In Boac, and in many places elsewhere in the Philippines, participat- ion in the VIA CRUCIS or just watching it re-enacted in town streets has been an important exercise for devotees. Crowds of people from all walks of life line up the streets, to relive the suffering of Christ on the road to Golgotha. The spectacle that unfolds before their eyes, to many, bring them closer to God.
This transpires on Good Friday, an event that has always been a part of the Lenten rituals of yesteryears and has been carried on to this day. Yet, nothing in the world can match the uniqueness of the Boac spectacle. On this day, most of the people who have anything to do with church-related exercises on one-hand and government initiated events on the other, clad in their Jerusalem attire, gather in the town center along with the rest of the community to be part of this street play.
The man playing Christ is whipped hard with a rope by one or two morions, as he walks the streets with a cross, and falls for the first, second and third time. But behind them walking, running, scaring the children away are the throng of morions (that has more than doubled in number this year in view of the Battle of Morions competition). Somewhere behind in the midst of the morions are also seen the likeness of 'panatistas', penitents, playing 'Dimas' and 'Hestas' who are subjected to more brutal whipping and punishment often without reservation by the 'Roman soldiers'(local folks still associate these soldiers with Hudyos and call them as such). Further behind, in the scorching heat of the sun, the teeming crowd follows as Jesus' sympathizers.
The finale takes place at a man-made hill inside a walled complex in what is now known as the moriones arena at the Boac riverbank. There, the two 'thieves' are crucified with Jesus (Jesus has been portrayed in the Via Crucis by Meynard Penafiel, a provincial capitol employee, as a panata), before a mammoth crowd of humbled procession followers and plain spectators.
In truth, the Good Friday Via Crucis as practised in Boac beats all other cultural 'things to see' in Marinduque during Lent. Here lies the distinction between ritual and festival. The interplay of colors, human drama, humility, piousness, violence, suffering, blood, sweat, and grief in the very light of day may be more than enough to trigger a witness' transcendent experience.
In the early 60's one of many Philippine postcards published by a Manila-bookstore to promote the Philippines featured Gasan's Higantes. The dominance of these higantes may have waned during the last two decades. But this year they have been resurrected making a big comeback that took everyone by surprise. Taking on a new look in the form of giant Morions, all barangay clusters of Gasan participating in the Easter Sunday Gasang-Gasang Festival produced their own morion higantes this time, as part of their contingent and paraded around the poblacion. (Some shown here)
