Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Royal Descent and the Value of Genealogical Provenance

People do genealogy for various reasons.

Some people trace their family trees to answer common questions like where their family has been and where they are headed. Some do it hoping to find possible long-lost inheritance or claims to hidden fortunes. A more common reason for doing it is the dream of finding a connection to a famous person, be it a president, a billionaire, or to royalty. In the past, it was a common practice to trace the descent of royalty from the divine: the Japanese Imperial family has long held that they are descended from the Shinto Sun goddess Amaterasu (David Kinsley, 1988); many Roman Emperors and politicians claimed to be from the families descended from the Greek and Roman pantheon (O. Hekster, 2005); the British Royal family is said to be from the Norse god Woden or Odin; or powerful Islamic dynasties would always claim to be the Prophet Mohammad's descendants.

Photo grabbed from SGMA's FB Page

In modern times, people continue to have such fantastical claims to lofty pedigrees. For decades, people would scoff when families like the Macapagals would claim descent from Lakan Dula. Many families, especially those from Bulacan and Pampanga, have always claimed to be descendants of the Manila Lakans or the Super-Principalias. The same could be said for some families in Cebu and Bohol that claim descent from Lapulapu (Mojares, 2018), Humabon (Abellana, 1998), Sikatuna (Dery, 1992), and others.

These claims of descent from antiquity are common in many cultures. And while historians are skeptical of these genealogies, many of these family trees are actually complete with names and details. It may be that some distant court genealogist felt pressured and fabricated these family trees to further consolidate the power of their kings. Or, it may also be that these were from oral histories. Before writing and printing became a common preoccupation of the human race, certain groups of people in many societies were tasked to memorize their histories. Author Alex Haley in his book Roots wrote at the end of his novel about very old men in Africa called "griots" - men who could recite the centuries old village histories, of clan and family stories, of all the great men of their village. Basically, they were what Alex Haley called 'living, walking archives of oral history' (Haley, 1976). Who, then, can tell if this skill has not been passed down through the centuries along certain families in the Philippines?

In truth, many genealogies, no matter how fantastical, have some basis in reality. Many elements of the Lapulapu and Humabon oral traditions can be corroborated by documents found in Spanish and Portuguese archives as proved by historian Danilo Madrid in his book on Ferdinand Magellan.

One such example of oral traditions being backed by archival documents albeit having some discrepancies is the Veloso of Cebu family tree. For years, members of the prominent Veloso family (whose members include no less than the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo R. Duterte, and host of other senators, legislative representatives, and more) believed that their line came from a Portuguese merchant who came to Southeast Asia in the 1600s. The Velosos have a long and documented genealogy. However, in his 2015 scholarly article The Myth of the Portuguese Ancestor: The Veloso Family of Nineteenth-Century Cebu, historian Michael Cullinane expertly provides detailed proof that some of the names of earlier generations of the Veloso family were incorrect. He further provides archival evidence that the Velosos, at least those in the nineteenth century, were racially classified as mestizos sangleyes (Chinese mestizos) and not Portuguese. Considering the practice at that time, racial status was inherited paternally. If the Velosos were indeed Portuguese, this classification would have been carried over to the 19th century. Nevertheless, while Cullinane's work has disproved some of the Veloso family's claimed history, this updated story of their family has even added more details into their genealogy. 

At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong in continuing to believe in oral histories. What is important is that one knows how to delineate between fact and fiction as well as learn to accept when oral traditions are proven to be something else. 

Establishing the Macapagal Genealogy

The Macapagal-Arroyo Family (Photo from SGMA's FB)

One of the best examples of a genealogy that has a mixture of oral and archival documentation is that of the Macapagal genealogy. For decades, the history of the Macapagals has been the subject of many speculation and debate. There are a few who claim that the Macapagal family (in particular the line of President Diosdado) is descended from Lakandula. 

