Paper Short Abstract:

The chanting of the passion play was done by Spanish missionaries to establish Catholicism among the local population and interpreted by a Filipino historian as a revolutionary act. This paper investigates the enduring social and cultural function of the passion play in the local town of Antipolo.

Paper Abstract:

The chanting of the passion play, introduced by Spanish missionaries to the Philippines, was done to help establish the Catholic faith among the local population. Rather than being a tool of subjugation, a Filipino historian interpreted it as a spiritual metaphor by which Philippine revolutionaries framed their lives and allowed them to overthrow the colonial system. This political function has not held on, however, even as the passion play continues to this day, signifying a cultural persistence that serves a social and cultural function in the community itself. This paper investigates the passion play tradition in the local town of Antipolo to uncover the different social meanings, relations, and structures that this Holy Week ritual holds for the cultural agents themselves, based on the elements that surface year after year during its enactment: the families that participate, the food, and the community involvement.