American and German tourists came to Paete
to observe the celebrations. In Paete church during Holy Thursday, 23 groups of these
statues of saints depicting the Passion of Christ were displayed, surpassing by sheer
number any other collection of Holy Week statuary among parishes in the Philippines,
perhaps in the whole world. After the procession in the evening, the church remained open
and the story of the Passion of Christ was chanted. People went to church and prayed an
hour or so each during the whole night. The whole town was really in mourning, in deep
sorrow.
The next day, Good Friday, people continued in their quiet, solemn way. When I was a boy,
I saw how the "Capitan" (municipal captain) imposed discipline in an
absolutely noiseless way by carrying a whip hidden inside his coat, and flogging any boy
who made any noise either inside or outside the church.
In late afternoon, the Good
Friday procession would start. This time, the number of statues was less because those
figures depicting the Passion of Christ were withdrawn. But the images of saints were
retained and dressed in black - as in a funeral procession. (The central figure of the
Good Friday procession is the "Seņor", the image of the dead Christ
laid out in a heavy ornate glass casket surrounded by weeping cherubs who hold in their
chubby little hands censers, nails, the crown of thorns, and other instruments of His
death. The casket is carried on the shoulders by an army of male penitents marching in
unison.)
Finally, there was one part of the Holy Week celebrations which children both enjoyed and
feared. This was the custom of having some people dress up as Jewish authorities and Roman
soldiers wearing mustachioed masks and plummed helmets, and carrying spears. (Elsewhere in
the Philippines, this custom is called "Moriones.") The small children
very often got scared of them but the bigger ones got lots of fun. The "Hudiyos"
were the only people allowed to jump around and make noises during Maundy Thursday and
Good Friday. In later years, this practice was abandoned because it was becoming more of a
nuisance than a religious vow.
