Religious Festivities and Arnis in Paete

 

Religious Festivities and Arnis in Paete

 

 The Hudyo are coming! The children shouted as they waited for the arrival of some men dressed in the armor of Roman soldiers. They have their respective costumes that look like segmentata, sandals made of leather, a mask of an angry face, and "morion" of Roman soldiers; carrying a replica of a gladius, the round bells that were attached to their leather sandals jingled as they walked.

They are the so-called "centurions," in the province of Paete Laguna. They are usually seen during Holy Week; they are those who act as Roman soldiers during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Two centurions in sparring

Not only in the performance of cenaculo acts, it includes their demonstrations of arnis or escrima with unique movements. There are battles and challenges for the centurions to show their prowess in the use of arnis skills.

These are just a few of what can be seen in the rich culture of Paete, other than the 'wooden carvings', beautiful scenery, historical infrastructures such as the church and homes, amulet testing, processions, and devotees.

This essay is a brief overview and reflection on the type of arnis or escrima in the aforementioned province.

Cenaculo

        The cenaculo is a staged re-enactment of the passion and death of Jesus according to Roman Catholic beliefs. It is performed every time during Semana Santa or 'Holy Week'. It comes from the Spanish word that identifies the place where Jesus with his apostles had the last supper or 'Last Suffer' before he was arrested by those who persecuted him who were the leaders of Judea.

One of the scene in Cenaculo

It is from the Catholic tradition of the Spaniards that was accepted and originally formed by the natives who are now called Filipinos; it began to be practiced in the 1700s from the Christian poetry written by Padre Gaspar Aquino de Belen of Rosario Batangas regarding the life, ministry, and death of Jesus.

It is usually performed from Holy Wednesday to Holy Friday in many Tagalog and Pampanga provinces, performed in the center of the población or near the church.

Centurion and Hudyo

For common Catholic Filipinos, especially in the older generations, the Romans who arrested, tortured, and crucified Jesus are called Judio or Hudyo. So typical of the old names for bad deeds or bad people is called as 'Hudyo'.

Strange, because the word Hudyo itself refers to Jews or Israelites, but in this context the word Hudyo is Roman soldiers. Centurion refers to Roman soldier or soldiers of rank. In the true sense, the centurion is the 'Centuria' which is a military commander of the 'centuri' or 100 Roman soldiers.

The researchers from Cavite State University together with the head of the Centurion

In a cenaculo the Hudyo or centurions act as those who arrested, tortured, and crucified Jesus Christ by the orders of the leaders and priests of Israel and Roman Governor Pontius Pilatus. So in a cenaculo, their costume is typical of clothes or armor of a Roman soldier, each style of armor depends on the available materials and understanding of the armor designers whether it is lorica hamata (mail coat), lorica squamata (scale armor), or lorica segmentata (plate armor). More noticeable are their helmets or morions, and masks; akin to this, the province of Marinduque has its version of festivities called Moriones, which is a lenten and religious festival held annually on Holy Week on the island of Marinduque.

 Cenaculo in Paete

             In Paete Laguna, the cenaculo has a unique character, not only regarding the passion of Jesus, but the cenaculo includes the battle of the centurions using the skills of arnis. So, part of the activities every Holy Week in Paete is the battle of the centurions.

This battle is the depiction of the conflict between the centurions who gambled on who would own the cloak of Jesus who was crucified.

There have been many demonstrations of the centurions fighting; there are only typical demonstrations of how to carry out the fight using their mastery of the arnis, there is also controlled gentleman's sparring using the uhay or yantok (rattan) instead of the sword in the fight. There are light and there are more painful blows, but this is under the agreement of the centurions who will fight, the standing referee centurions are also a great help to avoid short-temper and violent blows.

Two young centurion in their exchanges of blows

The centurions or Hudyos who usually perform in the cenaculo are also the centurions who will fight on the last day of the cenaculo. Watching this, each centurion has amazing moves, techniques, and tactics on how to attack or counter the enemy.

Their movement is a type of largo mano or long-range sparring, which shows good reaction time, good decision-making on how to attack or defend; and how they can use the principles of measurement or 'sukat.' This battle has one-vs-one, 3 vs 1, and a centurion war where everyone will fight against each other.

The cenaculo and battles of the centurions are held under the leadership of The Centurion Original, a group of Paete people dedicated to performing the cenaculo and centurion battle as a Paete tradition. They continue this tradition that was inherited from previous generations of Paete people. It is currently led by Maestro Arvin Paygane.

Arnis and Centurion of Paete

The arnis in Paete can be said to be classical arnis because their movements have been inherited from the wisdom of the previous centurions and are active in sensitizing their people. The moves are practical, effective and can truly be said to be a local martial arts tradition.

Two maestros of Centurion in their free sparring 

Some visitors are waiting to watch it, audiences from Paete itself, from neighboring towns, from Manila, foreigners, and arnisadors from different places. As an aficionado of arnis or escrima, visiting and watching it is not only for entertainment, but a support for the preservation, promotion, and development of arnis in Paete. This is what arnisadors should not miss, next year 2025 Lenten Week in Paete, province of Laguna, Philippines.

 

 

References:

 Anajao, Joel (2023). Arnis Paete: A Sense of Historical, Cultural, and Martial Tradition.

Swordman’s Journey  https://joelanajao.blogspot.com/2023/11/paete-arnis.html 

Donoso, J. (2009). The Hispanic Moros y Cristianos and The Philippines Komedya, Philippine

Humanities Review, Vol. 11-12, 2009-2010, ISSN-0031-7802,   https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/42229/1/2010_Donoso_PHR.pdf

Hernandez, T.C. (1976). The Emergence of Modern Drama in the Philippines (1898-1912),

 Philippine Studies Working Paper No. I Asian Studies Program, University of Hawaii

 June 1976, https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/532ef3d2-6226-4890-ae56-bdbf5a0aed35/content

Javellana, R.B. (1984). The Sources of Gaspar Aquino de Belen’s Pasyon, Philippine Studies

 Vol.32. No 3 (3rd Quarter 1984) pp. 305-321, Ateneo de Manila, Philippines

“Naquem” (2011). Cenakulo 2010 from the Centurion Original of Paete Laguna.

Naquem, a sense of understanding, http://naquem.blogspot.com/2011/04/cenakulo-2010-from-centurion-original.html

 

Acknowledgement:

 To the maestros and friends in Paete who helped and accepted us for a few days' stay in Paete Laguna.

Gran Maestro Doy Baldemor

                        Maestro Arvin Paygane

                        Maestro Anthony “Tony” Pagalanan

                        Maestro Rene “Kulot” Delos Reyes

                        Maestro Cesar “Papay” Cadang

 To the leaders of The Centurion Original and those not mentioned maestros, centuriones, arnisadores.

 

Visitors and Cavite State University Arnis Research Team

                             Prof. Ronnel P. Cuachin

                             Mr. Amiel M. Cortez

                             Mr. Allan C. Guanlao

                             Mr. John Eliezar Michael Samala

 

 

Written:  Joel D. Anajao

                 March 29, 2024

                 Paete Laguna


Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2024 at 10:58 PM

    BPED 2-1 ( 202405667 )

    These are some evidences that Paete, Laguna is enriched with unique cultures. By reading this article, I found out that the Arnis and the religious festivities in Parte can be mixed and use as a skill for fighting. It is truly amazing that the Cenaculo a Catholic tradition is demonstrated in Paete, centurions are fighting using the mastery of arnis and it is also a part of the activities every Holy Week in Paete and it can be said to be a classical arnis because of their movements are practical, effective and can truly be said a local martial arts tradition. As a student and a Filipino citizen we should embrace also support our culture for better preservation and promote these to have a much better development. The Arnis and Festivities in Paete, Laguna is a representation of how important the culture is, we can learn so much from it and we can also use these in our generation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 17, 2024 at 6:57 AM

    BPED 2-1 I 202300737

    ReplyDelete

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