Pit Senyor!!!

 

PIT SENYOR!

 by: Roy Rolan Templado

Here in Cebu, you can always hear the tuneful phrase ‘Pit Senyor! everywhere. 

Pit is a contraption of the Philippine vernacular “Sangpit” which means “to call upon”. Senyor, on the other hand, is an endearment to the Holy Infant Jesus of Cebu. Sinulog is the ritual prayer-dance honoring Señor Santo Niño or the Child Jesus. The Sinulog dance moves are basically two steps forward and one step backward as the dancer sways to a distinct rhythm of drums. This movement resembles the water current movement (Sulog) of what was known as Cebu's Pahina River.

The Sinulog Festival is one of the most fascinating seasons of the year for Filipinos; especially for the Cebuano devotees of the Holy Infant Jesus. It takes place in the queen city of the South and the second largest city in the Philippines, Cebu. It happens every third Sunday of January, but with the celebration’s evolution, the Sinulog Festival has become a month-long tradition in Cebu. It features various traditional activities: other than holding a Catholic Liturgical Mass, a Fluvial Procession for the veneration of the Holy Infant Jesus on the eve of the 3rd Sunday is being joined by a huge number of locals and tourists.

The participants in the Sinulog Festival wear bright-colored costumes and dance to the music made by trumpets, native gongs, and drums. The streets are full of people eager to witness the beauty of the festival. With the overwhelming amount of people who witness the traditional celebration and the beauty of the culture it portrays, Sinulog festival remains as Cebu’s proudest attraction, along with the beautiful beaches and historical places.

It all began when Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu (then called Zebu) on April 1521. One of his goals was to introduce Christianity to the inhabitants of the island. Cebu’s Rajah Humabon, along with his wife Hara Amihan and subjects, were baptized and converted to the Christian faith by Father Pedro Valderama, the expedition’s priest. Magellan then gave an image of the Child Jesus to Amihan – christened as Juana to honor the Charles I's mother – as a baptismal gift, according to the journal of Antonio Pigafetta. 

The dance steps used in the ritual are believed to be from Rajah Humabon’s adviser, Baladhay, who was allegedly cured from sickness by Santo Niño. According to historical accounts, Baladhay, then ill, was found to be shouting and dancing shortly after he was placed in an area where the Santo Niño and other pagan gods were displayed. He said the image of the Santo Niño was trying to awaken him. Baladhay's dance movements resembled the back-and-forth movement of the water current. Devotees still use the two-steps forward, one-step backward movement in the belief that it is upon the Santo Niño's instructions.

The Santo Niño de Cebu is a Roman Catholic title of the Child Jesus associated with a religious image of the Christ Child widely venerated as miraculous by Filipino Catholics. It portrays the Child Jesus, with a serene countenance, in the attitude and dress of a Spanish monarch.

As the festival becomes more and more famous each year, tourists would never want to miss the opportunity to watch it and became more and more commercialized. The festival now, not only consists of costumes and dances, but also contests, such as art exhibits, beauty pageants, photo contests, and singing and dancing contests. One of the festival’s activities, such as concerts, cultural shows, fireworks display, fun runs, and street fairs are held after the procession. 

Sinulog is also known for the various street parties and spectators indulge in excessive alcohol drinking held in the country's second-biggest metropolitan area. It affects the tradition of Sinulog but despite the perennial headache of crowd control with the huge number of attendees, organizers said that it is just the "dark side of the moon" of the country's "biggest and grandest cultural festival."

This Year 2021, Local government and church officials of Cebu City have canceled the popular Sinulog activities due to lingering threat of the covid19 pandemic. It’s the first time that this grand festival which draws millions of tourists and local devotees every year, has been canceled. All mass gatherings are not allowed and everyone celebrated the Fiesta in their own homes watching last years events and enjoying the Sinulog beat in their own televisions and sound systems. 

Hopefully, when this pandemic will be over... We can celebrate Sinulog festival again the way we used to. But for now, as the Augustinian friars said; "Let us keep the Holy Child in our hearts and ask for His everlasting compassion as we heal as one."