Magical Siquijor Island

Reputations can be cruel. The island of Siquijor in Central Visayas is a victim of its fame as the vortex of black magic in the Visayas, if not of the Philippines.

Stories of victims falling ill from a cursed look or a hummed oracion (incantations) run aplenty. As a child, I grew up with tales of my superstitions yaya (nanny) who professed that the deadliest mambabarang (voodoo practitioners) practice their craft in the island. Most recently, I have a professional basketball player friend who related to me that he suffered from a mysterious stomach malady after a basketball friendly in Larena. He only got well the next day after he visited a local village healer. Fact or fiction?

What is true is this. Every Holy Week, numerous mananambal (faith healers) from all over the Visayas and Mindanao would converge loosely in the hinterlands of Siquijor. There, in the “sacred” peak of San Antonio, these healers would perform ancient rituals and mix secret potions of herbs, coconut oil, earthen powders, reptiles and other ingredients as (e.g., flowers taken from processional carrozas), cooking them over a kawa (cauldron). The effective balaanong adlaw (sacred days) would start on 3PM Good Friday, immediately after the commemoration of Jesus’ death through Black Saturday and pre-dawn Sunday. The long-standing belief is that creatures of the netherworld, now free to roam the earth without heavenly watch, would grace the healers with their powerful presence, making elixirs, whether for the good or bad, more potent.

A former colleague in the Chemistry Department of the University of San Carlos where I used to teach claimed to participate in this convergence at Siquijor several times. A PhD in Chemistry Education no less, he came from a family of healers from Leyte, another island of renowned enchantment repute. The “knowledge” he practiced was handed down to him from past generations, who like him, had to perform secret tahas (religious sacrifice). Indeed he would always disappear during Holy Week and whether in jest or not, he would later regale us with stories of offering dances made in the crack of dawn – or was it full moon? – at bodies of water like the Mananga River in Talisay where he lived.

These are the stuff that anthropological studies are made of. Even the Siquijor government acknowledges the practices, harnessing them as an effective tourist draw for the island. Is it safe to assume the healers now have a healthy tolerance for strangers watching over their pre-Hispanic animistic rituals? Perhaps.

It is with a mixture of curiousity that I visited Siquijor then. As usual it was work-related and unforgiving as my official schedule was, I could not indulge my cultural interest and visit any of the famed healers, or even visit the mountain of San Antonio and its balete trees where rituals are performed.

What I found out however is an unspoilt island that brags of virgin forests, empty stretches of white beaches and religious and gentle people. The island is small. I was there practically only for half a day, arriving in the evening and leaving by noon. Four hours and we were able to skim the sights, from the port of Larena in the north, through the eastern coastal towns of Enrique Villanueva and Maria with its spectacularly wide Candaping Bay, the southern town of Lazi and its famous stone church and convent, the biggest in the country, to the popular beach resort town of San Juan.

Definitely, I need to revisit the place, during summertime I hope. And why not on Holy Week? I would willingly be enchanted in so many other ways.

photos


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/50s, f/5.6, 34mm, ISO 100
a flower garden in the Princesa Bulakna Beach Resort, Candaping Bay, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines
phototip: Try a different perspective. Shoot straight down.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/25s, f/4, 85mm, ISO 100,
a fisherman and his son at barangay Candaping B, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines
phototip: Invest time and effort to know your subjects and to get them at ease. After some conversation, I got them to pose for me, and I even used a tripod.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/250s, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO 100
my mother gathering cosmos flower seeds at the Princesa Bulakna Beach Resort, Candaping Bay, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines
phototip: I shot this at a low angle to highlight the flower patch.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.3s, f/22, 47mm, ISO 100, +1.3EV
sunrise at Candaping Bay, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines (unprocessed, uncropped photo)



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/125s, f/5.6, 300mm, ISO 100
a fish pen at Candaping Bay, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/60s, f/5.0, 18mm, ISO 400, -1/3EV
an old window of the hallway leading to the kitchen of the convent of San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines
phototip: Colored shadows always are interesting.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.6s, f/5, 33mm, ISO 100
the Nuestra Señora Consolacion, San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 3.2s, f/11, 18mm, ISO 100
the altar of San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines
That is an actual balcony at the base of the dome. A door can be seen off-center.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/50s, f/4.5, 28mm, ISO 800
church dress code at San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.3s, f/11, 24mm, ISO 100, +1/3EV
the San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines
Note the original hardwood flooring which is rare



the convent of San Isidro Labrador Church, Lazi, Siquijor, the Philippines
Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/80s, f/8, 18mm, ISO 100

Philippine Summer Destinations, part 1

The hot summer in the Philippines is enjoyed in the months of March to May whereupon domestic tourism will be at its busiest. Synonymous with sun, sand and sea, summer is vacation time, when school is off and people hie off to relax. In the next few weeks, I will feature in separate blogs several summer Philippine destinations, all of which are my own personal choices for the year.

