Diasporic Journeys, Ritual, and Normativity among Asian Migrant Women

Pnina Werbner, Mark Johnson

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781138376960
• eBook ISBN: 9781317983231
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

The power of embodied ritual performance to constitute agency and transform subjectivity are increasingly the focus of major debates in the anthropology of Christianity and Islam. They are particularly relevant to understanding the way transnational women migrants from South and South East Asia, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, who migrate to Asia, Europe and the Middle East to work as carers and maids, re-imagine and recreate themselves in moral and ethical terms in the diaspora.

This timely collection shows how women international migrants, stereotypically represented as a 'nation of servants', reclaim sacralised spaces of sociality in their migration destinations, and actively transform themselves from mere workers into pilgrims and tourists on cosmopolitan journeys. Such women struggle for dignity and respect by re-defining themselves in terms of an ethics of care and sacrifice. As co-worshippers they recreate community through fiestas, feasts, protests, and shared conviviality, while subverting established normativities of gender, marriage and conjugality; they renegotiate their moral selfhood through religious conversion and activism. For migrants the place of the church or mosque becomes a gateway to new intellectual and experiential horizons as well as a locus for religious worship and a haven of humanitarian assistance in a strange land.

This book was published as a special issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Anthropology.

Popular Religiosity and the Transnational Journey: Inscribing Filipino Identity in the Santo Niño Fiesta in New Zealand

Josefina Socorro Flores Tondo

Catholic diasporic populations often carry their icons and customary modes of devotion with them. Among New Zealand’s secular society, some migrant communities display their religion publicly through processions, fiestas and festivals. The present article explores the role of religion in the Filipino diaspora. I focus on the celebration of the Cebuano Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta in New Zealand and examine how Filipino cultural forms of expression connect and mix notions of homeland, family, home, sacred domain, identity and transnational settlement. By examining the fiesta and its structure of power relationships, I explore the metaphoric interface between two homes in the diasporic consciousness and the significant role of sacred symbols in aiding and facilitating the maintenance of imagined ‘Filipino’ identity in a foreign land.

In a land of new beginnings, thousands of miles away from the Philippines, Filipino migrants dance to the beat of the drums of the ancient ritual for the El Señor Santo Niño (‘Holy Child’, a sacred icon of Jesus; Figure 1), claiming a space for God and themselves in a new home. For 15 consecutive years, Filipino devotees have been dancing the Cebuano Sinulog in the novena¹ and walking in procession with their beloved Santo Niño in suburban streets in Auckland for the fiesta.

The Philippines is a predominantly Christian Catholic nation and Catholic fiesta celebrations abound in the regions, towns, districts and even in the smallest barrios (villages). Some fiestas enjoy higher prominence than others. In 2009, an estimated two million people gathered in Cebu City (Figure 2), the second largest city after Manila, for the annual fiesta and festival of the El Señor Santo Niño–a record turnout.² Massive Filipino transnational migration coupled with the significant popularity of the Santo Niño devotion has resulted in the celebration of the Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta in urban centres around world.³ Starting with 400 participants in 1994, attendance and participation in the Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta in Auckland, New Zealand, has grown over the years: in January 2009, approximately 7000 Filipinos⁴ gathered at the city’s Malaleola Samoan Community Centre for the Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta.

Figure 1 Santo Niño icon.

The role of religion in Filipino transnational migration and diaspora, especially the role of ritual as embodied performance and praxis, has received little scholarly attention. More common are studies of the factors triggering massive Filipino transnational migration and its social costs,⁵ no doubt influenced by the Philippine economic dependence on overseas remittances from migrant labour. In contrast, studies of other diasporic populations explore the centrality of transnational ritual and religious practices in the expressions of migrant identities (Orsi 1985; Tweed 1997; Paerregaard 2008; Werbner 1996). These studies show that through ritual, a longing for the homeland is expressed metonymically in sacred symbols that travel across national borders while new places of settlement are sacralised. Some works explore the relationships of diasporic populations with global religious institutions, like the Catholic Church, but only a few studies have dealt with Filipinos. Tacoli (1999) documents Filipino migrants in Rome and the role of the Catholic Church in providing a ‘safety net’ for Filipino Catholic migrants, as well as places to meet, socialise, organise and find support (Tacoli 1999, p. 665).

[R] eligion is eminently social’ and ‘social life, in all its aspects and in every period of its history, is made possible only by a vast symbolism’ (Durkheim 1915, pp. 10, 231). In the present article, I explore religious symbolism among the Filipino communities in the two biggest cities of New Zealand–Auckland and Christchurch–through the Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta celebration. I examine how cultural expression connects homeland, family, home, sacred domain, identity and transnational settlement, emphasising three significant factors influencing the Filipino diaspora’s religious engagement in the multicultural context of New Zealand, namely (a) Catholic colonial history, (b) popular devotions and the fiesta and (c) sacred icons and devotees’ intimate relationships with them as a form of affective expression.