Former MTRCB Chair Alejandro Roces in his eulogy during President Macapagal's necrological service at Malacanang in 1997, stated that “Macapagal was an impoverished royalty because he was of royal descent...” This was one of the earliest public recognitions of Macapagal's descent from Lakandula. Seven years earlier, social historian Luciano P.R. Santiago published the authorative journal article The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman (1571-1898): Genealogy and Group Identity. While he traced the descendants of Lakandula and the other superprincipalias down to the 16- to 1700s, he did not go beyond this. In fact, though he mentions that Diosdado Macapagal and Jovito Salonga are known Lakandula descendants, he does not trace how that is so.

Another former government official, National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chairman Jaime C. Laya, stated in 2001 that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, daughter of Diosdado Macapagal, was the "great, great, great granddaughter 15 times of Don Jose Macapagal" (Vanzi, 2001). Don Jose was the son of Don Juan Macapagal, a proven great (3X) - grandson of Lakandula. He backtracks in his book, Letras y Figuras, when he said that GMA was likely a descendant of Don Jose Macapagal, a great (10X or so)-granddaughter of said Jose Macapagal (Laya, 2001). Laya's backtracking is quite logical. When he said President Arroyo was the great (15X)-granddaughter of Don Jose Macapagal, this was quite problematic. Using the standard 25 - 35 years for every generation, Laya's claim would put President Arroyo as having been born between 2075 and 2215, way in the future! 

Truth of the matter is, there has never been a concrete illustration of the descent from Lakandula to President Macapagal despite everyone claiming it as such. Even the biography of Diosdado Macapagal by Cecilia P. Serrano simply rehashes the old general claims of Macapagal’s descent from Lakandula but makes no detailed illustration of this.

Interestingly, Macapagal did descend from Lakandula but, unlike the claims of Laya and Serrano, not through the aforementioned Jose (or Joseph) Macapagal. President Diosdado Macapagal was the great (11X) – grandson of Lakandula, making President Gloria M. Arroyo the 12X great-granddaughter of Lakandula. There is clear and valid archival provenance for former President Gloria M. Arroyo’s family tree up to her great-great-grandfather Quirino Macapagal. The baptismal record of Arroyo’s father, former President Diosdado Macapagal, still exists and shows the name of PGMA’s grandparents and great-grandparents (Lubao baptismal register, 1910).

The baptismal record of Gloria’s grandfather, Urbano Macapagal, also exists and shows the name of Don Quirino Macapagal (Lubao baptismal register, 1877). Thus, in these 2 baptismal records alone, we can see the proof of descent of the Macapagals in 5 generations. It is the first key to connecting the line of PGMA to Lakandula. Urbano’s grandfather as listed in his baptismal record was Don Qurino Macapagal who was, though not mentioned in the record, not from Lubao but from San Simon, Pampanga. Don Quirino Macapagal’s own baptismal record is the next and most important key in the Macapagals’ Lakandula descent, an indisputable proof of PGMA’s descent from Lakandula. Clearly stated in the record is the inclusion of Quirino’s parents in the “barangay de Lacandola”. The barangay de Lacandola, or more formally the gremio de Lacandola, was the administrative grouping of proven descendants of the three great rulers of Manila. The Spanish authorities decided to put this up in order to keep track of who exactly were the descendants of the Super-principalias as well as safeguard these families as they were prone to various abuses and exploitation by local Spanish and indio functionaries alike.

Portion of Quirino Macapagal's baptismal record showing his parents to be
part of the barangay de Lacandola

The last provenance in PGMA’s tree is the marriage record of Pedro Macapagal and Ma. Gracia Paguio, which gives us the names of both their parents. Once again, they are both listed as being members of the Lacandola barangay, Pedro from the gremio de Lacandola in San Luis, Pampanga, while Ma. Gracia from San Simon.

So whatever other families who claim that a) the line of Diosdado Macapagal is a “bogus” Macapagal line, b) that the Macapagals are just servants of the Gatbontons, the “real” descendants of the royal Lakans of Manila, or c) that the Macapagals of Lubao are not related to the Macapagals descended from Lakandula, all these are irrelevant. The fact is very few families can provide detailed archival proof like PGMA’s family. Even if one cannot connect her directly to Lakandula (which we can), the fact that several records show that Gloria’s direct ancestors were registered in the gremio or barangay de Lacandolas is enough proof of her descent from the famed Lakandula of Tondo.

