“(In)…the Incarnation—God manifested in a body filled with the same life-giving red and white blood cells, plasma, and platelets that flow in every human being…(and)…transformed reality, in the past, now, and forever, both on Earth and in Heaven. (editorial note by Ellyn Sanna to All Shall be Well: a Modern-Language Version of the Revelation of Julian of Norwich , original printed in 1670, modern translation published in 2011)

 “How all things are in migration! How they seek refuge in us. How each of them desires to be relieved of externality and to live again in the Beyond which we enclose and deepen within ourselves. We are convents of lived things, dreamed things, impossible things; all that is in awe of this century saves itself within us and there, on its knees, pays its debt to eternity.” (Ranier Maria von Rilke, “Letter to Sophy Giauque, 1926,” in A Year with Rilke, translated and edited by Joanna Macy and Anita Barrows, 2009)

(Written in a more scholarly tone than my other essays in this collection, I attempt to return to the disciplines of ethnography and literary criticism using the techniques of structural anthropology and formal analysis to give readers access to the intricacies and depths of the subli song texts I have held close in the secrecy of my heart for many decades and revealed only in bits and pieces over the years.)

It was in December of 1980 that I first set eyes on the subli, the devotion to the local icon called the “Mahal na Poong Santa Cruz” (Beloved Lord of the Holy Cross) practiced in Southwestern Batangas, Philippines involving prayer, poetry, song, instrumental accompaniment and dance that has, as a result of the research and practice of a collective of scholars and practitioners, become an icon and marker for the culture and spirituality of the province. The initial documentation of this devotional form was published in 1989 as the book, Subli: One Dance in Four Voices/Subli: Isang Sayaw sa Apat na Tinig. (Mirano et al., Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1989). It won the National Book Award for that year in the Art Book Category. In 1998, a revised/updated chapter on Subli and its practice was published in Ang mga Tradisyonal na Musikang Pantinig ng Lumang Bauan, Batangas (Mirano, National Council for Culture and the Arts, 1989), a book that won the Gawad Tsanselor (Chancellor’s Award) of the University of the Philippines in Diliman as Book of the Year in the Arts Category. While much interest has been generated as a result of these publications, and its practice has become a staple of activity in Batangas City and the towns surrounding it, I have so far avoided one important area that should be basic to any cultural or literary study – the formal interpretation of the “texts” that have been generated by these studies.  In the paper that follows, I attempt a close and personal reading of the overall cultural text that is the subli, focusing closely on three formal areas:

1.     archival and oral documents narrating the events leading to the first subli performance in the 16th century;

2.     ethnographic observations arising from my investigation into the practice of subli by three troupes of manunubli (subli performers) in three Batangas villages from 1980-89 which have extended into the present, and

3.     the subli poetic texts in dense, archaic Tagalog that I reconstructed together with three matremayo from the villages of San Vicente and Sinala, Bauan and Pook, Agoncillo, all in Batangas.

The methodologies for analysis will be mixed and interdisciplinal: ethnography; formal analysis and close reading of the songtexts in archaic Tagalog; as well as techniques arising from structural/symbolic/interpretive anthropology and semiotics. The methods of data collection involved archival research, participant/observation and ethnomusicological field work practices. Analysis involved laboratory methods and methods for formal analysis, among them, historiographic methods, paleography, music and dance notation, formal literary analysis/close reading, structural analysis and semiotics.

The discussion that follows will be divided into three parts:

1.     The first will examine the content of archival and oral narratives about the history of the icon, “Mahal na Poong Santa Krus,” and the rise of the Subli devotion; 

2.     The second will discuss my own observations concerning the meanings generated in the course of the present day performance and practice of the devotion to individuals and groups that I interacted with in the field; and 

3.     The third will focus on my reconstruction of the poetic text of the ritual and its dense, archaic imagery, set in the early years of conversion to Christianity. 

It is hoped that this essay may be a source of understanding of the social and spiritual world that generated all these texts; the  vision of the subli as a document cataloguing the transformation of this world as a result of the practice of conversion experienced by these societies in 16th and 17th century Philippines; and finally, the role of these forms in assuring the persistence and survival of subli as a major form for worship in the present day, 400 odd years after it was first observed in the villages around the lakeshore of the active volcano that is Taal.[1]

II

Ritual as Performance:

Organization and Gender Dynamics in Traditional Practice

The organization of many practices involving both song and dance in Southwest Batangas betrays the bilateral gender orientation in the structuring of performance in the places where these are practiced. Performances of traditional Southwestern Batangas forms such as the ritual pabasa (singing of the passion and death of Jesus Christ during the period of Kwaresma of Lent) and the secular awit type courtship exchange called sinilangan all feature men and women alternately singing, dancing or both singing and dancing memorized or improvised texts featuring feats of physical grace and verbal brilliance. Leadership and organization in these performances is also equally divided by males and females, who direct the flow of the practice. In the pabasa, women’s stanzas clearly define the standard melodic shape or skeleton called punto. Male stanzas stretch these shapes to the limit with their improvisations and flowery ornaments. The pushing out and pulling back of the melodic pattern as a result of these contending interpretations of the punto provide color and interest to a long communal performance, sometimes lasting from 12-14 hours.[1]