Figure 2 Map of the Philippines by CIA cartographer.

The connection of a diaspora with its homeland is both historical and contemporary. ‘[C]ulture is the embodiment, the chronicle of a group’s history … inextricably linked with the material conditions of society’ (Brah 1996, p. 18). It is fluid and porous, interactive and relational and cannot exist ‘in and of itself’ (Werbner 2001, p. 142). Diasporic populations are responsive to changing material and social contexts. At home (the Philippines) and overseas (for example, New Zealand), fiesta celebrations are syncretic outcomes of historical processes.

Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the Philippines, each village community (barangay) celebrated harvest festivals through ritual performances thanking supernatural entities for their blessings. When the Spanish colonisers introduced Christianity, they prohibited indigenous religions and so-called pagan rituals. Spanish colonisation and missionary activity rechannelled native rituals and forms of worship towards the Christian deity and holy patrons. Gradually, the native Indios were integrated into the new colonial power structure. Religion was an innovative and effective colonial tool in the strategic reconfiguration of power and space. After more than three centuries (1565–1898) of proselytising, indigenous rituals merged with pious Catholic religious practices through popular devotions. The blending of the Catholic fiesta with pre-Christian indigenous rituals from various regions resulted in diverse fiesta practices, their distinct and unique celebrations regularly drawing large crowds: Cebu’s Santo Niño-Sinulog fiesta is one of the best attended.

Popular Devotions and Fiesta

The popularity of sacred icons and novenas among migrant Filipinos is influenced by their indigenous world view, which represents an anthropomorphic God: one may talk to God and ask for special favours. Humans receive guidance and assistance from the divine. Informal conversations with migrants reveal a connection between belief in the sacred and their exercise of agency in the migration process. Filipino cultural values and concepts like bahala na (whatever God allows happens), swerteswerte lang yan (everyone has different luck) and kapalaran (destiny) intertwine with faith in the process of decision making. Bad news about others’ misfortune is not a deterrent to trying similar actions because each person’s God-given destiny is different. Sinulog participants admitted praying and asking for divine guidance during the migration process. A common belief is that God intervenes by providing employment opportunities and hastening visa approval. Because the relationship between humans and God is one of mutuality, God’s granting of petitions elicits the devotee’s fulfilment of the vow he or she promised in the novena prayer, prayed weekly (on one day a week over 9 weeks rather than daily) with other devotees in the church.

Popular devotions, like novena prayer and the fiesta, are distinct but connected. The fiesta is on the feast day of the Santo Patron (‘holy patron, spiritual patron, guide and defender). Every town, district or village has a Santo Patron with an annual novena and fiesta. In addition to the home town Santo Patron, Filipinos also pray novenas to other holy patrons. The national shrines for popular holy patrons in Metro Manila and Cebu cause regular traffic jams as thousands of devotees flock to the shrines to attend weekly novena prayer.

Popular devotions continue in the Catholic world even among those in migrant destination countries. The popularity of devotional practices comes from the need for a total involvement in liturgy that is not met by church rites. The Sinulog fiesta in New Zealand manifests the spontaneity, festivity, joyfulness and community spirit and fulfils these needs (Phan 2005). For the migrants, the fiesta is part of ‘being Filipino’. Popular religiosity remains marginal within ‘official Catholicism’ and there is continuing debate whether ‘Filipinos had been truly Christianized, or … Christianity had simply been Filipinized’ (de Mesa 2000; see also Larkin’s (1982, p. 604), discussion on ‘Philippinization’ and Jocano’s (1998, pp. 16–17, 25) discussion on ‘folk Christianity’).

The Sinulog festival was initiated in Cebu in the 1980s to highlight Cebu’s unique history and to promote the city as a tourist destination (see below). Until this time– aside from the devotees in the annual 9-day novena preceding the fiesta–a group of women (the tinderas) selling candles were the regular daily performers of the sinulog. Upon request, they performed the ancient dance for pilgrim prayer intentions. Banned inside the Basilica in the 1980s (Ness 1995, p. 3), they danced the sinulog on the sidewalk. The name, sinulog comes from the swaying movement of the dance, like the sulog (current of the river in Cebuano), which gives its name to the sinulog. The tindera sinulog is performed in an in-between space, separate from and yet connected to official Catholic theology and practice. The outside-the-church-devotional-dance performance reflects the marginality of most popular devotions to the Filipino Catholic Church and highlights the gap between the ‘official’ and ‘popular’. Individual shows of religiosity and piety inside churches and shrines are tolerated rather than encouraged. Churches are aware that significant funds come from pilgrim devotees’ donations and gifts to the holy patrons of the shrines, which can be used for pastoral programmes and ministries, as well as priestly needs, even luxuries beyond the reach of the ordinary Filipino faithful.

