious and the earthy sometimes overlap each

other but, as a whole, there is much fun

for Cebuanos and tourists alike who find in

the Santo Nino festival that part of every

one`s childhood that must stay like Santo

Claus and halloween.

To be continued.