Fusion of Spanish, Oriental and local architecture in churches - Baroque Churches in the Philippines 677; The School of Living Traditions (SLT) 01739
What and Why
During the Spanish Colonial Period from the 16th to 19th century CE, the Spanish missionaries arrived at the Philippines (Tagalog: Pilipinas), spread Christianity and built churches in their new land. The Spanish would like to build new and long-lasting churches to create a proper place to worship and to put their stamp on the land. The Church's political power of that period manifests in the architecture. These churches were built together by the Spanish missionaries, Chinese immigrants and locals who fused architecture, art and engineering during the construction of these churches. In particular as the region is earthquake-prone, these builders came up with a style called Earthquake Baroque which could withstand earthquakes, typhoons and fires. There are four churches in the Philippines that are considered as national heritage and are inscribed as UNESCO WHS.
Toponymy
The three churches that I have visited are located in three different cities: Manila (Maynilà), Santa Maria and Paoay.
Manila derives from its Tagalog name of the city Maynilà, which comes from the phrase 'may-nilà', which translates to 'where indigo is found'. 'Nilà' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'नील (nīla)' which refers to indigo, which by extension, to several plant species from which this natural dye can be extracted.
Santa Maria clearly points to Virgin Mary (Aramaic: מרים, Maryam).
The name Paoay came from a local story regarding the early piracy and raiders into the region. There was a nearby town where it was frequented by raiders all the time, and the settlers of Paoay offered these people to live with them. However these brave people of that town rejected the offer and instead they uttered the phrase 'Maka-paoay kami' – an Ilocano dialect meaning 'they could live independently'. The settlers of Paoay were offended and it was from this incident that the name of the town arrived as Paoay.
See
We have visited three churches, all in the island of Luzon. We go from South to North.
San Agustin Church (Simbahan ng San Agustin)
San Agustin Church (Simbahan ng San Agustin) is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of the Order of Saint Augustine (Latin: Ordo Sancti Augustini), located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila. The church is completed in the early 17th century CE and is the oldest stone-church in the Philippines.
As in this picture, the inner nave is one of the most magnificent churches in Southeast Asia, especially with its very impressive trompe-l'œil ceilings and a splendid high altar, which shows typical Baroque architecture. One noticeable oriental details is the presence of Chinese stone lions (Chinese: 石獅, shishi) that flank the entrance of the church, showing the Chinese community influence.
Intramuros
The Intramuros, meaning ‘inside the walls’ in Latin, is the main tourist landmarks of Manila and houses the religious, economic and education centres of Spanish East Indies (Spanish: Indias orientales españolas) during the colonial period. The small walled city was built in 16th century CE to ward off foreign invaders, especially the frequent pirates coming from the Pasig river. Unfortunately the Intramuros was almost annihilated by the Japanese during the Second World War, when the occupying Japanese army made their last stand against the victorious efforts of Allied soldiers and Filipino guerrillas. Hence much of what is seen today is largely reconstruction but it does mark the main historic centre of Manila.
A short distance from Intramuros, there is a park commemorates national hero José Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda and offers gardens, fountains, and historical exhibits.
Santa Maria Church (Simbahan ng Santa Maria)
Officially the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Simbahan ng Our Lady of the Assumption), Santa Maria Church is a formidable-looking fortress-looking church on top of a hill. It serves a lookout, a defence structure and a citadel to give a powerful message of Spanish dominance in the region. It was built in mid-18th century CE.
Legend has it that before the church was built on its present site, Virgin Mary was enshrined at a different place called Bulala. It has been noted that there had been frequent disappearance of the statue from her previous place only to be found perched on a guava tree that grew where the present church is located. This is depicted on the side of the church as above.
The Chinese feature is exhibited through the pagoda-like belfry on the right of the church.
Paoay Church (Simbahan ng Paoay)
Paoay Church (Simbahan ng Paoay), or officially the Saint Augustine Church, and as picture above, is famous for its distinctive triangular Earthquake Baroque facade highlighted by the enormous buttresses on the sides and back of the building. It was built in the early 18th century CE. The inner structure is more visible inside the nave.
