Holy Week Lenten PABASA in GenSan
The Holy Week is almost upon us and various households and religious communities all over the land are preparing themselves for their “acts of penitence” as a means of being “absolved of their sins”
One of the oldest Lenten practices in the country is by way of the “PABASA” which literally means “a reading“, but is actually the continuous and non-stop chanting and singing of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ in the local dialects usually in front of a dressed-up altar.
This tradition begins during the days leading to Good Friday but in some cases, it is done a week earlier as in the household of my friend and classmate Jun Laiz in Gen. Santos, a practice which dates back to the 50s when his parents were still alive.
Above is the Passion Guide containing the long biblical passages of the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ which is sung and chanted in the most imaginable way.
Below are pictures of the “readers” or “chanters”, inside the compound of the Laiz Family along Sampaguita Street, while singing the Tagalog dialect-worded “pasyon” or book containing the story of the death and passion of Jesus Christ.
No related posts.
Follow @bariles
If you like this post, then help support this blog's maintenance.
Bariles is a Filipino word for “Tuna”, the primary source of income of the people of General Santos City which hosts 6 of the Philippines’ 8 tuna canneries and more than 80% of its tuna processing plants.
The Islander Says:
our lay minister in the community identified me to take part in the pabasa. our pabasa was not the chanting type though. we just have to read the chapter of a mystery. i dunno if i will be around that time. its been 2 years since i joined the holy week activities. i hope i wont be punished.
Posted on March 11th, 2008 at 6:42 PM
kyx Says:
wow, C’est mon maison!! astig… Merci, pour publier ceci…:D
Posted on March 11th, 2008 at 10:17 PM
orman Says:
parang gustong kong magbasa ng pasyon!
Posted on March 12th, 2008 at 7:49 AM
Philippine Tradition - Mahal na Araw | Cultureight Travel - Philippine culture adventure eco-tourism Says:
[...] Photo credits: Holy Week Lenten Pabasa in GenSan [...]
Posted on March 10th, 2010 at 2:19 PM
mayumi yabut Says:
Hi! May we use your photos for our article about Holy Week? Here is the link: http://www.cultureight.com/mahal-na-araw-philippine-traditions/ with a link back to this post. Hope it is ok.
Thanks and more power.
Posted on March 10th, 2010 at 2:29 PM
bariles Says:
@mayumi, no problem. Just acknowledge the source. Thanks.
Posted on March 10th, 2010 at 3:01 PM
Join Aguman Capampangan’s Lenten Pabasa 2010 | GenSan News Online Mag Says:
[...] the Laiz Family at their Sampaguita Street residence all throughout the years, was featured in an old blog post [...]
Posted on March 31st, 2010 at 3:34 PM
the good friday parade / stewedtutu Says:
[...] (more pics from gensantos.com) [...]
Posted on April 4th, 2010 at 2:19 AM
PABASA 2011: A Lenten Tradition in GenSan | GenSan News Online Mag Says:
[...] the traditions which has been passed on through generations, aside from the Visita Iglesia, is the PABASA, which is a Tagalog term, loosely translated as a “Reading [...]
Posted on April 19th, 2011 at 8:50 AM