Proving the Macapagal Descent from Lakandula

Thanks to the efforts of the late Luciano P.R. Santiago as well as those of Luis C. Dery, it is now easier to extend PGMA’s family tree further using their scholarly works. Don Quirino Macapagal, his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all appear in Santiago’s research. Using this and other research materials, we can further extend Don Quirino Macapagal’s line to Don Eugenio Lapira Macapagal and his wife Doña Cathalina Sinacumanglugod. Don Eugenio L. Macapagal was the father of the aforementioned Don Juan Macapagal, the father of Jose or Joseph Macapagal from which PGMA has been erroneously said to be descended. In fact, it is from another son of Don Eugenio, Don Miguel Lapira Macapagal, where President Arroyo’s line is from.

Don Eugenio Macapagal was the great-great-grandson of Lakandula. His line going up to Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman and several of his descendants may be traced using the secondary sources Descendientes de Don Carlos Lacandola, the only existing cache of documents in the Philippine National Archives that specifically trace the family trees of the Lakandulas, Matandas, and Solimanes.

PGMA’s Descent from Royalty

From PGMA, we count 6 generations up to Don Jose Macapagal whose name is the last name we see in primary sources. Using secondary sources as well as the previously researched genealogies by various scholars, we can further connect Don Jose Macapagal 8 generations further up to Don Carlos Lacandola. In other words, former President and outgoing Speaker of the House Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a 14^th generation descendant of Lakandula.

Culling from the writings of Isabelo de los Reyes, H. Otley Beyer, Luther Parker, and Mariano Henson, it has been generally accepted that Lakan Dula, Ladia Matanda, and Rajah Soliman II were brothers, and that the younger Soliman, Soliman III, was Lakan Dula’s and Matanda’s nephew. They were descendants of the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu and in fact there were several intermarriages among the royal houses of Manila and Tondo, Sulu, and Brunei, and Matanda, Lakandula, and Soliman were descendants of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei and Sultan Sharif al-Hashim of Sulu.

These connections to the genealogy of Brunei and Sulu thus stretches the family tree of PGMA further. Lakandula was the grandson of Sultan Bolkiah of Brunei and Princess Leila Menchanai (or Menjanai) of Sulu, in turn the granddaughter of the founder of the Sultanate of Sulu, Sultan Sharif al-Hashim, said to be the son of Shariff Ali Zainal Abidin from Yemen. Shariff Abidin is further said to be the father of Shariff Muhammad Kabungsuan, the founder of the Sultanate of Maguindanao.  The tarsila of the Sultans of Maguindanao further shows the descent of Shariff Abidin, the father of their founder Shariff Muhammad Kabungsuan, from the Prophet Muhammad. Thus, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is at the 34^th generation from the Prophet Muhammad.

Many Moslem historians believe that the genealogy of Muhammad can be traced to Ismail, one of the the sons of Abraham. Between Ismail and Muhammad are seventy generations. However, there seems to be some debate on Muhammad's ancestry. Some scholars believe that the lineage of Prophet Muhammad actually has three versions: the first was authenticated by biographers and genealogists and states that Prophet Muhammad's genealogy has been traced to Adnan. The second is subject to controversies as to which son of Ismael the Prophet really descends from. It traces his lineage beyond Adnan back to prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). The third version, traces his lineage beyond Ibrahim back to Aadam (Adam). Genealogists differ from which son of Isma'il عليه السلام the line of descent came as well as in the names on the line of descent. So, while the exact descent of the Prophet Muhammad cannot be established for now, it is nevertheless interesting to note that PGMA can further connect herself to another royal line due to her descent from Muhammad.

Fatima’s son, Shariff Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abi Talib, married Shahrbānū, who was a Sassanid princess and the daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Emperor of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia (now Iran). The Sasanian dynasty was named after Sasan, the ancestor of the dynasty. It was founded by Ardashir I in 224, who defeated the last Parthian king Artabanus IV and ended when the last Sasanian monarch, Yazdegerd III (632–651), lost a 19-year struggle to drive out the early Arab Caliphate, which was the first of the Islamic empires.