In the subli, this sharing of responsibility by the two genders is also quite evident, with male and female leaders and performers serving different basic functions. The most prominent female leader is the matremayo, usually the most senior of the women, who is the authority on the song texts and dance formations. She regulates the flow of the dancers and assigns the male and female single or double pairs that will dance together at a given time. The term “matremayo” which is only used in the subli is most probably a reference to the Maytime character of the devotion, for a subli is a 9 day celebration or novenario usually ending on the last Sunday of the month. The second term, “matre” is probably from the Latin term for mother, linking it to the many celebrations in honor of the May Queen in Europe. The male leader, who does not have a title, has the function of leading in the playing of the tugtugan, a footed drum that is the soul of the subli sound. Male and female leaders are usually the teachers of the young people who learn the dance in their adolescence, thus allowing them to participate in the social displays of grace and bravado that highlight their coming of age. 

The women usually lead in the unaccompanied unison singing of the opening Puno section which is austere and prayer like. The men also may sing but weave in and out of the singing as they wish. In the succeeding dance song section, the women, in an upright stance (kiya) make small refined flicking gestures with their hands and fingers (talik) as they trace intricate floor patterns with their feet skimming the ground (nakatiyad) so that they appear to float effortlessly as they move. The matremayo lead in singing the songs almost unheard over the aggressive sound of the tugtugan drums played by the male leaders. The male dancers, even as they take their place in the elaborate crossings, are more freewheeling in the dance - their hands punctuating the tugtugan rhythms with their bamboo clappers (kalaste) they sound as they dance, as their hands and feet strike and stamp out vigorous movements with dramatic gestures (patumbak) that resemble the stances of the traditional martial arts (kali in old Batangas).

In the secular forms, such as the popular “sinilangan” style of pandanggo/awit performance, men and women vie with each other as they participate in talinghaga-filled courtship debates that have long term consequences in the lives of the participants.

Reflecting on these traditional Tagalog song forms and the way their performance is structured, the bilateral character of traditional Austronesian society as seen in both leadership and participation in their song activities may be observed, with women taking a centripetal function, holding the center of the form together; and men taking a centrifugal function, stretching the form to its limits. Articulated sentiments of the performers also reflect these attitudes, with women participants expressing great pride in having mastered the repertoire and, paraphrasing the words of Anicia Villanueva, matremayo of Sinala, knowing one’s place at all time, unlike men who do all kinds of extraneous, sometimes unnecessary things (kung anu-ano ang ginagawa).[2] Others concede that there is great beauty in these masculine flights of ornamental fancy, and look forward to the verbal virtuosity of male singers who are “maarte” (full of artifice) and who improvise and insert their own texts  into the “Aral” and “Latin” stanzas.  Thus in these Tagalog ritual performances, there is considerable  evidence of a clearly balanced bilateral gendering of power relations as seen in social forms involved in the performance of song, dance and ritual with women providing a stabilizing function and men improvising as they seek to stretch out the parameters of the form to its limits.

III

Ritual as Text:

Images in the Poetry of the Subli

There are 160 stanzas culled from three separate manuscripts or typescripts of subli poetry once in the possession of four matremayo from San Vicente and Sinala, Bauan and Pook, Agoncillo respectively,[1] that have been merged to produce the subli text found in Subli: One Dance in Four Voices/Subli: Isang Sayaw sa Apat na Tinig. Many of the stanzas are identical in all three source documents, some display minimal variance consisting of single words or phrases, while some stanzas or even whole song texts are absent in one or two and present in another.

The discussion that follows deals with imagery arising from a dense text filled with traditional Tagalog talinghaga (figures of speech). Because the language is archaic, the poetry is extremely opaque with references to things and ideas that are almost lost to the contemporary Tagalog or Filipino reader. It seeks to tease out the pertinent images describing the narrative of a specific Tagalog spiritual journey of discovery called a lakaran (walk), that took place in the late 16th century, in the early decades of Roman Catholic evangelization of the Islands. The poem outlines the search for a local icon, the Mahal na Poong Santa Krus of Bauan, Batangas, by a group of Tagalog spiritual adepts from the area. Another important term that describes what takes place in the poem is the process of a panata, another Tagalog term I will describe as the forging of a relationship between human forces and supernatural ones towards an end product which results in the reconstitution of the known world. The subli text takes us through the process of this journey, beginning with a search under perilous conditions leading to a confrontation between man and Deity in the form of an icon, a competition among human forces for possession of the icon, a negotiation between all concerned, and the subsequent re-ordering and transformation of the visible and invisible world.

