(KATE)

FILIPINO BELIEFS AND RITUALS AND CEREMONIES COVERING ALL REGIONS OF THE
PHILIPPINES.
Religious beliefs, rituals, practices, and customs are all part of the spiritual expression. What to
believe and how to manifest that belief is entirely dependent on the individual religious beliefs
and practices, which are formed in relation to their context and culture.
RITUALS:

 Performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by a tradition or sacred law

 Sequence of activities involving gestures, words, and objects, performed in a
sequestered place and set sequence.
Ex. Christian rituals called sacraments. Holy week ganon
Ritual has the characteristics of:

 A feeling or emotion of respect, fascination, or dread in relation to the sacred

 Dependence upon a belief system that is usually expressed in the language of myth
 Is symbolic in relation to its reference

CEREMONY:

 a formal religious or public occasion, typically one celebrating a particular event or

anniversary.
 the ritual observances and procedures performed at grand and formal occasions.

(KATE)

Religious rituals and ceremonies, in MY opinion, shaped our emotions and helped humans come
to terms with major life events. These traditions allow them to reduce their anxiety, boost their
confidence, and reflect spiritually. Some rituals may be performed by injuring the physical self,
but a person is molded emotionally and spiritually
(KATE)

HERE ARE SOME RITUALS AND CEREMONIES PERFORMED BY FILIPINOS IN ALL REGIONS OF THE
PHILIPPINES.

Pagdugo

- According to popular Filipino beliefs, padugo or bloodletting is often done before a house is
built to help drive away evil spirits that live in the land where they are building their
home.
- Padugo is a long-standing tradition that dates back to the days when beliefs in anito or
deities were at their peak.

(AJ)

FESTIVAL

- A festival is an event that brings people together to celebrate something.

- In the Philippines, we have a variety of festivals, each of which has its own local importance and
is unique in its own way. At the end of the day, all holidays have religious and spiritual
importance. When the Spaniards first arrived in the Philippines to establish colonial
control, one of their first priorities was to convert as many Filipinos to Catholicism as
possible. One approach they used was to build chapels and teach people to embrace
Christianity.

(KATE)
Baptism and Eucharist
THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT SACRAMENTS PRACTICED BY MOST CHRISTIANS
(so let’s begin in BAPTISM, when we say babtism)
- The Christian rite of initiation, it is a ritual cleansing with water (or yung binyag)
- In Christianity, baptism is the sacrament of admission to the church symbolized by the
pouring or sprinkling of the water on the head or by immersion in water.
- According to the accounts in the gospel, john the baptizer, who baptized jesus and his
followers is a sign of repentance.
 (so what do we mean by repentance, basically it’s the act of saying sorry or asking
forgiveness for sins and wrong doings) ( paghihingi ng tawad, pagsisisi that is
repentance)
- For early Christians, it was a sign of purification or the beginning of new and eternal life, and and
indication of the christian’s readiness for the coming of the kingdom of god
(trivia, nung unang panahon po the early christian’s pag po nag papabinyag sila yung the way na
pagbinyag kasanila is they do it total immersion in water, so talagang nilulubog po nila yung
kanilang buong katawan kapag bibinyagan as in buong katawan po, pero yung iba yung way po
na pag binyag nila is yung sa ulo nalang po binabasa. The more symbolic sprinkling of water to
the head ) ( early years of christianity mga adults lang binibinyagan so hindi po kasali non ang
mga bata and some people would sometimes delay their baptism until death) kaya po nila
dinedelay ang pag papabinyag at mag papabinyag nalang sila pag alam na nilang malapit na
silang mamatay, ginagawa nila ito dahil naniniwala silang life time since it could be washed
away just prior to the soul’s judgment before god, kumbaga marerenew nila yung buong
kasalanan nila simula pagkabata hanggang pag tanda pag nagpa binyag sila. Kaya mas preffer po
nila na magpa binyag kapag alam nilang malapit na silang mamatay or mag goodbye.