The Filipino diaspora’s social and cultural diversity offers considerable challenge to solidarity, but religion provides moments of unity through a common faith experience and belief in the efficacy of popular devotional prayers. Popular religious practices open a space for affirmation of a shared religious tradition, social memory and identity. Ironically, given popular religiosity’s marginal status in the Philippine Catholic Church, the official Church’s relevance to Filipino migrant communities relies on these unofficial popular devotions. Ultimately, it is rituals like the sinulog that effectively gather scattered Filipino communities into a moment of communitas (unity and communion) rather than theology or church doctrine.

Diaspora Beginnings in New Zealand

There were two identifiable waves of Filipino migration to New Zealand. The first wave, from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, comprised mostly women pejoratively termed ‘mail-order brides’ (Boer cited by Rich 1993, p. 29). As the quintessential oriental ‘other’, the brides suffered suspicion from in-laws and the general public. Feeling marginalised, they formed support networks, including themselves and their husbands. Aside from potluck barbecues, most were able to negotiate a ‘time for church’ every Sunday with their husbands. Most found solace in the spiritual realm. Thus, before the arrival of skilled migrants, various Filipino associations and groups had been organised, a significant number of which were affiliated with the church.

In 1987, migration reform opened New Zealand to skilled and professional Filipino migrants who came with their families. These were mostly middle-class professionals and skilled technicians (such as accountants, civil and architectural engineers, doctors and nurses, IT and food technicians, university lecturers), mostly from Luzon and Cebu. By 2006, there were 16,938 Filipinos in New Zealand, fourth among the seven largest Asian ethnic groups (Statistics New Zealand 2007) and second among the 2007 net arrivals of skilled migrant workers (Eaton 2007).⁶

Most Filipinos are practising Christians and have strong attachments to popular devotion and seasonal fiestas. The Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta is not the only one celebrated in New Zealand, although it draws the biggest crowds. Migrants in New Zealand keep replicas of devotional icons from their various home regions and annually celebrate fiestas in honour of their holy patron or patroness. Thus, sacred icon devotions mirror the demographic origins of the devotees. The success of the Santo Niño–Sinulog fiesta is indicative of the strong presence of Cebuanos and Visayans in New Zealand.

The Catholic Church has been the prominent site for Filipino gatherings: the major dioceses of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have Filipino chaplains who officiate Masses and provide pastoral care. Non-Catholic Christian Churches also have Filipinos in their congregations, but only a few have sufficient numbers to warrant separate services.⁷

Diaspora are seldom homogeneous. ‘Multiple discourses, internal dissent, and competition’ cutting across ‘sectarian, gendered, or political groups’ occur among migrants even as they identify as members of the same diaspora (Werbner 2004, p. 547). The Filipino diaspora in New Zealand reflects the diversity of the archipelago’s cultures–it is an assemblage of numerous community formations based on ethnicity and language, education, special leisure interests and socioreligious affiliations. Like all communities, Filipinos do not agree with each other all the time. Narratives of bitter competition and disagreements between individuals or groups abound, and newcomers are cautioned to be watchful and wary of other Filipinos. Despite this, most choose to nurture their connections and friendships. One explained: ‘Even if the Filipinos are noisy, chaotic and quarrel with each other, I still prefer to be with them because the Filipinos are happier. It is fun being with other Filipinos!’

Transnational Journeys and Santo Niño–Sinulog Popular Devotion

The cult following of the Santo Niño de Cebu spans four centuries. The icon arrived in Cebu with the first Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. The journal of Italian sailor Pigafetta (1534/1963, p. 9) mentions the baptismal gifting of the Santo Niño icon to Queen Juana, wife of Rajah Humabon of Cebu. Thus, the Santo Niño de Cebu holds the distinction of being the first Catholic icon to reach the Philippine islands, and is a significant material artefact marking the beginning of Christian Catholicism there. It stands as a reminder of Cebu’s significant place as the first Christianised town.

The Sinulog dance was originally part of pre-Christian religious rituals (Ness 1995, p. 10). It was integrated into the Christian celebration of the Santo Niño fiesta in the sixteenth century, making it one of the few surviving precolonisation rituals in the Philippines (de Mesa 2000; Ness 1992, pp. 89–90). Combining ancient indigenous dance steps with the Christian symbol of the Santo Niño, the Sinulog ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction: Diasporic Encounters, Sacred Journeys: Ritual, Normativity and the Religious Imagination Among International Asian Migrant Women
• Part 1: Spiritual Sojourners and Religious Journeys
• Part 2: Ethical Dilemmas: Class, Intimacy and the Limits of Normativity
• Index