The Puno Songtexts. The Puno is an introductory section characterized by unison singing led by the matremayo, supported by the women and an occasional male singer who may choose to enter and exit sporadically. The text begins by identifying the singing persona. In the opening stanzas of the text (1-5), this persona identifies itself as one of a group of 1. “kambulong,” 2. “kapipino,” 3. “katampok ng singsing,” 4. “(ka)damoro,” and 5. “kabulaklak.” 

O manga kambulong
Halina tayo…

The prefix “ka,” indicates that the singer is calling out to companions possessed of the same characteristics. Attached to this prefix are the images of spells and incantations (bulong), refinement and power (pino), gemstones and talismans (tampok ng singsing), herbs and spices (damoro) and flowers (bulaklak). It becomes apparent to the student mulling over the verses that these images detail the paraphernalia of the singer, who is a ritualist and spiritual adept. Thus, the call is a mustering of a “barkada” of traditional healers and people with supernatural powers.

The call to the “kambulong” in the same five stanzas, is 1. “halina tayo” (let us go)(stanzas 1-2), 2. “sunod kayo sa akin,” (follow me) (stanza 3), 3. “huwag aaring biro,” (do not treat as a joke”)(stanza 4) and 4. “inaari mong hamak,” (that you consider a lowly enterprise)(stanza 5). The group of ritualists is called to embark on what in Tagalog is called a lakaran, a difficult spiritual journey.

The objective of the lakaran is: 

a.     to reach the place called “Maykawong” where “may nabalita doon(g) Kurus na bagong bangon (there is news of a newly raised Cross) from which “nuhos nalon dugo ng Panginoon,” (the blood of the Lord flows) (stanza 1); 

b.     b. to bathe in Alitagtag where “doon nagmimilagro itong Krus na ito,” (the cross is working miracles) (stanza 2);

c.     c. To search for “ang nagmimilagrong garing,” (the miracle working ivory cross[2]) (stanza 3) and 

d.     d. To fulfill a vow in form of a novena (“nobenas kung may pangako”, “lubenas kung may palad”) (stanzas 4 and 5). The lakaran is a test of faith to find the miraculous icon and bring to fruition a performance of a panata, an act of devotion binding the singer to the icon forever in exchange for special favors.

By Verses 6-8 the kambulong approach the subli site which they recognize because:

malayo pa’y nasamyo
nasalinok ang bango

(its fragrance can be sensed from afar)(Stanza 6)

 and:

malayo pa’y naogob
ang bango’y nasalinok

(its fragrance reverberates from afar) (Stanzas 7)

and:

nalilibot ng ilaw

(is surrounded by light) (Stanza 8)

Some of these poetic images may also be encountered in songtexts found in other Maytime devotions from oral tradition scattered all over the Tagalog provinces. The borrowed texts, notably from the Maytime Alay sa Birhen[3] and the procession called the Santa Krusan,[4] are sometimes folded into the subli specific text, suggesting that they are insertions from other narratives. This may be the source of some confusion. For the most part, however, the subli verses still effectively serve to advance the specific narrative of the search and retrieval of the Bauan Mahal na Poon.

In Verses 10-16, with the second song of the Puno, “O Mga Binyagan,” (O Baptized ones) the subli cohort address the Christian inhabitants of the locale, requesting permission to enter the sacred site and gain access to the Poon. They identify themselves as, “Kaming nangangaligaw” (we who are lost) (Verse 12):

Kami ay ang sala na inapo ni Eba
Nawala ang ganda
init (dilim) ang nakita

(We are the descendants of Eve
who have lost their beauty
and now reflect heat/ darkness) (Verse 13)

but they promise that, “Kami’y may tuwang taglay,” (We possess and bring delight)(Verse 11), suggesting that these gifts are to be offered to both the inhabitants but especially to the Poon. They relate the dangerous journey they have undertaken, under the heat of the sun as well as the darkness of the night:

may hayop may ahas
sa daan alisuag

(with beasts and snakes
Slithering across our paths)

(Verse 14)

to come before the Poon. They promise to perform the subli, which will bring all that behold it, but especially the Mahal na Poon, joy and delight:

Kami ay maglalaro na
Wala kaming nadala
Kundi tuwa at ligaya.

(We will now perform/play
As we have not brought anything with us
But delight and happiness.)

(Verse 59)

By Verse 17,  they have been permitted by the sitio inhabitants to approach the Mahal na Poon. By Verse 25, the kambulong have been ushered into the presence of the Poon and they ask its permission to begin to play. Verses 33-37 depict how they have been permitted to raise and enthrone the Poon. In verses 38-43, the singing of songs of praise and adoration has begun.

Verses 44-49 introduce images of competition, forces taking sides, battles being fought, and wagers being won and lost. Verses 45-48 describe battle flags of different colors - pula (red), dilaw (yellow) and puti (white) - set up in different places, a theme that is echoed in Verses 92, 94 and 95 where the Cross is seen from different vantage points - ilaya (north), ilalim (south), silangan (east) - perhaps describing the three ancient lakeshore towns (Taal, Lipa and Bauan) that were the contending parties for the Poon. Verse 49 provides the reader with an indication of a  subtle shift in the world order that the Poon brings:

Sinung di magpuri
Sa gayong sabi
Ang nagberde
ay nagkabahagi.

