The marvel that is Marinduque
April 20, 2003 | 12:00am
Marinduque is regarded as the country’s Lenten capital because of the colorful festival known as Moriones. Legend has it that every Holy Week, the blind Roman soldier Longinus comes to life in Boac, Marinduque. It is said that Longinus’ eyes were miraculously cured of blindness with a drop of the crucified Christ’s blood. The Moriones festival has been practiced in Marinduque for over a century. Men (and women, too, if you are keen enough to spot them) parade in the six towns of Marinduque garbed in colorful Roman centurion costumes. The Morions’ outfits are fashioned from fabrics, shells, candy wrappers and barks of trees, among others.
Asian Spirit consultant Allen Mojica told us that aside from flying regularly to tourist destinations, the airline also flies to airports not serviced by other carriers.
"These destinations are more popularly known in the industry as the ‘missionary routes’ or the ‘unprofitable routes.’ These routes have now progressed and continue to register dramatic increases in passengers," Mojica added.
The moment we landed at the Boac Airport in Marinduque City, we were anticipating the enchantment that was the Moriones Festival.
The typical Morion mask is made of hand-carved wood or papier-mâché – fierce-looking and often bearded – topped by a turban adorned with multi-hued paper flowers. Painted wooden swords, spears, and shields are considered basic paraphernalia. The event is a crowd drawer, attracting both local and foreign tourists.
Easter Sunday is the high point of the celebration when the Gloria is intoned and Longinus dashes out of the church to proclaim the Resurrection, as the centurion did in the Bible. As he makes the announcement, Longinus wears a two-eyed mask to symbolize the miraculous restoration of his sight. As soon as he makes his proclamation, he gets lost in the crowd for fear of his life. Longinus tries to elude the Morions, but when he is finally caught he tells them of his conversion into Christianity. As he proclaims the glory of the risen Christ, he is put to death in a mock ceremony. This is called Pugutan.
Another cultural gem of Marinduque is the kalutang, a group of musicians endemic only to the island. The group is composed of local practitioners who use unique and unconventional instruments. The kalutang player holds specially chosen branches of the kwatingan tree found on the island and carefully cut to his specifications. Banging together the identical pair of wood on selected points produce notes of definite pitches and tones that remotely resemble a cross between a marimba and castanets.
One charm of Marinduque that is unique to the island is the performance of putong. Blessed with an abundance of insular and mixed heritage, Marinduqueños possess that special blend of natural warmth, hospitality, and uniqueness. Where else can one find a more sincere token of affection than that of the putong? This traditional welcome ritual – steeped in color and mirth, done through song and dance – is indigenous to the province. Honored guests are turned into kings and queens, seated on a throne, crowned, and showered with flowers for good health and money for good luck.
The piety and peace-loving traits of the Marinduqueños have made the province a very peaceful one and they take pride in being born at the heart of the Philippines. Marinduque (known as the smallest province in the Southern Tagalog region with a landmass of 960 square kilometers) even has the shape of a human heart floating on a clear blue sea.
One of the sources of pride is the Sta. Cruz Catholic Church. Like other churches in the country, it stands majestically over all other structures in the community. According to the inscription on its main door, the church was constructed in 1760. This makes it the oldest standing structure in the province, even older than the Boac Church, which was constructed in 1792 by the Jesuit priests.
The Sta. Cruz church was not only built for worship; it was also designed to provide natives a refuge in times of calamities and attacks by Moro pirates. It did serve its purpose very well. When piracy was at its height, a deep moat was constructed parallel to the walls to make it doubly difficult to penetrate the church defenses. The tile roofing destroyed by a quake was eventually replaced with galvanized iron from Europe and it has effectively preserved the whole structure for posterity.
It takes 10 minutes to walk from the town proper of Mataas-na-Bayan to the Boac Cathedral, which was built in 1666 in honor of the Blessed Virgin of Biglang-Awa (Immediate Succor). It was the place where Filipinos and Spaniards took refuge from pirate attacks. The architecture is Fil-Hispanic Gothic with much of the original structure faithfully preserved in terms of the façade, the main body, the belfry and the altar.
The province also has many natural attractions. The approach from the sea toward the port of Balanacan, within the town of Mogpog, bears a striking resemblance to a Norwegian fjord, with the unique juxtaposition of islet, breakwater, and cove. All around are numerous unexplored caves, hot springs and waterfalls. Rare underwater flora and fauna inhabit these territories, making the provincial coastal areas some of the country’s premier dive spots. One of the mesmerizing small islets dotting the seas of Marinduque, off the coasts of Barangay Lipata, Buenavista, is the Elephant Island, which is surrounded by cliffs, with a half-kilometer-long beach of white sands, and crushed corals. The island is ideal for swimming and snorkeling.
In Barangay Mainit, Boac is a free-flowing brook churning highly therapeutic waters (a favorite among the Marinduqueños) called Mainit Hot Springs. Many Japanese and Koreans frequent the hot springs for health reasons.
Marinduque – rich in history, culture and natural wonders – will surely catch you by surprise.
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