SEMANA SANTA FLAGELLATION RITUALS IN MARINDUQUE

As we reflect on the passion and death of Jesus Christ this Holy Week, the #NationalMuseumPH is sharing some photographs of the flagellation rituals in Marinduque. These photographs were taken by Mr. George W. Bolin (1904 – 1963) when he served with the Public Health Service of Manila from 1935–1937. The images were donated by his daughter, Dr. Anne Bolin, Professor Emerita of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Elon University in North Carolina, to the National Museum of the Philippines in March 2022.

On Good Friday, in observance of the Via Crucis (The Way of the Cross), a number of penitents would join the procession while flagellating themselves. This practice is referred to as ‘antipo’ in Marinduque. Historically, penitents would cover their faces to solemnize their ‘panata’ (vow) and keep their identities hidden, even from their families. Before joining the procession, they would prepare themselves spiritually in the cemetery by reciting prayers. Afterwards, they would proceed to the ‘magkakadlit’, or the person who makes the first incision on their backs with a blade. Throughout the procession, they would repeatedly beat their wounded backs with a bunch of bamboo sticks attached to a rope to draw more blood and inflict pain to commemorate the suffering of Jesus Christ. Customarily, the number of sticks indicates the number of years the penitent intends to practice his panata. Self-flogging and additional cuts are done until the hour of Christ’s death at 3:00 PM, after which they would wash themselves in the river or sea, formally ending the antipo ritual.

If you wish to know more about the different practices and expressions of panata carried out during Semana Santa (Holy Week), and the annual observance of the passion and death of Christ held around late March or early April, you may visit the Moryonan: Faith and Devotion exhibition at the NMP Marinduque-Romblon Area Museum in Boac, Marinduque.

Text by the NMP Ethnology Division

Photos by Mr. George W. Bolin through Dr. Anne Bolin

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