( so the next one we have the EUCHARIST)

- So the practice of the eucharist is also known as the lord’s supper or holly communion.
Cristian’s believe that jesus instituted the practice during the Passover meal he shared with his
followers just before his arrest and death.
- Early christian’s met weekly to share of bread and wine, accompanied by prayer
- The sacraments of the eucharist is when Christians remember the last supper the eucharist is
referred to by catholics as mass and it involves spirituality fading participants with the body and
blood of Christ, so basically eto yung communion or ostia ( that’s is eucharist)

(AJ)

Penitensya

- The word penitensya means repentance the strong desired to be forgiven traditionally the word
penitentia or penance have been viewed as a punishment.
- Penitensya is a ritual performed by some of our locals who want to repent for their sins
and wrong doings. The word penance derives from old french and Latin. Penitensya both
of which derives from the same root meaning repentance the desire to be forgiven

Marriage

- In the Philippines, marriage is one of the most significant aspects of the family code. They used
to be unable to allow men and women to be together unless they were married.
- Filipino weddings are full of symbols that show the bride and groom’s love and commitment to
one another.
- The bride and groom choose people outside of their bridal party to acts as their sponsors for
their special day.
 ( during wedding we have )
PRINCIPAL SPONSORS
SECONDARY SPONSORS,
yung mga sponsors most of people na kabilang dyan ay yung mga tito, tita or close friends ni
bride and ni groom, so the principal sponsors have the honor of being their official witnesses of
their marriage and signing their marriage license and on the other hand meron naman tayong
secondary sponsors, under secondary sponsors nanjan si VEIL, CORD, COIN and CANDLE.
- Ano ginagawa ng VEIL SPONSORS so obviously ang ginagawa ng VEIL SPONSORS they wrap a
white veil to represent the purity of the couple.
- How about yung CORN SPONSORS ano naman ginagawa nila ang part nila don is that they tie a
white cord in a figure eight shape around the couple’s shoulder, so para syang tali yung cord and
iikot yun dun sa neck ng couple and den ung shape nya is number 8, ano ba ibig sabihin nung 8,
infinite or infinity limitless, ibig sabihin my forever. So ano sinisymbolize non marriage as lasting
forever , para daw magtagal ang kanilang pagsasama,
- And the next one we have the COIN SPONSORS, ano ba sinisymbolize ng coin, it symbolizes
financial prosperity for the couple and of course for their future children.
- And the last one CANDLE SPONSORS, ano ginagawa nila they have the task of lighting candles on
the altar that symbolize light of Christ, that will guide the couple in their future together.

(KATE)

Witchcraft or Witchary / Kulam or pangkukulam

- This is the practice of and belief in magical skills and abilities exercised by solitary practitioners
and groups.
- Probably the most widely known characteristic of a which was the ability to cast as spell, “SPELL”
ano ba ibig sabihin nung spell it’s the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a
magical action. Yung spell parang yan yung mga ginamit dun sa series na harry potter, yung
words na binabanggit nila, tulad ng Expecto patronum
- the word used to signify the means employed to carry out a magical action, so we have this term
that necromancy basically it’s communication with the death, so it’s a magic that some people
believe brings a dead person back to this world so that you can talk to them. May kilala ba
kayong kayang makipag usap or makipag communicate sa mga di natin nakikitang spirit, we call
it as necromancy.
- Kulam or pagkukulam it is a form of folk magic practiced in the Philippines. It puts emphasis on
the innate power of the self and a secret knowledge of magica baja or low magic
- Kulam in the Philippines is said to be centered in the island of Siquijor and talora, western samar
and the province of Sorsogon whereas most unexplained things happened.
- The mangkukulam use a voodoo doll and a needle to cast spells on people they want to revenge
on.

(AJ)
Atang – Ilocano ritual

- Atang or food offering

- An atang is a traditional food offering in the Philippines to ward off evil spirits.
- The Most common atang to ward of sickness is a rice cake called sinukat or malagkit
- A table with an atang meal may be out in a new house
- An atang may also be for harvest offering
- Ilocanos may prepare an atang before each meal

Kneel walking

- A group of devotees walking on their knees from the main door facing Plaza Miranda to the
altar is common on any given day. Kneeling walking from the church door to the altar is
practiced by certain devotees. This is a popular practice in this church as a symbol of devotion to
the black nazarenes. Genuflection, usually on one knee, is still practiced in the anglican,
lutheran, roman catholic, and western churches. Orthodox traditions among other churches
it is different from kneeling in prayer which is more widespread.