Because the Macapagals are descended from Don Quirino Macapagal, himself a descendant of Don Eugenio Lapira Macapagal, who was the great-great-grandson of Lakandula, himself a grandson of Princess Laila Menjanai of Sulu who was a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, they can count as their blood relatives the royal families of Sulu, Maguindanao, Brunei, Jordan, the United Kingdom (although Queen Elizabeth’s descent from Mohammad is debated), and a host of other families that have been traced to Muhammad.

This genealogical writeup is just a simple thank you to former President and outgoing House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for her service to the Filipino people. Her full genealogy with generation per generation illustration of descent from all abovementioned families will be featured in the author’s upcoming books UNANG PAMILYA: Brief Genealogies of Philippine Presidential Families and Descendants of the Super-Principalias.

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Sources:

Primary sources:

1. Church records of Saint Augustine in Lubao, Pampanga, Philippines.
2. Church records of of Saint Simon San Simon, Pampanga, Philippines.
3. Church records of of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, San Luis, Pampanga, Philippines.

Other References:

1. H. Otley Beyer. Philippine History Quarterly, 1919.
2. Luther Parker. "The Gats and the Lakans." Philippine Magazine, 504-505. Manila, Philippine Magazine, January 1931.
3. Luther Parker. "The Lakandolas." Philippine Magazine, 572-573. Manila, Philippine Magazine, February 1931.
4. Luther Parker. "The Last of the Lakans." Philippine Magazine, 628-629. Manila, Philippine Magazine, March 1931.
5. Mariano A. Henson. "Genealogy of the Rulers of Central Luzon as Related in the Will of Fernando Malang Balagtas." The Province of Pampanga and Its Towns (A.D. 1300-1955), 163-168. Manila: Villanueva Book Store, 1955.
6. Luciano P.R. Santiago. "The Houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman (1571-1898): Genealogy and Group Identity." Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Volume 18, No. 1, 39-73. Cebu City: USC Press, 1990.
7. Jaime C. Laya. "The Lacandola Papers in the National Archives." Letras Y Figuras: Business in Culture, Culture in Business, 54-55. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2001.
8. Luis C. Dery. "Isang-Dugo: Kinship and the Origin of the Filipino People." A History of the Inarticulate: Local History, Prostitution, and Other Views from the Bottom, 1-20. Quezon City, New Day Publishers, 2001.
9. Cecilla P. Serrano. "Ancestors." Beating the Odds: The Life, the Times, and the Politics of Diosdado P. Macapagal, 1-5. Quezon City, New Day Publishers, 2005.

The Sinulog and the Genealogy of Rajah Humabon

Every year on the third Sunday of January people from all over the Philippines and even the globe converge in Cebu City to celebrate the festival called the Sinulog. Every year, like clockwork, devotees of the Holy Infant carry their Sto. Niño statues to be blessed at the Sto. Niño church. I see these people from all walks of life lining the streets or waiting their turn for their precious statues to be blessed by a priest. From a historian's eyes I see the continuity of the devotion of the Cebuano people to the Holy Infant, a devotion that has been passed down from generation to generation beginning with the baptism of Hara' Juana into the Catholic faith and her acceptance of the statue of the Holy Infant as gift from the explorer Ferdinand Magellan.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of this Queen of Cebu. In the early days of my research I only read a few materials about the "royals" of Sugbu - about her husband, Hari' Humabon and their nephew, Hari' Tupas, who inherited the mantle of power. But of course there has never been an extensive discussion of the pre-Hispanic royals of Sugbu, unlike those of Manila. Maybe because the Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi decided Manila as a better location for the capital of the new colony and so naturally most of early chronicles especially on the ruling elite of the islands were focused on Manila's Lakans.. And although Luciano P.R. Santiago in his article on the Lakans of Manila indicated that a separate dossier of the descendants of Tupas and his clan were kept by the Spanish government as they were given the same special arrangement as those of the Manila Lakans. Unfortunately these files were most likely kept in the archives of Cebu and were lost or misplaced throughout the centuries. Thus, unlike the genealogies of the houses of Lakandula, Matanda, and Soliman which appear to be quite complete in the early generations until about the 1700s, those of the Tupases in Cebu can only be constructed based on the few archival documents we have.