Alegre Resort in Sogod, Cebu

Some 70+km north of Cebu City is Sogod, a quiet town facing the Camotes Sea in the east and rugged mountainous terrain in the interior. There amidst 27 hectares of undulating hills, beach coves and coconut groves is the exclusive five-star resort of Alegre. Meaning “cheerful” in Cebuano, as adopted from Spanish, Alegre takes its name to the hilt.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.0s, f/13, 18mm, ISO 100, -2/3EV, w/ 1 ND0.9 filter
a secluded cove in Alegre Beach Resort, Sogod, North Cebu, the Philippines


Pandanon Island in Gitafe, Bohol
Getting there is adventure enough. The 1 ½ hours motorized boat ride from Mactan to Pandanon island is a cruise that begs the question, why are we bypassing the turquoise waters and white beaches of several picturesque islands that hordes of tourists trek to Mactan for? Upon arrival, you’ll know.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/100s, f/22, 18mm, ISO 100
Pandanon Island, Getafe, Bohol, the Philippines


Siquijor Island, Central Visayas
The land of witchcraft the island of Siquijor is known. Known in the past as Isla de Fuego, Siquijor justifies its reputation of mystic by the annual congregation of witchdoctors and local healers every Good Friday solely to concoct traditional potions. Perhaps beknownst only by a few, Siquijor offers definitely more than a source for supernatural tales for children. The island offers virgin forests, expansive stretches of white beaches and a culture of peace-loving, religious and gentle people.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.2s, f/22, 18mm, ISO 100, +1.00EV
the Princesa Bulakna Beach Resort, Candaping Bay, Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines

part of an ongoing series on Philippine summer destinations:
part 1 - Alegre (Cebu), Pandanon Island (Bohol), Siquijor Island
part 2 (the isolation series) - the sandbar of Bais (Negros Oriental), Inampulugan Island (Guimaras), Mambucal (Negros Occidental)
part 3 - (Pagudpud, Bantayan, Dakak)

Sunrise Moments

People can either be night owls or early birds. I’m definitely the latter. In high school, I did my schoolwork only at dawn as I preferred to sleep early in the evening. Waking up at 4AM never has been a problem. I never was one who had to be dragged by my parents to get up on my haunches. My own wakeup jolt was simply the cold bath. Like most Filipinos, we do not have heated plumbing!

The glory of muscle memory is that like clockwork, I still wake up around 5:30 AM. I even arranged for my work hours to start at 7AM so that I can leave early as well, at 3PM. When I took up photography, this habit turns out to be an advantage. Sunrises, like sunsets, are a natural draw to hobbyists. Colors could not be more spectacular and light could not be more soft.

Here are some of my sunrise moments I would like to share to you.

May 6, 2006, 6:15AM

Sunrises can be surreal. An overexposed long exposure shot can create dreamlike seascapes. Warmified to pink, the water appears like fog where the hut floats on.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 25.0s, f/32, 38mm, ISO 100, +4/3EV (cropped)
huts on the sandbar of Manhuyod/Bais, Negros Oriental


April 21, 2006, 5:50AM

Occasionally, it is a daunting task to head out early for dawn shots. Places would generally be isolated so safety can be an issue. Not in Batanes though. It is a truly peaceful place. A backwater in terms of development but there lies its appeal too- it is a rustic idyll settled in its own pace and time.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 0.50s, f/22, 22mm, ISO 100
Basco port, Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines


Oct 21, 2006, 5:39AM

The photo was taken when sunrise was still about 20 minutes away. The beach was dark, empty but no less hospitable. I already took a picture of this lifeguard station with my point and shoot several years ago with my point and shoot and I just felt like retaking it with my dSLR. In the latest version, the hut came out like a lamp in the absence of scale reference. I think, my wife – then my girlfriend – captured a better version with her prosumer camera!


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1.00s, f/14.0, 30mm, ISO 100
Geger Beach, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia- my version



my wife’s version



an old 2004 point and shoot version


Oct 23, 2006, 5:40AM

Two days later, I was at it again and of course, I dragged my wife with me too. We went to Pura Bias Tugel in an isthmus like projection in Nusa Dua Beach. In the runners’ promenade, I lurked around to catch silhouettes of joggers but I my timing was shot. As the sunrise was fast approaching, I had my wife walk in front of me and produced this sexy shot. Yes, I am biased!


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/125s, f/5.6, 46mm, ISO 200, -2/3 EV
my wife at Pura Bias Tugel, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia


March 19, 2007, 5:25AM

Sunrises offer unbelievable colors, even without any post-processing. Here is an early morning shot of the eastward facing bay in Maria, Siquijor, straight out of the camera. I had to bump up the exposure to enhance the mirror quality of the still waters.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 2.5s, f/22, 55mm, ISO 100, +4/3EV (as-is, no post-processing)
Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines


November 11, 2007, 5:28AM

One time in 2006, I was spending a lazy dawn photoshoot in Geger Beach when I noticed that a lot of people were flocking in the beach rather early. I belatedly learn that it was the celebration of Banyu Pinaruh, an auspicious date to cast away offerings and ritually bathe in the sea. As I failed to capture the rites in 2006, I made it a point to catch it last year. It must have been so cold to take a dip in the beach that early in the morning!


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 8.0s, f/13, 18mm, ISO 200, +2/3EV
the Banyu Pinaruh ritual, Geger Beach, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia