The age-old family tradition for divine intervention has become a much sought-after attraction for local tourists and the villagers of Barangay Basiao and adjacent communities in Ivisan town.
Basiao is a coastal community and a home to many beach resorts. It is about 10 kilometers, or a 30-minute ride, from the town proper.
Locally termed as “Pasalum” in honor of Senior Sto. Niño every May 31, it is a religious tradition or “panata” highlighting the immersion of the feet of the Niño on seawater at every stop over during the fluvial procession.
It symbolizes the locales’ deep reliance on divine intervention for sustenance and prosperity.
“This was symbolic of the fulfillment of the people’s promise to the Niño during the olden times. They vowed to take Him to the beach as an act of urgency and devotion in the hopes that the gesture would persuade the Niño to bless their rice fields and farming lands with the rain they implore during times of severe drought,” said Pasalum organizer and facilitator Ian Ed Malan Valdisimo.
He is a nephew of Elmer Malan, the festival patriarch who took over the continuation of the Pasalum tradition from his late father.
He added that the villagers also implored for a bountiful catch and harvest as the major livelihood of the Basiaonons shifted toward panagat or fishing.
This promise was expressed in the novena prayer: “𝘒𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘰 𝘱𝘢g𝘥𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘨𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘺, 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘭-𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘺 𝘬𝘢𝘨 𝘴𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘯.”
(We vow to bring you to the beach and immerse in seawater as our thanksgiving if you will grant our longing for rain)
Thus, the term “Pasalum,” the name given to their fervent plea for divine intervention that is a culminating activity following a nine-day long novena.
The deeply-rooted belief was sustained by the Malan, Oabe, Galindo and Batay families in Ivisan who took turns one after another in making the tradition alive over the years.
It has evolved into a festival after the Provincial Tourism and Cultural Affairs Office has conducted the documentation, promotion and preservation of the religious tradition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
This year’s Pasalum makes up for the grand fluvial procession that did not push through last year due to uncertain weather conditions.
It also just returned in 2022 after a two-year break due to the pandemic but the novena was still prayed even during the quarantines and lockdowns.
On board fishing boats, locals joined in the fluvial procession along the coastal waters of Brgy. Basiao, steering behind the grand pagoda that held the old wooden Sto. Niño is owned by the Malan clan, natives of Basiao.
At least 47 motor bancas joined the fluvial procession after the celebration of a Holy Mass at the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios Chapel at Sitio Proper in Basiao.
The boat procession had stopovers at Sr. San Juan Chapel in Sitio Panublihan of Brgy. Balaring, Our Lady of Fatima Chapel in Sitio Marangkalan and Sr. San Jose Chapel in Sitio Dinugmaan, both in Basiao, for the novena brigade.
“After every visit in the chapel and return of the Niño in the pagoda, uncle Elmer immersed the feet of the Niño in seawater,” Baldisimo noted.
Devotees continuously pray and sing the novena during this procession.
The Philippine Coast Guard also required the organizer of a route as well as emergency and contingency plans to ensure the safety of the participants while at sea.
Over time the panata is still adhered by the residents but with a twist on their petitions – from asking for rain to adding their imploration for luck on their livelihood, businesses, health and family protection.
And just like that, the change has also transcended the vow into wow. (AAL/PIA Capiz)