(Who will not sing praises
At these words:
The loser
Is still given a share of the winnings.)

Also in these verses from 44 and 50-51 there is a set of shifting images from references to “mabubuting ibon” (good birds) and “anghel na marami” (angel hosts) with winged creatures taking sides (kumakampi) in the battle. In pre-Christian Philippine cultures, including the Tagalog ethnolinguistic group, birds are omens and signs to be read as the basis for actions. The shifting and merging of the imagery with those of the angel hosts become particularly clear in stanza 50:

Ibong mabubuti
Ngayon ay pagpasehuni:
Saan kaya kakampi
Anghel na marami?

(Good birds
Are now singing:
Which side will they take
The many angels?)

The sense of a shifting landscape becomes clearer with the next set of images involving plant transformations in verses 54-57:

Sa una’y ang timbo
Ang dahon ay lagolo
Ngayon kaibang anyo
Krus ang tumubo.

(Once, the timbo
Had lagolo leaves.
Now it has changed shape
And the Cross has sprouted from it.)

(Timbo o tambo is the name of the site of the first church of Bauan, where the Poon was transferred by the manunubli. It is named after a long wild grass used in the manufacture of brooms. The lagolo is a fern used to heal wounds and ulcer.)

Sa una’y ang tikas
Ang dahon ay bayabas
Ngayon ay kakaibang hinap
Ang tumubo perlas.

(Once, the tikas
Had guava leaves.
Now it has changed it shape
And pearls have sprouted from it.)

(The tikas-tikas is a plant with red flowers and leaves with herbal properties, like the leaves of the guava, which is an omnibus herbal remedy for many diseases. It has a sac of hard seeds that were used in the early days of evangelization to make rosaries.) 

Sa una’y ang pisig
Ang damo ay talahib
Ngayo’y kaibang dikit
Krus ang tumirik.

(Once, the pisig
Was a talahib grass.
Now it has a new beauty
The Cross has been planted.)

(Pisig is a variety of bamboo without a hole in the center. The talahib is a long, feathery wild grass whose sap was once used as protection, according to Manuel Blanco, a 19th century Augustinian friar and botanist, against snake venom.) 

Sa una’y ang paite
Ang dahon ay lagundi
Ngayon kaiba ngani
Krus ang nabunyi

(Once, the paite
Had leaves of lagundi.
Now it has indeed changed
And it celebrates the Cross)

(I have been unable to establish what the paite plant is. Lagundi is a plant with antipyretic and antitussive effects)

Here medicinal plants, trees and herbs with miraculous properties are described as taking “kaibang anyo,” (different form) “kaibang hinap,” (hinap translation unclear)  “kaibang dikit,” (different beauty) i.e. experiencing a metamorphosis as the result of the appearance of the Poon.

Sa una’y ang kasaysayan
Bundok at kaparangan
Ngayo’y naging simbahan
Napagnonobenahan.

(In the beginning meaning
Was found in the mountains and plains
Today it is in the church
Where novenas are held.)

My field notes on this stanza dated from the 1980’s reads as follows:

The locus of spiritual power has shifted from the mountains and fields to the church at Timbo. The term, simbahan, as used in old Bauan is best translated as “place of worship.” Pre-Christian rituals are said to have been celebrated in caves and mountains. Even today, certain caves and cavelike natural formations such as Dingin, are referred to by local residents as simbahan. However, the text describes the simbahan in question as having a “pintong may balantok,” or door with arches…Thus the simbahan in question is no longer a natural, but a man-made place of worship, probably the church of Timbo. The transfer of the Mahal na Poon from Dingin to the Church of Bauan in Timbo is symbolic of a critical moment in our religious history.

The Dance Song Texts. By verse 60, the Puno comes to an end. The tugtugan begins to play the carranza, a drone that will accompany almost the entire period of laro that follows, supporting the intricate dance formations performed by male and female pairs, double pairs or the full troupe of 16 dance performers. As they dance, the women sing, although the singing is drowned out by the loud, crisp sounds of the drums made out of the wood of the langka/anubing tree. The group begins a set of dance songs with titles derived from either the names/descriptions of the dance patterns (pitong kahoy, garambola, balagbag, bilao), the activity taking place at the time of singing (Pagsabog ng Bulaklak/Mababangong Rosas), or an important word from the songtext that follows (Santa Krus de Mayo, Binilin-bilin, Pupol, Salta, Maliwanag, Geli-gelina, Kanta Lalo na).

