The Pastores de Naga

An age-old Spanish tradition continues in the uplands of the young city of Naga, Cebu, where children chant and dance for about an hour to celebrate the birth of Christ on Dec. 25 and up until the Epiphany on Jan. 6.

Called “Pastores de Naga”, this adaptation of the Spanish nativity play called “Los Pastores de Belen” (The Shepherds of Bethlehem) has clung precariously for dear life through a dwindling number of related families that have kept the tradition going.

The entire performance focuses on the experience of young shepherds on their way to celebrate the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. It is divided into scenes that always began with a lyrical poem delivered as in a dialogue, followed by dance in pairs following the Romance form. Along the way, the shepherds meet people who join them in their journey which eventually ends in the coming of the Magi, the so-called three wise men during the Epiphany, which Christians celebrate every January 6.

Documenting the entire retinue of dancing and lyrical poetry delivered in a mix of Spanish and Cebuano languages was a delight, despite the 18-kilometer ride over a more or less paved but very narrow road to barangay Tagjaguimit. Narsing Requinto, now in her mid-60s, has kept the tradition alive, following in the footsteps of her mother and her grandmother before her. She herself had been a performer in the 1950s, when her mother became the leader of the troupe. Her mother too had been performing in her childhood around the 1930s.

For an hour or more, my Kabilin television crew and I were enthralled as five pairs of boys and girls between eight and 14 years old went through the entire rendition of the hour-long performance which was once an eagerly awaited form of carolling from house to house in Naga. Musical accompaniment was provided by five men in their late 60s and 70s, grandfathers of the performers. Nothing can be more delightfully contrasting than seeing children dance to the accompaniment of guitars, a bajo and two banjos played by senior citizens!

But just how old is the Pastores de Naga and why has it not spread beyond its borders? Narsing could not definitely tell me exactly when the tradition began in Naga, but she told me that this had been with her family for generations even as far back as the Spanish period. It started, according to her, in Naalad, another upland barangay of Naga much nearer to the  city. Narsing’s mother, who raised her family in barangay Sebago, Pinamungajan town, brought the tradition temporarily there. Narsing later brought it back to its geographic roots as she had married a resident of Naga. It is her husband, appropriately named Jesus, who was literally instrumental in the revival of the tradition because he had for years been playing an instrument, a banjo, as part of a group of “mananaygon” or carollers that would go down the hills during Christmas. Around 2001, Narsing taught her husband and his “band” the music that would accompany the “Pastores”.

I suspect that Spanish friars would have brought this tradition from Spain way back in the 1600s as a catechetical tool for the natives to best understand the meaning and value of the Nativity. This borrowed tradition, performed in Bicol and Laguna on stage, eventually took on a different form in Naga becoming a Christmas carol of sorts performed at each house. Along the way, the language also changed, with an intermingling of Spanish and Cebuano words.

The tradition has not spread maybe because it is time consuming and definitely exhausting for both performers and musicians. It is like performing a musical for an hour with a few people watching, and then repeating this at every house just to get a few pesos.

Before I end, let me issue the appeal of Narsing regarding an old document written by her mother about the lyrical recitations that began each dance act. According to Narsing, a teacher from Cebu City, whose name she can no longer recall, borrowed it about four years ago and still has to return the original handwritten “script” to her. I therefore urge whoever borrowed it to please return the same to Narsing so that an important evidence of this tradition finally finds its way home.

I am glad that I got the chance to see in my lifetime this borrowed tradition that has taken on a life of its own. Let me thank Mayor Valdemar Chiong and his tourism officer, Harvey Cantiveros Ababan for “shepherding” us to the site and to the barangay chairman of Tagjaguimit, Fernando Requinto for allowing us the use of his property for the performance.