Two primary sources form the basis for this article. The first is from Astrid Sala-Boza's article in the Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society where she explored Tupas's genealogy and the passing of power in the Sugbu chiefdom as culled from the writings of Antonio de Morga, Antonio Pigafetta, William Henry Scott, and of course the authoritative works of Blair and Robertson. The second source is Jovito S. Abellana's Aginid: Bayok sa Atong Tawarik, which is his family's version of the founding of Cebu as passed down in his family. Later we will get to compare the genealogy of Boza and Abellana.

Based on Boza's article as illustrated in the genealogy above, there was never any mention of the parents or any other ancestors of Rajah or Hari' Humabon of Sugbu. In fact, the scant resources available only mention Humabon and his two brothers Bendara and Cadayaw (Ka Dayaw). Pigafetta's writings tell us further that Tupas had married Humabon and Juana's daughter, Katherine (her native name was legendarily known as Humamai) as it appears that in Sugbu, succession to Humabon's office should have been by primogeniture to his eldest son; but he had only daughters. The solution was to make a lasting union between Humabon's brother's son and Humabon's daughter. By the time Legazpi came to Cebu to conquer the islands for his king the power had already transferred to Tupas. Writings from those times tell us that Hari' Tupas and Hara' Humamai were baptized Felipe and Katherine. They had 6 children, four girls (who were never named) and 2 sons, one of which was baptized as Carlos. We also find out that the Isabel described in history books who married one of Legazpi's men, a Greek by the name of Andrea, was actually a niece of Hari' Tupas. Isabel and Andrea go down in Philippine history as not just the first Catholic marriage in the colony but also the first indio and Europeo marriage. Other records mention rulers from other islands like those in Bohol or Butuan and though there are enough indications that they may have been relatives of Humabon not enough records are available to connect them to one another. Looking at the family tree that we get to build through archival documents it is clear that we have a very scant data for a complete family tree.

That is why if we compare this tree to the one given to us by Jovito S. Abellana we see the great discrepancy in what is available in historical records and what the Abellana family claims to have been passed down in their family.

The Aginid by Jovito Abellana

The book Aginid recounts the beginning of Cebu as having been founded by Bataugong and Balintawak, supposedly Humabon's great-grandparents.  The book further narrates how the descendants of this couple founded their own chiefdoms and the narrative shows that the rulers of Butuan, for instance, were relatives of Humabon. Rajah Kolambo, ruler of Limasawa in Southern Leyte where the first mass in the Philippines was held, was a first cousin of Humabon; Bankaw, the ruler of Limasawa who led a religious revolt against the Spaniards in 1621 to 22, was a third cousin of Don Carlos, son of Kari' Tupas; in the same year as Bankaw's revolt his 4th cousin, Tamblot, a babaylan in Bohol, led an uprising. The book itself is fascinating, not just in terms of the wealth of genealogical data it contains. It gives another persepective of the history of Cebu. However, in terms of genealogy I do have my reservations in believing it at face value. For one thing the family tree constructed by Abellana has clear Spanish influences in terms of naming pattern. The children of Bataugong and Balintawak, for instance, were called Lumay Bataugong, Midai Bataugong, Tawakal Bataugong, Barat Bataugong, Anduki Bataugong, and Pamampawahi Bataugong. Or Humabon was named Humabon Bantug because his father was named Bantug Lumay. From these we see that the children were given their father's name as their second name, which functioned as a patronymic. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that the early Filipinos praticed patronyms so I am quite wary as to the truth of these records.

Still, this is another source that adds to the richness of the beautiful culture of the Cebuanos. And on this special day of the beloved festival of the Cebuanos, a festival that celebrates not just Cebuano spiritualism but our connection to our beautiful past, anything could be possible. In the end, Abellana's book could very well be the one to complete what we lack in terms of archival documentation.

