Andrea Arellano

Geog 173

Ethnographic Project #3: Holy Week

I studied in a Catholic school for 12 years, so I have had my fair share of experience with its
customs, traditions, and rituals. Religion was always at the center of our education. We were taught about
the life of Jesus, specifically how he died for our sins. We were always encouraged to participate in
Catholic traditions and practices such as praying the rosary, going to first Friday masses, and celebrating
the Lenten season. With my education and being brought up in a religious family, I have noticed that one
of the most celebrated, or rather, most observed occasion for Catholics is Holy Week. Holy Week is a week
of solemnity and quiet reflection as it is a contemplation of Jesus’ passion and suffering before he died on
the cross and his resurrection. Coming from a country where about 80 percent of its population is Catholic,
it is not surprising that Filipinos regard this occasion as something worth celebrating and is as important
as Christmas.

From personal experience and stories from friends and family, I think that the most observed
tradition is the Visita Iglesia. Visita Iglesia is a practice wherein the devotees have to visit 7 churches and
do 2 Stations of the Cross per church. During the whole process, they must reflect on the reading, which
is about Jesus Christ’s last day on Earth as a man. Each devotion or station corresponds to a specific event
of His last day. This is usually done on Maundy Thursday or on Good Friday. On Good Friday, the church is
transformed to accommodate the death of Jesus Christ as they would cover the statues of Jesus and other
relics. Furthermore, sometimes you would only be able to do the Stations of the Cross outside. In addition,
the vicinity of the churches is often transformed into market, wherein a lot of vendors sell candles for the
stations of the cross and you would also notice the increase in traffic congestion near the areas of the
churches frequently visited during this time. Other landscapes being transformed to accommodate this
Filipino ritual are villages – some village associations ask their homeowners to have their houses serve as
stations and these homeowners would sometimes wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning just to watch over
a station.

Another popular practice is the crucifixion rites wherein men reenact the passion of Christ on
Good Friday. These penitents are called magdarame who subject themselves to carrying crosses around
town, flogging themselves, crawling on rough pavement, and even actually nailing themselves to wooden
crosses. This tradition is what Pampanga is known for and every Holy Week, their landscape is transformed
to make way for this. While the men reenact the suffering and death of Jesus, the streets are usually
crowded with people watching. These acts of mortification of the flesh are undertaken to ask forgiveness
for sins or to express gratitude for blessings. Although this is considered to be sacred in Pampanga, it is
actually discouraged by the Catholic Church and is seen as a superstitious expression. This reminds me of
how culture is a medium through which people transform meanings and attach value to things, people,
places, and actions as this is an example of how the magdarame attach value to these acts as it is part of
their culture even though the Catholic Church does not really recognize it as something sacred. As a
reflection for this practice, I saw a video of an old man participating in the carrying of wooden crosses
started circulating on Facebook. He was seen to be carrying the cross and then proceeded to curse at the
children and shouting at them even though one of the main purpose of the practice to ask for forgiveness
and essentially be “saved.” It was a perfect example of how religious Filipinos can be paradoxical when it
comes to doing rituals.

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 Easter egg hunt is a relatively modern practice during holy week. It is usually catered to young
children as Easter eggs are hidden for them to find and prizes await. For Easter Sunday, everyone should
be celebrating as Jesus has risen from the dead and festivities start as early as 4 o’clock in the morning as
people would go to church and hear mass as a form of salubong. I mentioned that some churches are
closed to the public for the duration of Holy Week or some have covered the relics and statues and it is
on Easter Sunday when they actually remove the covers and become open once again to the public. It is
also on Easter Sunday when most malls and stores reopen. During this day, villages, malls, and other
commercial establishments are transformed and would have their own version of Easter egg hunt to
accommodate all the children wanting to participate in the activity. Although the egg hunt does not
necessarily shout as something very religious or has anything related to the resurrection of Jesus, it is still
seen as a celebration – which is the main purpose of Easter Sunday.

Another thing to note about Holy Week is that during Good Friday, one of the practices is that
everyone is expected to be quiet and to solemnly reflect about the death of Jesus Christ. Everyone is
expected to stay at home and refrain from making any unnecessary noise. Malls and other establishments
were either closed for the day or were only operating until lunch time – and that is if they were not already
closed for the whole holiday in commemoration. It was as if everyone was forced to stay at home. On that
day, I wanted to have lunch out as no one was home but almost all of the establishments near my house
were closed. Furthermore, new stations and television shows were not aired on that day – the only source
of entertainment would be Netflix, Facebook, or Youtube and that is if you have connection to the internet.
This could be an example of environmental determinism, which states that human activity is primarily
determined by the physical environment. In this case, the closing of establishments and whatnot
somehow determined how we were going to spend that day – within the four corners of our houses and
expected to be quiet. Furthermore, the dynamics between the people during Holy Week is somehow a
manifestation of cultural hegemony. As mentioned, a majority of Filipinos is Catholic and when you do
not participate in the masses and the practices during this week, you should expect a long sermon from
your religious parents, aunts, uncles, or grandparents. If you plan to go out on a vacation with friends
during the Holy Week, you will either be not allowed or you will be allowed but will never hear the end of
it from your parents or other relatives – which is the case for most of my friends. However, I have been
seeing a shift in power relations in terms of religion and culture, especially among the youth.

More and more people have been considering Holy Week as a time for vacation rather than a
commemoration. People have been trading in their Sunday bests for swimsuits or even winter clothes. In
fact, you see it in the way landscapes such as the airports, expressways, and resorts are transformed. For
example, airports are packed with people going on both domestic and international flights and you should
expect long lines in boarding and immigration. Beach resorts, hotels, and other establishments would
offer special Holy Week promos and you would expect that most tourist spots are fully booked. In addition,
photos from the past weekend would give you an idea of how crowded these places were. NLEX, SLEX,
and other expressways even ‘beefed up’ their operations by opening portabooths and sites that offer first
aid treatment, mechanic services, free Wi-fi, and drinking water. This is all for the expected influx of motor
vehicles who are off to a vacation or those going back home to their provinces. Perhaps, one of the most
sought-after and most exciting landscape transformation is the obvious lack of traffic in Metro Manila
once the holiday hits because either 1) people are staying home or 2) they are out of town or the country.
On one hand, my experience during Good Friday is an example of environmental determinism. On the
other hand, these non-sacred activities I have mentioned is a manifestation of possibilism – wherein
humans are not confined by their environment, the environment just creates opportunities for us. The
world offers opportunities for people and to be what they choose to be. In my case, instead of praying or
reflecting, I spent my Holy Week mostly watching Netflix in my room or hanging out with friends. I know

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some friends who went home to their provinces and had their own Holy Week traditions by doing
processions. I had friends who went to Japan, La Union, Palawan, and the United States.

As I have mentioned, I was brought up in a very religious environment. However, as I grew older,
I lost sight of religion mainly because I did not like the feeling of being obliged to do traditions and
practices that I do not entirely believe in just for the sake of being part of a group. I believe that Holy Week
is not just for Catholics and for these traditions. For some, Holy Week is a time for tranquility, a period of
sacrifice, or an opportunity for a vacation. Beyond all these Filipino traditions that I talked about, the past
week could be used in different ways depending on your beliefs. In order to support my point, I came
across an article written by a certain Lorhenz Larasca. He mentioned how each of us has an aspect in our
lives that we must flourish, whether or not we have a religion – our spirituality. He emphasized the
importance being spiritually healthy and Holy Week helps in giving us an opportunity to focus on that,
may it be through strict observance of these traditions and praying or by taking a breather and staying at
home.

Word count: 1687

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All photos are taken from Google