Unlike the Puno section, where one can discern a forward, progressive movement to the narrative, the poems that accompany the dancing have a looser, less obvious structure. The talinghagaare indirect, cryptic and sometimes even undecipherable. Phrases, and images are broken up, scattered like tiny shards and imbedded in the verses that peek through the lacelike nets of lines and stanzas. They have to be teased out of their rhetorical contexts and their subtle connections to other lines and other verses must be woven together like filaments floating in the air. Because the sequence of the images, phrases and verses is sightly or even very different in each variant, I have seen fit to clump together verses with similar themes found in different parts of the text. Verses displaying similar grammatic and rhythmic structure have been brought together and juxtaposed to make sense of what is being said. as if behind some kind of veil that obscures meanings and realities. Finally, I have put together major categories under which to subsume images that resonate with each other and echo back and forth in the air, unheard by the human audiences as the dance song performances proceed.

The Bamboo Simbahan at Timbo. The Simbahan/Sambahan (Place of Worship) at Timbo was most probably not a stone structure. Sambahan could refer to natural formations – caves, grottos, waterfalls, mountain peaks and hilltops - where people congregated to worship power objects like trees, rocks or miracle-working sources of water. Early Christian structures of worship were mostly made of bamboo or wood and topped by thatch. Thus verses 52-53 in the “Puno” and 110-111 of the “Balagbag” dance formation must be given special attention. In the former:

Dadalawa na pala
Ang bayang maganda
Herusalem ang isa
Timbo kong ikalawa (52)

(There are now two
Beautiful lands
One is Jerusalem
And the second one is you, Timbo)

Timbo ka’y, Timbo ka’y
Timbo ka sa una
Ngayon kaiba ka na
Krus kang bendita (53)

(Timbo, Timbo
Timbo you were once,
Now you have changed
You are the Blessed Cross)

…

Mga kawayan sa parang
Tingni ninyong naghuklayhuklay
Nag-aagaw balantay
Sa harapan ng altar (110)

(Bamboos of the field
Look at them, they bow
Struggling for a closer place
Before the altar)

Mga kawayan sa bundok
Tingni ninyong nagkaytokhaytok
Nag-aagaw balantok
Sa harapan ng Krus (111)

(Bamboos of the mountain
Look at them, they bend
Struggling to form arches
Before the Cross) 

These verses extol the village of Timbo, the ancient name of the present barangay Tambo, where the Simbahan of Old Bauan is said to have been located. The Amuedo de Castro account states that the first parish priests had built a structure, probably a small tuklong (bamboo altar with a roof) to protect the cross from the elements but decided to move the icon to the larger simbahan to accommodate the many pilgrims that were thronging the area. The 16th and early 17th century structures would have been made out of bamboo also, so the verses describing long bamboo poles lashed and bent to frame altars and arches are most probably a description of the old simbahan of Bauan.

Women as spiritual leaders. The second prominent set of images is concerned with the place of women in the ritual. The spiritual leadership in the subli of women, particularly young, unmarried women is made clear with the many references to the form as a “lakad ng dalaga,” (undertaking of young, unmarried women) (stanza 87). The image of virgins leading the ritual are scattered throughout the songtext and found in all text variants as well: 

Ang Krus sa Ilaya
Kaya pala maganda
Ang nagtayo’y dalaga,
taong walang asawa. (92, 145)

(The Cross from the North
Is beautiful because
It was raised by virgins
Without husbands.)

Halina manga kasama
aba tayo manga dalaga
Ating ipagisilebra
Itong Krus na Ama (108)

(Come, companions,
Virgins all
Let us celebrate
This Father Cross)

Ang Krus sa silangan
Kaya pala mainam
Ang nagtayo ay piskal
Pawang kadalagahan. (146)

(The Cross from the East
Is good because
It was raised by fiscals,
All virgins.)

Retana notes that in the period of early Christianity, a fiscallilo was a secretary that assisted the parish priest in deciding on marital cases. A Capitana de Dalagas was a highborn unmarried woman who acted as representative of the local nobility and served as liaison between the local population and the parish priest. The piskal who is also a dalaga in stanza 146 is probably a reference to this powerful female figure.

Another image invested with female power is the alampay or baksa, a traditional piece of clothing draped over a woman’s shoulders that serve as cover for modesty’s sake  and protection from the weather. The phrase, “tuwa’y inaalampay,” (delight is being used as an alampay)(Stanza 109)  in reference to the power of the laro, connotes the protective character of the ritual. Likewise, the image of a cross with a baksang behokilyo (Stanza 144) is a symbol of all the powers concentrated in the icon:

Ang Krus sa Rosario
Natatanaw ko rito
May bandera’t may palyo
May baksang behokilyo

(The Cross from Rosario
I can see from here
With banners and canopies
And a golden collar)

The stanza is part of a series depicting the Cross as visible to people from many cardinal directions. The view from Rosario, a large town in the southeastern part of Batangas, reveals the cross with accoutrements signifying its power – a bandera (battle standard), a palyo (a richly embroidered canopy ) and a baksang behokilyo. Bejuquillo is a term used it indicate an ornate type of traditional jewelry made of spun gold found in the Americas and the Philippines. A baksang behokilyo is probably a collar of spun gold, intricately fashioned, and of great value. It may be noted that the Mahal na Poon wears a deep red stole of velvet, silk or satin, elaborately embroidered in gold thread with a golden sun medallion at its center as part of its iconography. As is the case with other important icons in the Katagalugan, these stoles are replaced when they are frayed on damaged and the old stoles are cut up and the pieces given away to devotos who either wear it on their persons or hang it on the family altar at home.

