Sangpit Senyor!

CEBU CITY, Philippines - “Pit Senyor kang Tatay kini. Pit Senyor kang Nanay kini. Pit Senyor kang Lola kini. Pit Senyor kang Lolo kini!…” These words, accompanied by a traditional dance: one step forward with one hand raised to the sky in praise, one step backward, and so on, is how Cebuanos pray to the Sto. Nino.

This is called the “Sinug,” a prayer dance offered with the chanting of “Pit Senyor” (an abbreviation of “Sangpit Senyor”). The celebration of the feast of the Sto. Nino - which later on gave birth to the famous Sinulog Festival - is made more poignant through this form of prayer. 

For 25 years, Carlosa Booc has been dancing the “Sinug” at the Basilica del Santo Niño. Now 78, Lola Carlosa said she does it both for money and personal devotion to the Sto. Niño. 

“Barato pa kaayo ang kandila sa una, 25 anyos na ang milabay. Karon tag dyes na, sakit napud akong tuhod, pero sayaw lang gihapon samtang makaya pa,” said Lola Carlosa, while she was taking a rest shortly after performing for a couple with a toddler.  Asked if she is thinking of retiring soon, Lola Carlosa just laughed and added: “Wa ni’y retire-retire, basta makabarug pa, padayon gihapon.” 

Lola Carlosa shared that she has danced for countless number of people asking for a variety of things from the Holy Child — the most common, she noted, is good health among the family members, like what the couple with a kid asked her to pray for. But for her own, Lola Carlosa said she also prays for practically the same things: good health for her husband and their surviving children and their several grandchildren.

She said she believes the Sto. Nino hears her prayers, proof of which are the hundreds or even thousands of devotees who come to the Basilica everyday to pray and thank Him. “Milagroso gyud ang Niño. Tinuod na kay imong pangayuon ihatag gyud, mahingpit gyud imong gipangyo kung mag-ampo ka Niya,” she happily shared in between her coughing fits.

She said some of the people who had previously sought for her help had returned to offer their thanks. “Ang uban mangayo og anak, mobalik kung nakaanak na. Ang uban nagbuwag sa ilang bana, magpasalamat pud nga nagbalik na sila. Nindot pamation nga buhi gyud ang gugma ni Snr. Sto. Niño,” she said.

Lola Carlosa is just among the more than 80 “Sinug” dancers at the Basilica, who are armed with different-colored candles. The dance is free, but the candles are sold from P2 to P10, depending on the size.

Stories of old have it that dancing as an act of praying to the Sto. Niño was first started by Juana, wife of Rajah Humabon, on the day of her christening. But anthropologist Jojo Bersales said this piece of information is not contained in history books especially in Antonio Pigafetta’s “Magellan's Voyage: A Narrative Account of the First Circumnavigation.” Pigafetta was among the 240 crew - and one of the 18 who survived the battle of Mactan - who sailed with Ferdinand Magellan to the Philippines in 1521.

But while there is no proof to Juana’s dancing in front of the Sto. Nino, Bersales said Pigafetta’s journal stated that there were dancers accompanied by the playing of musical instruments like the gongs and drums when Humabon came to visit his in-laws days after he and Juana were baptized. Although the kind of dancing performed at that time was not revealed, Bersales believes that the “Sinug” steps were from the Spaniards due to the palpable presence of the “Moro-moro" dance style.

 According to its history, the Moro-Moro dance is considered the earliest form of theater dancing - showcasing the fighting between the Muslims and the Christians - which dates back to the 1650s. In this dance, the Christian male dancers wear pants with blue stripes and sequins, beads and buttons, while the “Moros” in their red stripes. Two of the dancers also act out as a king who is identified with his long pants, crown and a cape, and his queen who wears a white or light-blue gown and a cape, usually longer than the king’s.

 The dance steps of the Sinulog Festival, the grand parade commemorating the feast of the Holy Child every third Sunday of January, have, however, evolved through the years. Bersales noted that the bringing of the icon of the Sto. Niño while dancing in the street, which is seen in most, if not all, of the participating contingents, is already out of the tradition. Yet, he said, the devotion is still there.

