Experiencing Limasawa Island’s Sinugdan Festival
On March 31, 1521, this was when the First Holy Mass occured in Limasawa Island during the Spanish expedition. This serve as a mark of the spread in Christianity in the Philippines which was participated by the people on the island. “The Sinugdan festival is a historical festival commemorative of the 1st Mass in the country.The meaning of “SINUGDAN” is “BEGINNING” as the start of the spread of Christianity. “ (Michaed Dax Barlaan(THE FREEMAN) ) . Almost everybody in the whole part of Leyte are joining this grand event and even foreigners came on the island because they are also eager to witness it every March 31.
Meanwhile, the last time that I joined in celebrating this event when I was in the fourth grade since my father was one of the organizers in the festival, he wanted me to see how they celebrated it. During that time,it was also my first visit in Limasawa Island and after being there, I haven’t visited there anymore for six years.
Brgy. Magallanes Elementary School
Last March 30, 2011, I was able to join again the Sinugdan Festival in Limasawa because my aunt was the president of the Mother Butler Mission Guild organization (a religous organization for women only in the diocese) because she wanted me and my cousins to help her during the festival. So without any hesitation, we packed a few things for our trip and rode a “bangka” to go accross the island which took us about two hours to arrive there. When we got thre, we stayed at the Brgy. Magallanes Elementary School and set up a tent for us to sleep during the night.
During the opening mass
After a good night sleep, the next day was March 31, 2011, it was the day of the 490th celebration of the First Mass or known as the Sinugdan Festival. My cousins and I went to the plaza on the island where the street dances were held, the native products were displayed and most importantly the Mother Butler Mission Guild’s booth was there where we were tasked to help our aunt. We were only assigned to arrange the vestments of the priests so it didn’t take us a long time to finish it then after doing so, we were off to explore the island and enjoy the rest of the celebration; this was when our journey started.
As we spent the celebration, we looked at the different native products displayed in the booths because we were curious of what did our “kababayans” make for this event. We noticed that the native products and structure of their booths were all made out of rattan, bamboos, coconut leaves and other raw materials which were decoarted in a graceful manner for it to reflect the culture of the Filipinos. Like for example, we saw some booths that their gates were made out of real leaves using strings to attach them and added flower s to make it more decorative and attractive to look at; the booth it looked like a Nipahut. We saw a booth from the municipality of San Ricardo which had baskets, bags, and jewelry that were made out of dried skins of a coconut, rattan and stones. We asked the people who were in charge of the booth on how they made it, they told us that they used only their hands inorder to create such a product but using only their bear hands wasn’t that easy because they need to exert too much effort on the details and it took the about three days to finish it. In addition, they also told us that making those things were their sideline business where they can get more income aside from their income as a market vendor and fisherman. From the looks of the native products, we can really imagine that they worked so hard on it because of how they made it so beautiful and durable.
When the drums started playing, we ran so fast to the plaza grass to watch where the dramatization of the First Christian Mass in the Philippines were being performed by the people on the island. The performance was done through dancing and chanting accompanied by the beating of drums and bamboo percussion called the “karatong” and blows of the "budjopng" or the triton's shell. The dancers are not only excellent in the way they dance but they were also creative in their costume because it didn't cost them that much since they were only using face paints. Everybody gave the presentation a big round of applause after doing their outstanding performance and I was even impressed by them too.
The Magellan's Cross
After looking at the booths and performances, we decided to check out the awesome views on the island so we went to the famous Magellan’s cross which was located at the highest point on the island. We wanted to take a good view at it but we had to take 450 steps before getting there. My cousins and I boasted that 450 steps were not that bad since we were already used to hiking in far places but as we walked on our way to the cross, we got cursed by our bragging because our legs were starting to ache so we rested for a few minutes to get some strength back.
When we finally arrived on the cross, we took a few pictures and surprised to see one of the tourism officers who was a friend of ours which we are fond of calling him our Kuya Boy. He was there to entertain guests through explaining to them the history of the Magellan’s cross; since we were already there, we decided to join with the tourists in listening to him. He told us that he read an article on the internet about the cross that it was found in Masao Beach, Butuan City and made a big confusion about where the First Mass was really held. According to a symposium in the National Library, Manila sponserd by the National Historical Institute held on June 1997, “One of the evidences to prove that it was held in Masao, is the Magellan’s cross founded at the seashore of Masao Beach, Butuan City. The four primary sources on the voyage, state that Masao was located at a latitude of 9 degrees or 9 and 2/3 degrees north, a position which eliminates Limasawa Island, which is located 9 degrees 55’8” north latitude, and strengthens the claim of Masao, Butuan which is at 9 degrees 00’8” north latitude.”; but after many years, Limasawa was the accepted historic location. Furthermore, the Magellan’s cross of today is being deformed from it’s original old structure through repainting and fixing damages inorder for it to last long.
The Magellan Shrine
After exploring the Magellan’s cross, we went back down to the plaza because it was already time for lunch and there was nothing left to see anymore upstairs. When we finally reached on the ground, all of a sudden, my cousins ran fast because got eager when we spotted the Magellan Shrine which is located in the eastern part of the island. I was not that eager anymore because I have been there already but still, I accompanied them in seeing the shrine. My cousins and I were describing the form of the shrine because it looked so small when we were in a far position in viewing it but when we take a closer look at it, we feel like we were living in the period of the knights. I recalled what my father told me about the shrine, he said that was where Magellan and his crew celebrated the First Mass in the Philippines.
When we were done looking at the shrine, we went back to the Mother Butler Mission Guild’s booth because our aunt was looking for us. She told us that we were going home after we take our lunch because it would be hard for us to look for another transportation if we stay longer on the island. My cousins and I wanted to discover more on wonderful spots on the island; we did not want to go home yet because we still want to continue our adventure as little explorers. While eating our lunch, we were planning to visit here again and this time, we want to be on our own so that no one will ever dare cut our adventure.
When the truck has stopped, we got off and went straight to the “bangka” going back to Maasin. As I was standing at the edge of the boat, my cousins poked me on my shoulder and said “Susss! Unsa si-e nang nawnga nimo nga mug-ot man?! Ang sija kay! Mamalik ra lage ta diri! Ajaw kabalaka kay huwaton ra gajod ta diri!”
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