FIRST TAGALOG 'PASYON'
A BESTSELLER
MANILA, APRIL
4, 2007 (STAR) By Rudy A. Fernandez - The first Tagalog
version of the pasyon written by a Filipino priest was a bestseller three
centuries ago and continues to be so.
Credit for the composition of the first local version of the narrative poem that tells the story of Christ from birth to trial and crucifixion and the music adapted to it goes to Father Gaspar Aquilino de Belen of the Batangas town of Rosario.
De Belen’s literary rendition is contained in the Manga Panalangin Nagtatagubilin sa Calolowa Nang Taong Naghihingalo.
The Batangas priest’s pasion was first printed in Manila 303 years ago, in 1704, after it was granted a church permit.
Half a century later, in 1750, it was reissued for the fifth time, enjoying a "best seller" status for many years.
These tidbits were chronicled by literary historians Teofilo del Castillo and Buenaventura Medina in their book "Philippine Literature from Ancient to the Present."
Encouraged by the success of De Belen’s work, others followed the priest’s footsteps.
In 1750, for instance, Don Luis Guian disengaged himself from his many activities and wrote a pasyon in his own way. His work came to be known as "Guian’s Passion."
Two other priests – Fathers Jose Segui and Manuel Grajalva – later authored Pasyong Mahal ni Jesucristong Panginoon Natin.
Attempts to perfect the pasyon were made in the 19th century.
Fr. Mariano Pilapil, a priest from Tondo (Manila) who was known for his literary talent, was among those who spearheaded this movement. His piece was published in 1814.
Pilapil innovated by including illustrations in his pasyon. Moreover, every chapter was punctuated by an appropriate sermon of counsel, making it popular even to this day.
A Bulacan (Baliwag) priest, Fr. Aniceto de la Merced, composed one of the "landmarks of Tagalog poetry" – the La Pasyon de Nuestra Jesucristo. Turned out in 1856-58, his pasyon is characterized by its "lyrical exuberance and by the accuracy of its versification," as described by Del Castillo and Medina.
In Ilocandia, singer Leona de los Reyes made a mark for herself in pasyon writing. Fathers Manuel Gerriz and Antonio Mejia also produced two other versions of pasyon.
In Central Luzon, two Pampango writers composed pasyon in the 19th century. They were Felix Galura, who wrote Pasyon y Muerte de Jesucristo; and Cornelio Pabalan Biron, who penned Pasyon ning Guinu Tang Jesucristo.
In their book, literary historians Del Castillo and Medina wrote that so far these were the known pasyons in the country.
"Efforts at new renditions have, since then, not been made by other Philippine writers. All they did was to translate the outstanding pasyons current in their days into their respective dialects," they said.
Over the years, two institutions have evolved from the reading and re-enactment of Christ’s life during the Holy Week.
The first has come to be known as pabasa or chanting the pasyon. The second is the cenaculo or penitencia or the dramatic re-enactment of the life and passion of Christ on a stage or in an open field.
The appeal of this religious piece lies in its substance and form.
As Del Castillo and Medina pointed out:
"The life of Christ is in itself an absorbing story, beautifully recounted by Saints Luke, Mark, John, and Matthew. The combined stories of the Old and the New Testaments in the pasyon, commencing with the Genesis and ending with the Resurrection, readily became an article of faith for the people. On the other hand, the pasyon has been written in excellent verse."
The pasyon is used for devotional purposes as well as for intellectual enjoyment. As such, the Church greatly encourages it.