Boys beat drums to awaken Batanes folk for dawn Mass

IVANA, Batanes—Like most Christian Filipinos, the Ivatans begin their Yuletide celebrations with the traditional dawn Mass.

Christmas is the most important holiday in this northernmost province. In communities here, one or two people volunteer each night during the Yuletide season to wake up families by beating hard on their drums.

This has been an effective way of getting families to attend the dawn Masses, a practice which began in the 1950s when a Spanish priest, the late Fr. Alfredo Castañon, served the town.

The Parish Pastoral Council designates the drummer boys, the equivalent of the English town crier who was responsible for delivering messages to the European public in the 18th century.

An Ivatan drummer, Rey Vaso, had spent his nights for the past five years walking around the streets making loud noise with his drum. “Seeing many people attending the dawn Mass is all the fulfillment I need,” he said.

On Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and the first Sunday of January, the image of the Infant Jesus is delivered to every Catholic house on Batan island, the biggest of Batanes’ group of islands, accompanied by a long train of devotees as well as a choir.

When the choir starts singing, the head of the family picks up the image from a small container, which is shaped like an Ivatan house. He or she makes sure every family member kisses the statuette before it is restored to its casing. Acolytes, called the “managuillos,” carry the image from house to house.

Catholics in Batanes also make it a point to attend the midnight Mass on Christmas eve that is highlighted by the singing of songs of praise and thanksgiving.

From Dec. 25 to the first Sunday of the new year, every village organizes public dances for residents and their visitors. Participants share their gifts, some more humble than the conventional gift-giving practices, because they give rice, milk, coffee, candies and biscuits.

Ryan Ponce, a student, said he and his classmates look forward to joining the Christmas program of Ivana town because of the unique traditions.

Last year, many tourists joined the house-to-house visit of the image of the Infant Jesus. They quickly became part of the tradition. The visitors trooped to the ancestral house of an Ivana oldtimer, the late Valerio Agudo, to help distribute biscuits and candies to the children and adults trailing the managuillos.