Happy Sinulog everyone! Pit Senyor!

For a complete genealogy of Cebuano's early rulers, click here.

Sources:

1. Astrid Sala-Boza. The Genealogy of Hari Tupas: An Ethnohistory of Chiefly Power and Hierarchy in Sugbu as a Prostate, Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 34, No. 3. Cebu City: San Carlos Publications, September 2006.

2. Jovito S. Abellana. Aginid: Bayok sa Atong Tawarik, Cebu City: Cebu Normal University Publications, 1998.

Genealogy 101: The Value of Oral History to Genealogists

Although it is important to base family histories on facts and archival documents, there are many instances when these can only go too far. Records don't give us an insight into a family's dynamics unless one or several members kept diaries or other written accounts. Unfortunately for Filipinos writing was never easy in the Spanish period, so all we have left today are oral traditions that many continue to believe and retell the younger generations. Since this week is celebrated all throughout the Christian world as a holy week, I have decided to retell a tradition in my family that has for many years been solely oral until I decided to find archival records to support it.

My paternal family, the Saleses, own the Santo Intierro of Moalboal, Cebu. Oral history says that this was a gift by Padre Omeng del Carmen to his mother after he became a priest. 

The Santo Intierro of the del Carmen-Sales family

I have already known that my great-great-grandmother's name was Eulogia del Carmen, who was born in Moalboal, Cebu. She was the daughter of Don Pio Quinto del Carmen and Doña Petrona Gador. I later found out that Eulogia del Carmen had a younger brother, Bartolome, whose name appears as one of the ordained priests of Cebu in the 1870s. I also later found his name in the list of parish priests of Argao, and his signature and name appears in the church records of Argao from the 1870s until the early 1900s.

According to family tradition, the Santo Intierro, which Bartolome gave his mother, became a centerpiece in the del Carmen family’s altar. Doña Petrona and her children began a yearly devotion to this blessed statue, and their family became in charged with the preparations for the carrosa for the Dead Christ during the Lenten procession on Good Friday.  The carrosa used to be simple and small, and was borne upon the shoulders of four men.  This practice of taking charge of the Dead Christ carrosa soon became a yearly practice, and pretty soon the Santo Intierro became associated with the del Carmen, and then later the Sales family.  After Doña Petrona died of beriberi on 3 March 1903, her children took over the preparations for the blessed idol. Teodorica, known as “Nanay Icay” to her many great-nephews and nieces, became the head of the family at her parents’ deaths, being the eldest unmarried daughter of the del Carmens. She was  very strict, the archetype of an old maid or dalagang ulay, although she bore an illegitimate daughter, Patricia, in 1904.  Patricia del Carmen lived only for five weeks as she died of fever. The tragic loss of her daughter must have driven her to concentrate on her family, specifically her sister’s, Eulogia, children, who were orphaned early when Eulogia died from cholera in 1896.  Since most of her nephews and nieces lived in the Big House after Eulogia’s death, she would always insist that the children would come inside the house at the strike of six in the evening, or during the oracion, and kiss her and the other elders’ hands.  Then she would insist on having everyone join in the praying of the Angelus and then later the rosary, which was very lengthy.  A child who failed to come to the house at six or failed to join the prayers would get a sharp reprimand and a painful kusi at the waist.

Indeed, her great-nephews and nieces viewed her with awe and fear. She believed that children should always be called by their first name, and thus she refused to call her great-nephews and nieces by their nicknames.  She was a tireless woman, always seeing to it that the huge parcels of  farmlands left by her parents were not left idle.  In her younger years she herself oversaw the management of these lands, but in her later years she appointed her favorite nephew, Gorgonio, to be the overseer.  She became even stricter in her later years, refusing to come out of the house except to attend the early morning mass and other church holidays.  However, she was also generous to her family, and allowed anyone in the family to get whatever they needed from the farm.

Her devotion to the Santo Intierro and to her family was truly tireless.  She shelled out hundreds of pesos for the preparations of the carrosa.  Each Good Friday morning, she would gather all the members of the family to work on the decorations of the carrosa.  She and her sisters Eulogia and Rosa supervised and did the flower arrangements and other decorations.  Later, Eufemia and Aniceta, the elder Sales daughters succeeded them.  Later, members of the family with requests or intentions would insert “petitions” beneath the statue.  After the preparations, the whole family would cross to the church to bring the Santo Intierro and to attend the mass.  Later, the family, together with many people, would follow the carrosa of the Santo Intierro during the procession.  Before, as today, the Santo Intierro always had the largest number of devotees, for which statue best symbolizes the meaning of Good Friday but that of the Dead Christ himself.  At past 6 in the evening, Teodorica would once more gather all the family members and a large feast would ensue.  There was never a shortage of delicious foods, as Rosa del Carmen was said to be a master chef.  She amused her family with her cakes, mamons, candies, fruit salads, tortas and rosquillos.  She took charge of the menu, and never was there a time when one complained of her cooking.  Throughout the night a group of  people would do the passion, lasting into midnight.  Also throughout the night people from all over Moalboal would congregate at the house to kiss the Santo Intierro.

Black Saturday was always spent quietly, for it was considered to be utter disrespect and blasphemous to do anything loud on the day that Christ was still dead.  And so, the family would stay in the house, with the children staring achingly outside the huge windows, itching to continue playing.  Throughout the day, the older members of the family would be seen mumbling silent prayers.  Later, however, the teenage great-nephews would always group together and go out, almost always sneaking out to grab a couple of drinks.

Easter Sunday indeed proved to be a glorious day for all members of the family.  Early in the morning the whole family would be roused by Teodorica to attend the sugat, or the reenactment of the meeting of the Risen Christ and his mother Mary.  After the sugat and the mass, the whole family would troop at the back of the big house to spend the entire day at the beach.  Once more, there would be an abundance of food and drinks.

This tradition, started approximately around 1874 by  Doña Petrona, has continued to this very day.  After Teodorica’s death, Eufemia Sales Jainar became tasked with the observance of the tradition, being the eldest among the Sales brood.  When the family decided to tear down the big house before the outbreak of the second world war, the Santo Intierro was transferred to Eufemia’s house, where it has remained in the custody of her descendants since.  Without fail, each year, members of the Sales family would flock to Eufemia’s house to pay homage to the blessed statue, and to carry on the family tradition.

Several changes have been made throughout the years.  The carrosa was added another layer, and tires were also added so that members of the family would no longer have to carry the carrosa and instead just pull it.  The elevation of the carrosa also proved to be useful, as people would always flock and grab flowers from the carrosa after the procession.  These flowers, it is believed, have healing powers.  Recently, also, the process of “bagging”  (inserting the flower stems on to a small piece of plastic cellophane filled with water to allow the flowers to last longer) was introduced.  And instead of working on Good Friday, the family has decided to start the bagging and the decorating on Holy Thursday, as many members already live in the city and there would be lesser time if done on Friday.  Also, some members of the family go to the beach on Saturday instead of Sunday, since those who live outside Moalboal still have to travel home on Sunday.  Similarly, the younger generation towards the 1980’s started the tradition of doing a Way of the Cross inside the Church.

Despite the changes, the tradition pretty much remains the same.  The family continues to work together, the teens working on the flowers, the grown-ups taking care of the food and other preparations, while the older ones are allowed to relax and observe everything, perhaps allowing them the opportunity to just sit back and reminisce.  The bagging of the flowers allows distant cousins to get to know each other, and later in the more liberal years the youngsters would have a case of beer in hand to help them socialize with their cousins better. 

And of course, at the heart of all these is the Santo Intierro, the reason for all these celebrations.  Six generations of del Carmen-Saleses have devoted their Holy Week on the family saint.  One member aptly described everything: “The Santo Intierro is the uniting factor of the Sales family; it is what brings us together and gives us a sense of being a family.”

I am proud to be part of this tradition, which continues to this day. If I only focused on archival records I would never have this much insight into my family's past. With recording these oral histories we guarantee that the future generations will have knowledge of what their family's past had been.