A ritual action associated with women and virgins described in the subli text is the act of pagsuob. This act, in the context of the Roman Catholic mass involves the swinging of a censer containing the fragrant incense, kamanyang, by the priest celebrant to perfume the altar where the communion is celebrated. The Vocabulario de la lengua tagala (1754) by Juan de Noceda and Pedro de Sanlucar, however, declares that isuob is used idiomatically to refer to the singing or reciting of praises by a virgin.

Ang mababangong insenso
Isilid sa insensario
…
Isusuob natin dito
Sa Poong Krus na Santo

(Put into the censer
Frangrant incense
…
We will spread its sweetness here
On the Lord Holy Cross) (Stanza 151)

Ang mababangong kamanyang
Ang insensario’y sisidlan
Isusuob…
Krus na Mahal

[The fragrant kamanyang
Will fill the censer
It will be spread…
Beloved Cross] (152)

This image, taken idiomatically, may therefore refer to the singing of praises to the Mahal na Poon by the manunubli.

Ritual Paraphernalia. A second category involves the elements of ritual – objects involved in the execution of the panata. These include flowers to be scattered before the Poon, ritual plates and containers of water used for ablution and bathing, and leaves floated on the water. 

1.     Flowers. Flowers are featured in the sections called “Pagsabog ng Bulaklak” (scattering flowers) and “Mababangong Rosas,”(fragrant roses) and performed exclusively by the matremayo. The refrain:

Mababangong rosas,
Pugay kayo panyagas

(Fragrant roses
Salute, panyagas)

includes the cryptic term panyagas, which, like the earlier terms, “kambulong, kabulaklak, katampok ng singsing…,” appears to be self-referential, in the form of orders from a leader to a group of her followers. A probable root word is “agas,” a term that today connotes a flow of blood from a monthly period, miscarriage or hemorrhage but the word is defined in early dictionaries as “criatura,”(creature or baby) or “mujer”(woman). Additionally, a young girl or woman, in Southwestern Batangas is often affectionally called “agay” by her elders. (Similar terms of endearment for young women in the Philippines are “ineng,” “neneng” or “inday.”) The action of scattering flower petals before the Poon, an important and unusual section of the subli, features and underscores the leadership of young women in the ritual.

2.     Plates. A second item of ritual paraphernalia also found in the Mababangong Rosas is the ritual plate or bowl full of water for ablution. The stanzas:

Tubig sa pinggang kala
Kaya pala maganda
Ang mambo’y si Maria
At Santa Magdalena
At Ginoong Santa Ana
At ang Poong Milagrosa (Stanza 78)

(Water in a tortoiseshell plate
Is beautiful because
Mary bathed in it
And Holy Magdalene
And Noble Saint Anne
And the Miraculous Cross)

Tubig sa pinggang pino
Kaya pala mabango
Ang mambo’y si Kristo
At ang Poong milagroso
Si Hesus Nazarieno. (Stanza 79)

(Water in a porcelain plate
Is fragrant because
Christ bathed in it
And the Miraculous Lord
Jesus of Nazareth.)

In pre-Christian Philippine society, special plates were valuable objects that could be sounded to invoke the spirits or used to contain powerful and magical substances used during the rituals. The word, “mambo,” (to bathe) or in the case of the alternate line of text from Pook, Agoncillo, “pinaghinawan ni Kristo,”(suggesting water that Christ washed his hands, hands and perhaps feet with) is significant. Note that as early as the second stanza, the manunubli call on each other, “Sa Alitagtag mambo” (Bathe in Alitagtag). With bathing as a ritual practice in the early Katagalugan, plates or bowls filled with sanctified or holy water, therefore, can be seen as an important part of ritual practice.

3.     Dahon. In Stanzas 98-100, we find cryptic images involving leaves:

Dahon man ng Nangka,
Tayo’y magbangka-bangka
Doon tayo susuba
Sa wawa ng Santana

(Leaves of the Langka
Let us take the boats
And ride against the currents
to the mouth of Santana)

Imbak man ng dagat
Subata ng karayak
Naroon ang maliwanag
Krus kong nababansag

(Pile of the lake/sea
Subata of fallen leaves
There is the light
Of the famous Cross)

Imbak man ng katigbi
Subata ng kabibi
Naroon ang mabuti
Krus ka na diyamante

(Piled strands of tigbi seeds
Subata of clamshells
There is the good
Diamond Cross)

