In Cainta, senakulo begins, continuing a Holy Week tradition
Biblical stories and the Passion of Christ come alive as the practice of staging a traditional Filipino passion play endures.
ISRAELITES forced into labor by Egyptians.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROEL HOANG MANIPON FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
On the evening of Palm Sunday, 29 March, marking the beginning of Holy Week this year, a senakulo started in Cainta. Staged by the Krus sa Nayon Incorporated (KSNI), the traditional Filipino passion play runs nightly until Easter Sunday, 5 April, at Tanghalang Cainta within the Cainta Municipal Grounds.
MOSESdelivering the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROEL HOANG MANIPON FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
Fireworks signaled the opening of the presentation, a long-standing devotional tradition that has become a source of cultural pride for the town. KSNI began this year’s staging with the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments, which lasted for around four hours, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
RAMSES gearing up to confront Moses.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROEL HOANG MANIPON FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
Dating back to the eighteenth century, the senakulo is a community-organized dramatization of Biblical stories, culminating in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ during the Lenten season. It continues to endure in several towns across the Philippines. In Cainta, 18 senakulista and panata groups remain committed to sustaining the tradition, alongside other Lenten practices.
The senakulo in Cainta traces its beginnings to 1904 in the barrio of Dayap, now part of the barangays of Santa Rosa, Santo Niño, and Santo Domingo. According to local lore, residents once erected a cross to ward off what they believed were evil spirits. One night during Lent, a fragrant scent was said to emanate from the cross. In response, the community made a panata (vow or promise) to chant the pasyon and stage the senakulo as a devotional offerings every Lenten season.
