Cathollicism - Filipino Style

"Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against and deliver us from evil. Amen."

Standing outside the house, the Lord's prayer can be heard being repeated over and over again. Walking up the steps toward the house the first thing you notice are four statues in the window. From a distance they look like dolls, but in fact they are images of the infant Jesus, called Santo Nino.

Tonight about 30 Santo Nino Devotees of Hayward gather to say a novena in honor of their patron saint. The group meets every Friday night at a member's house and pray so they do not forget their religion. For the devotees it isn't enough to go to church. For them, Sunday Mass is about the entire community of Roman Catholics. Friday night is how the devotees have taken one aspect of Catholicism and made it something of their very own. But most of all they pray so that they do not forget who they are-Filipinos.

In the Philippine province of Batangas the novenas are offered nine days prior to the big fiesta which is held January 16. Here in the United States the group meets every Friday of the year and holds their fiesta on the third Saturday in January. The novenas are held on a weekly basis instead of nine consecutive days like in the Philippines, because people are too busy. On Friday night, many bring their own Santo Nino statue. The statues are placed on a makeshift altar, smaller ones in the front, larger ones in the back. The most ornate Santo Nino statue of all is the baby Jesus who has dressed in a dark red velvet robe adorned with beads and sequins and wearing a bronze crown. This is the traveling statue, it goes to a new member's home each week. It is considered an honor to have the statue of the Santo Nino, evident by the long waiting list to host a novena.

The group tonight consists mostly of middle-aged and older Filipinos. There are young children in attendance tonight, but only because their parents insist they be a part of the gathering. The only person in her 20s is Gail Bautista, 23. She kneels next to her mother as they both lead some part of the prayer. Women have a tendency to lead prayer while the men manage to linger in the background. A few of take this opportunity to do a little socializing. Faint laughter and Tagalog being mumbled by men can be heard during brief pauses in the prayer.

Gail exits the room after praying and goes to the kitchen to help her father make final preparations for the meal. The second most important part of the evening is eating. The praying is only a precursor to the meal about to be enjoyed.

The men have been hovering near the food ever since the praying began, but they wait patiently until prayer, followed by the singing, is completed. After the last prayer, the music comes on. The tunes are scratchy, recorded on a tape that begs to be put out of misery. No one in the group seems to be aware of the quality of the music as they sing joyful tunes about the baby Jesus.

The final tune struggles to a finish, the tape fortunately remains intact. The praying and singing are over. Everyone in attendance acknowledges the end of the novena by blessing one another and giving each other small kisses on the cheek.

Like many families that host the weekly gathering, the Bautista's present an impressive array of Filipino and American dishes. The table is flowing with dishes such as lumpia, quiche, rice, pancit, oysters and empanada. The food is almost as overwhelming as the dozens of statues of the baby Jesus. The group grows restless, and it is apparent by the sudden shuffling of bodies and the aroma of lumpia frying, it is almost time to eat.

For some unknown reason, praying seems to cause the most ferocious of appetites, there is food everywhere and it seems every last bit will be eaten tonight. If all the food is not eaten, then the hosts will insist that you, as a guest at their home, at least take some to enjoy with the rest of your family.

To the older Filipino's at tonight's novena the most important thing about the gathering is the praying, but to Gail Bautista it is something completely different. She admits that she is only here tonight because her parents are the hosts, otherwise she would have no reason or desire to attend a novena. The entire concept of religion is lost on her, she is not pious like the older women at tonight's gathering. She only prays tonight because her parents asked her to.

For her growing up in the United States meant giving up a lot of her culture. "I don't eat a lot of the Filipino dishes, mainly for health reasons and the people I hang out with aren't Filipino. Growing up here that's always how its been for me. That's just how it is here." says Gail. She does want to visit the Philippines someday soon, because she fears that what she has lost growing up here she can somehow regain there. She thinks for a moment about what she just said about growing up here and realizes that it sounds harsh, but to her and to many other young Filipino-Americans it is the truth.

That truth, in essence the reality of growing up in the great "melting pot" created a cultural conflict for her and probably many other young Filipino-Americans. For many, it is choose one culture or the other. In a country that judges on the color of skin and fluent understanding of the English language, who can blame them. For now Gail must settle on the novenas to help her keep in touch with her culture; she doesn't have the time or the inclination to think about what it means to be Filipino.

[ Prism Online November 1995 Homepage ]

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