In stanza 98, the manunubli are instructed to ride the leaves of the Nangka tree against the currents to the mouth of the river Santana. Both the Poon and the tugtugan drum used in the subli are made of this tree, from the Anubing family. In stanza 99, the manunubli sing of the “Imbak man ng dagat, Subata ng karayak.” The verb “imbak” refers to the act of storing something in a pile, while the root “rayak” or “layak” refers to leaves. The meaning of the term “”subata” is unknown but if it is connected with the idea of “suba,” it may also refer to objects being carried to the mouth of a stream or river. In Batangas, the term “dagat” may refer to any large body of water – either a lake or the sea. In stanza 100, the same poetic syntax is used but the “imbak ng katigbi” is an idiomatic expression for seeds threaded into a strand and piled up, perhaps like a rosary, while a kabibi is a bivalve shell half of which is often used as a baptismal font. There is a strong image of leaves floating on the water and piled up on the shore of a body of water, perhaps a reference to still another part of the ritual.

Subli as Laro and Panata. The final and most significant category of images focuses on the ritual character and function of Subli. Two defining subcategories emerge from the text as we push and probe. 

1.     The first describes Subli as laro, an offering to the Deity that involves creativity and playfulness. As such, Subli is an offering of collective skill and artistry, resulting in the beauty that gives joy and delight to the one experiencing it. It is a vehicle that allows both its performer to express and its viewer to be the recipient of its inherent “tuwa at ligaya”(Stanza 59):

Aba kita na’t isalta
Isayaw’y italik pa
Ang maglaro’y masaya
…(sa)…Haring Diyos na Ama.

(Oh let us jump
Dance and flick our fingers
Play is joyful
For God the King our Father.) (Stanza 104)

2.     The second category develops the concept of Subli as panata, the humble devotion and dogged obedience to the Deity that requires hardship and suffering on the part of the devoto. As such Subliis an offering of loyalty and disciplined striving towards completion of a difficult undertaking. Panatais an attempt to reshape reality by  a person or group that trains for service, and is capable of the perseverance and stamina that the endeavor entails:

Aba tayo’y magpilit
Sumayaw at magtalik
Ang maglaro’y masakit
Haring Diyos langit

(Oh let us force ourselves
To dance and flick our fingers
Play is what we suffer
For the King God of heaven) (Stanza 101)

A significant part of the panata concept involves the idea of capturing or taking possession of the Poon. The powerful Cross, through the intercession of the manunubli and their efforts – their prayers, songs and dances - can entice, channel and subsequently bring the Poon to its home in the simbahan of Timbo. Here it is able to transmit blessings, and become a vehicle for the transport of power to man. Three powerful talinghagamay be cited here:

1.     The Cross is a mechanism through which blessings flow from heaven. The terms “bubo,” “buhos,” and “dilig” all of which connote liquids flowing through controlling passages and channels:

Santa Krus de Mayo
O alo arkong ginto
Sa langit binubo
Dilig yaring aming puso
Ng awa mo’y pangako

[Holy Cross of May,
Golden ark of consolation
Flowing from heaven,
Water our hearts (as in a garden)
With your mercy and promise] (Stanza 70)

2.     The Cross is a bridge or ladder through which one can ascend to a higher plane of existence. The verb “bunsoran” suggesting the throwing down of a ladder from a higher position creates a vivid picture of a plea for salvation from above:

Turuan mo ng daan
Kaming nangangaligaw
Bunsoran mo ng hagdan
Sa Poong Krus na Mahal

(Show us the path,
We who are lost,
Send down a ladder
That will lead us to the Beloved Cross) (Stanza 10)

3.     The Cross is a “timbulan” (buoy) that one clings to as one floats towards a place of safety.

Itong Krus na garing
Kung siya’y timbulanin
Sasapit tayong tambing
Bayang kahimbing-himbing

[If we cling to
This precious (ivory) cross
We will all reach
the peaceful land] (Stanza 119)

In another stanza, the Cross is seen as a means by which Jesus Christ floated into the world.

Itong Krus na ito’y
Hindi raw kayo dito
Kaya raw na parito
Tinimbulan ni Kristo
Ni Poong Nazarieno

(This Cross
Was not from a tree
But they said it arrived
Christ clung to it
The Lord of Nazareth) (Stanza 127)

This teasing out of images and concepts contained in the devotion Subli reveals to us a vivid picture of an ancient cosmic configuration as it was confronted, at a specific time and place in history, with a powerful new icon, both signalling and signifying the beginning of a new order of things. In great detail, we are led through the metamorphosis of plants and natural objects, bodies of land and water, human beings, their bodies and souls, as they all travel through a rapidly changing landscape.

Today, as we attempt to deal with another widespread earth change, we would do well to look back to the Subli which, in prayer, song and dance, is a record for our times, reminding us of how our ancestors came to understand and work out, in their innermost being, the meaning imbedded in cataclysmic events, employing methods of “tuwa at ligaya,” lightness and grace. 

Siya Nawa, Hari Nawa.