Oriental, in particular Javanese decor are found throughout the church, interior and exterior.
When we were in Paoay, we took a quick side-trip to visit the School of Living Tradition (SLT, Mga paaralan ng mga tradisyon ng pamumuhay), under the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining). This is an initiative designed to preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage of the country's indigenous communities. These SLTs play a vital role in passing down traditional knowledge, skills, and practices from one generation to the next, ensuring the continuity of cultural traditions in a rapidly globalising and urbanised world. One of the largest of these SLTs is located in Paoay.
The SLTs are established to safeguard and perpetuate a few particular cultural practices, such as traditional music, dance, weaving, pottery, rituals, and oral traditions. Due to the nature of these centres, the SLTs usually adopt a non-formal, hands-on learning, community-based approach to learning, with the teacher being called a 'culture master'. They are often elders or experts in a particular tradition, teach younger members of the community.
When we were there, the SLT was teaching the community the traditional rice-farming practices and related ritual.
SLTs are instrumental in preserving the cultural identity of indigenous communities in the Philippines. They have also fostered greater appreciation for indigenous cultures both within and outside their communities and contributed to cultural tourism, attracting visitors interested in experiencing authentic traditions.
SLT has recently been inscribed as an ICH in 2001 CE.
Eat and Drink
Lechón
We stayed in Manila, which is next to Quezon, the city of lechón. Lechón is the Spanish or Filipino version of roast suckling pig, the word coming from milk (Spanish: leche), referring to the piglet still suckling its mother's milk. Filipino lechón, the national dish, is usually slowly-roasted with stuffings of lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, onions, and chives and the roasting is often done outdoor on a pool of bamboo and charcoal instead of a stove or furnace. The body is mopped, using a floor mop, with oil or soft-drink regularly. Filipino lechón, compared to our Chinese or Spanish counterparts, as blogged in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, is very succulent and its skin is very thin and crispy. I have to say, I found it actually better than my usual Chinese version.
I had our lechon meal in this place Ping Ping. One of the institutions in Quezon. Excellent.
Stay
Hotels in Manila can be quite pricey. During this trip we stayed in a budget chain hotel called Microtel. Considering what it has to offer, it is above my price-point.
Travel Suggestions and Logistics
The three churches are very far apart, from Manila it is an eight-hour drive to Paoay. While the drive is along the main trunk of the national highway, the road condition is very poor and driving in the Philippines can be quite a challenge. Spend at least two days exploring and get a place to stay in the middle of the journey.
Manila is itself a tourist city and there is no intention to copy an entire tour guide. However Manila is definitely not the safest to visit and drive.
UNESCO Inscription
These four churches, the first of which was built by the Spanish in the late 16th century, are located in Manila, Santa Maria, Paoay and Miag-ao. Their unique architectural style is a reinterpretation of European Baroque by Chinese and Philippine craftsmen.
In 1995, the Sub-commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) – the lead agency mandated to preserve, promote and develop Philippine culture and the arts – affirmed the need to safeguard traditional knowledge and practices from rapid cultural devaluation brought about by media, tourism, formal education and religion. This paved the way for the creation of The School of Living Traditions (SLT) programme, involving informal, community-managed learning centres where practitioners can transmit their communities’ knowledge, intangible cultural heritage, skills and values to younger generations. The identification of priorities for safeguarding was led by elders, leaders and other members of communities through a series of consultations. In the process, the NCCA provided capacity-building assistance for the mobilization of logistics and other resources needed to establish the learning centres. The SLT programme aims to develop, implement and evaluate community-based measures to safeguard vital traditional cultural knowledge and practices from the potential negative effects of modernization. In 2015, the NCCA initiated the enhancement of the SLT programme. This entails the implementation of site-specific five-year community development programmes to support the transmission and viability of intangible cultural heritage in partnership with local communities and organizations.
References
Comments
Please share your thoughts and comments about the blog. If you need suggestions to build a travel itinerary, please let me know. More than willing to help. I would also like to build a bespoke-in-depth-travel community around UNESCO WHS and ICH.
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