Penitence, The Pinoy Way

Holy Week. A time of reflection, a time of penance, a time of commemoration. Here in the Philippines, somehow it becomes quite festive. It is because the penitents take it to the streets. And of course, it attracts spectators.

Being a largely Roman Catholic country, the Philippine culture deeply integrates Catholicism. Since it is Semana Santa, penance is part of the practice. We Filipinos have lots of ways doing penitence. Some make it simple, some make it daunting.

The Hampas Dugo is a common practice of penitence mostly done in a few provinces of Luzon. No one knows when this tradition started, but still it is widespread. In Bulacan, it is common to see the flagellants on the streets during the Holy Week. 

In the past, the penitents will lay on the ground face down and they get flagged hard with a stick tied with strips of rubber from wheels just to draw blood. Nowadays, a razor makes an incision at the back. A clump of sticks are used by the penitents to whip their backs and they go around town for hours. After their ordeal, they traditionally will go to the nearest river and wash off the blood, believing their sins being washed away too.

The Kampilan

The longest sword native to our country, the Kampilan. Typically 85-100 centimeters long (I suck at numbers so don't ask me to convert to inches), this baby can slice a man in half with a good swing. Maguindanao and Maranao Warriors prefer this weapon, which is a good choice since it is powerful and decisive.

The blacksmiths of the Philippine's past are simple, yet effective in their jobs. The design of the Kampilan is very different among knives and swords common locally. It is a single-edged blade. From the hilt it is thick and narrow, going to the tip it thins down but widens. The sweet spot of the blade, is on its 3/4 part from the hilt. Put anything in its path on a swing, its as good as destroyed. The inertia of the swing, the thick edge of the sword and the extra weight on the widening blade creates a very powerful and fearful strike. You don't want to be in the sharp end of the blade once the Kampilan attack gets deployed.

The long and ornate hilt counterbalances the long blade, which is good. Like twirling a rattan stick, its easier to twirl a stick held near the middle, than one held near the base. The ornate hilt at times make it difficult to handle the sword, so a certain level of expertise is required when using this on battles.

Datu Lapu-lapu is thought to have used this sword in his battles as depicted in his many statues and paintings. Cool.

Pagkain sa Kalsada

Part of being Pinoy is eating on the streets. Not dining out on a restaurant with chairs and tables out on the streets, no not something as fancy as that. Eating on the streets is standing on the "kalsada," while everyone seeing you munching something sold by an illegal vendor. The background music is the noise of charging jeepneys and revving tricycles, dust blowing around you...and your food. Pero yun ang nagpapasarap dun!

We love eating. We love eating food high in cholesterol. We eat the innards of chicken, pig and beef! We eat fried flour mixed with a little bit of fish or squid or chicken dipped in spicy sauce that probably could cause hepatitis. We eat would be ducklings, sometimes with some feathers and beaks! But man, this is the Pinoy experience!

Every Filipino knows kwek-kwek, balut, isaw, and fishballs. You are not Pinoy to the core if you haven't tasted these.

The Manny Pacquiao Story Part 4

The Last Chapter. But for a Pinoy Warrior at the prime of his life, there are still more chapters to come.

The Manny Pacquiao Story Part 3

Chapter 3 of 4. The Manny Pacquiao Story.

For the last part of the series, click here.

The Manny Pacquiao Story Part 2

Part 2 of 4 Chapters. Here is the next chapter of the life of the "Pambansang Kamao."

The next part of the story, Chapter 3 is here.

The Manny Pacquiao Story Part 1

Records are meant to be broken, but not in a few decades for this guy. 8 Boxing Titles in different weight divisions. We can't see anyone coming close to it. This is the story of perhaps the greatest fighter of all time, a Pinoy Warrior going by the name of Manny Pacquiao. Before you see the Pacquiao-Mosley fight, you should watch these:

This is just Chapter 1. Click here to see chapter 2 of his story.