 â€œThe dance steps may have been modified; the feast day may have been commercialized kay daghan tawo, mga negosyo sa daplin. But the devotion is still there. People still hold a lot of devotion and belief to the Sto. Niño. It’s beyond commercialism,” he said.

 But in spite of the modifications made to the old “Sinug” dance, Bersales said that Estelita Diola’s “Linambay” dance still keeps the old Hispanic tradition. He explained the “Linambay,” which could be traced to the 1800s, still has that old Moro-moro flavor, depicting Christian dancers, with their swords and shields, fighting against the rival Muslims.

The family of Estelita Diola, fondly called “Nang Tita,” now 86, first introduced the “Linambay” to a small sub-village in Barangay Mabolo, which was aptly renamed Sitio Sinulog (from Sitio Fatima), in the mid 1800s. In the early 1900s, a group of people headed by Nang Tita was already performing the dance in their barangay.

Thus, Nang Tita came to be known as the “Keeper of the Sinug Beat.” At the time of the interview Nang Tita was rushed to the hospital after she fell from her chair, but her grandson, Romel Diola-Borja said that his Lola, despite being old and weak, would surely play her century-old drum for those who want to hear it. The drum, made of goatskin and brass, was passed on to her by her father. Romel said the drums, along with other musical instruments like the cymbals, play an important role in the Linambay dance, as these keep the pulsating beat firing so the dancers can keep up with the intricate steps. Aside from being taught the Linambay, Romel said that everyone in the Diola family is also taught how to play the instruments.

Every January, children from Sitio Sinulog would gather in the Diolas’ humble compound to learn the Linambay dance from the Diolas. The dance, Romel said, will be offered to the Sto. Nino right after the Fluvial Procession, when He is being carried back to the Basilica. This tradition of teaching children the Linambay started with Nang Tita’s grandparents and has been carried on by Romel, a fourth generation Diola. And the tradition will live on, he said, because his son, already knows how to dance the “Sinug.”

Aside from dancing the “Sinug” during the Holy Child’s feast, the Diolas, over the years, are also called to offer the dance for other people, especially the sick. Romel shared a family story that once, his ancestors were called to offer the dance for a sick couple who lived nearby. The couple got well after the dance offering and, in gratitude, gave the Diolas costumes for their dance. Romel said that since then, the family is called to dance for the sick, which they gladly do for free as part of their Christian duties.

“Malipay nami nga nakatabang kay tinuod ang gasa sa Ginoo. Pinaagi sa pagsayaw namo naa mi natabangan, nakapasalamat pud mi Niya sa mga grasya,” he said.

“Magda mi og Sto. Niño, pero dili namo isayaw. Amo ning ibutang sa altar, mangadye mi, unya anha mi mosayaw sa iyang atubangan isip offering. Og samtang nanayaw mi, mag-ampo mi nga tabangan Niya ang mga nasakit,” Romel added. 

The steps of the Linambay are very similar to that of the Moro-moro dance, complete with a sword and a shield as props. The Diolas, however, use the wooden swords and shields, which still bear the mark of the old Sinulog logo. The sword movements are said to drive away bad tidings and evil spirits.

“Ang ispada isaka sa babaw, pag-abog sa katalagman ug mga dautang ispiritu sa Sugbo. Forward, backward. Ang taming para panalipod para ang Sugbo dili masudlan og mga dautang ispiritu,” Romel said, adding that the dance is a simple and easy to- earn but the hardest part is to teach the real essence of why it should be danced.

“Lisud pud itudlo labi na mga bata imong tudluan. Pero bisag magkiat pa na sila, magyagaw, wa ta kahibaw nga nag-ampo pud diay na sila og ila. Kay halad gud ni,” he said.

While devotees can ask “Sinug” dancers like Lola Carlosa or the Diola family to offer prayers at any time of the year, after the last Mass of the nine-day novena for the Feast of the Sto. Nino, devotees get the chance to dance the “Sinug” at the Pilgrim Center of the Basilica.

Mario Gasalatan, a devotee of the Sto. Niño, said it is one of his favorite parts of the feast of the Sto. Niño as it is where the faith of the people can be witnessed and felt.

“Nindot kaayo. Di ka kasabot sa imung feeling samtang nisayaw ka ug magsige og ingun “Pit Senyor!” he said. (The Freeman)