Postscript and Dedication

…Little Cemeteries that we are, adorned with the flowers of our futile gestures, containing so many corpses that demand that we testify to their souls. All prickly with crosses, all covered with inscriptions, all spaded up and shaken by countless daily burials, we are charged with the transmutation, the resurrection, the transfiguration of all things. For how can we save what is visible if not by using the language of absence, of the invisible? (Ranier Maria von Rilke, “Letter to Sophy Giauque)

Rising early this morning, my thoughts returned to this essay and my intense desire to present it to an audience in public form. Appearing unbidden to my mind were the figures of the many women leaders and shakers and dreamers of dreams I have had the joy and delight of working with for the past 69 years of my life. I would like to call on them individually by name:

To my maternal grandmother, Marciana Morales Zarco, who taught me that women had the need, the passion and the desire to seek after knowledge even if society said otherwise;

To my mother, Flora Zarco Rivera, who gave me the confidence to know that I too had a voice, no matter how strange and different it was from anyone else’s, and that I must use it without hesitation;

To my mother-in-law, Ma. Adoracion Caringal Mirano, her sister, Illuminada Caringal Holgado, and her sister-in-law, Francisca Hernandez Caringal, who introduced me to and guided me through the subli;

To my mentors in the subli – the matremayos of Batangas, Martina Gonzalvo, Romana Maranan, Eufemia Caringal, Anicia Villanueva, Marcela Maquimot and Adoracion Divino, who entrusted me with their special knowledge;

To my early mentors – Nenita Socrates, Luz Amparo, Bernadette Pablo, Ma. Luisa Canieso-Doronila, Basilisa Manhit, Concepcion Dadufalza, Wilhelmina Ramas, Dolores Feria, Damiana Eugenio and the incomparable Carminia Yaptenco, who taught me to love and respect the written word;

To Priscilla Magdamo Abraham, who gave me a voice to sing the subli;

To the academic leader and friend that first encouraged me to embark on the subli project, Frances F.  Morillo;

To the dear colleagues and peers that supported me and travelled with me through my subli journey and saw what I saw – Marialita Tamanio Yraola, Jane Po, and Marian Pastor Roces;

To my dear friends in the faith with whom I have shared the most intimate parts of my spiritual journey – Loree Cruz Mante, Celinda Guevarra Larracas, Mygee Del Rey Ballesteros, and Catherine Chang;

To my mentees and younger colleagues on different stages of the same journey – Pearl Tan, Cherubim Quizon, Cecilia Santamaria de la Paz, Ma. Christine Muyco, Ma. Patricia Brillantes Silvestre, Edna Marcil Martinez, Katherine Benedicto Molina, Guillerma Mendoza, Roselle Pineda, Magdalena Dayang Yraola, Patricia Marion Lopez-Abrera, and Alyssa Liyana Sicat Dioquino - who fill me with hope for the future;

 and

To my daughters, Denise Mirano-Bascos and Lianne Mirano Romero, who in their everyday practice, without their even knowing it, follow the way of tuwa at ligaya that is subli.

I dedicate this piece to you.

[1] All research materials on the subli are found in Elena Rivera-Mirano, et al, Subli: One Dance in Four Voices/Subli:Isang Sayaw sa Apat na Tinig, (Pasay City: Cultural Center of the Philippines, 1989).

[2] Pedro Amuedo y Castro, “Historia de la Provincia de Batangas,” 1790. 

[3] Sublian at the home of Buenaventura Caringal held on the occasion of the barrio fiesta, May 3, 1988, San Vicente, Bauan, Batangas.

[4] Grand Subli Festival (La Paz), held at the patio of the kapilya of Pook, Agoncillo; May 25, 2003.

[5] For a fuller discussion of the formal dynamics of the pabasa and sinilangan/awit, please see Linette(sic) Rivera-Mirano, “The Pabasa of San Luis, Batangas,” Asian Studies, Vols.XXII-XXIV, 1984-86, pp. 99-116; and Chapters 3-5 of Elena Rivera Mirano, Ang Mga Tradisyonal na Musikang Pantinig sa Lumang Bauan, Batangas (Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 1997), pp. 51-166.

[6] Interview with Anicia Castillo Villanueva, San Luis, Batangas; April 5, 1989

[7] Martina Gonzalvo and Romana Maranan of San Vicente, Bauan; Anicia Villanueva of Sinala, Bauan; and Adoracion Divino of Pook, Agoncillo had the foresight to write down the texts transmitted to them by their elders and which they had retained in their memories through the years.

[8] The term “garing”(ivory) is often used in connection with the Holy Cross although the Poon is wooden.

[9] Also known as Flores de Mayo (Offering of Flowers to the Blessed Virgin) as seen in the references to the virgin (verse 24).

[10] Which commemorates the 4th century search for the True Cross by Santa Elena, mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Constantine, as the references to “Elenang Poon,” “Santa Isabel,” and  “Turkos”(verses 39, 41, 148) indicate.