IsaacDos
The original Santo Nino which became white after its black paint was peeled off
The origins of the Santo Niño of Cebu
In a week’s time, we will celebrate Fiesta Senyor again. Cebu, the oldest Christian settlement in the country will once again be busy with a flurry of activities in honor of the Santo Niño. Cebuanos from various parts of the country and from around the globe will be home again to gather with families and friends in order to pay homage to the protector of their ancestors. In the coming days, the Gozos ni Senyor Santo Niño (Hymn to the Holy Child), a serene but electrifying song, will once again resound in the airwaves, like in the centuries past, retelling the story of how the image was discovered and how the Cebuanos were eventually converted into Catholicism.
Even in the present times, many of us still do not know fully well the story about the most venerated image in the country – there are still those who hold on to pious tales concerning the origin and discovery of the said image. People who read from historical sources knew about this and this is the story I would like to share with you. In January 1929, a story about entitled “Kanus-a, Diin Hikaplagi ug Kinsay Nakakaplag sa Santo Ninyo sa Sugbu” (When, Where and Who discovered the Santo Niño of Cebu) appeared in the newspaper Bag-ong Kusog.
Magellan brought the image
“Many believe that the holy image of the Senyor that’s venerated, not only by the Cebuanos but also in the other islands like in Bohol, Negros, Leyte and Mindanao, was an image that was found floating in the sea by the ancients. There’s even a story that goes that the Santo Niño came from a piece of charcoal that was always fished by the fishermen of Pasil but later grew and turned into the image of the Senyor.”
The article, written by one who read from the Spanish sources claimed these stories are wrong because the Santo Niño was already being venerated by the Cebuanos even before Legaspi came. It said that the image was brought here by the Magellan expedition. Magellan was later slain in Mactan and it was only after many years that the Spaniards set foot in the island again. It continued that when the Legaspi expedition arrived, the Cebuanos fled to the hills and burned their village so that the Spaniards won’t be able to benefit from the latter:
The discovery
“That morning, a Saturday, 28 April 1565, a Spanish soldier from Vizcaya named Juan de Camus went inside the huts which were not burned down, and from one of these huts – which is said to be on the very place of the church of Saint Augustine – the said soldier found a small chest that was locked and tied very well. Juan untied the ropes and opened the wooden chest. He saw that there was yet another small chest inside that was again well tied.” The same act went on again and until the third time. “It was then that the soldiers believed that the chest was indeed mysterious. On the third time, he finally discovered the image of the Santo Niño – the one called Senyor by the Visayans (which is) now venerated in the church of St. Augustine. The image had a cap… and wore a flowing shirt. Its clothes were beautiful and resplendent and a knowledgeable writer believed that it was a miracle since he couldn’t believe that Cebuanos then could make such. “Ang duha ka tudlo sa kamut nga tuo gibakyaw ug nanalangin ug ang kamot nga wala nagasapnay sa usa ka bula nga malingin nga pinatuyboan sa usa ka kurus.” (Two fingers of the right hand is raised in blessing and the left hand is holding an orb with a small cross.)”
The Santo Niño
“There and then, the soldier Juan de Camus took it and secretly showed it to his superior named Mateo del Saz and it was this Saz who brought the Holy Image before General Legaspi. When Legaspi saw it, he commanded all his men to commemorate and venerate the image the whole year round and every 28th of April; in the same manner, Gen. Legaspi ordered that an Act be written for the discovery of the image of the Senyor by the scribe named Fernando Requiel. Since that day onwards, Cebu was renamed City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. When the image had been placed inside the church, General Legaspi called for the Cebuanos to come back and not to fear and to continue to pray and venerate the Senyor because he is the true God, and that, they abandon animism.
Because of this, the Cebuanos who previously fled to the hills because of their fear for the explosion of Spanish cannons, slowly returned to their homes and with the encouragement of the Spanish priests who were with Legaspi, the Cebuanos venerated their Senyor again – whom they previously called Balahala – who returned in their hearts.
Since that time on, the veneration of the Holy Child, led by Legaspi and the Spanish priests was done all year round and this veneration of the Holy Child took root and flourished in the hearts of the Cebuanos....”
__________
The original Santo Nino which became white after its black paint was peeled off
The origins of the Santo Niño of Cebu
In a week’s time, we will celebrate Fiesta Senyor again. Cebu, the oldest Christian settlement in the country will once again be busy with a flurry of activities in honor of the Santo Niño. Cebuanos from various parts of the country and from around the globe will be home again to gather with families and friends in order to pay homage to the protector of their ancestors. In the coming days, the Gozos ni Senyor Santo Niño (Hymn to the Holy Child), a serene but electrifying song, will once again resound in the airwaves, like in the centuries past, retelling the story of how the image was discovered and how the Cebuanos were eventually converted into Catholicism.
Even in the present times, many of us still do not know fully well the story about the most venerated image in the country – there are still those who hold on to pious tales concerning the origin and discovery of the said image. People who read from historical sources knew about this and this is the story I would like to share with you. In January 1929, a story about entitled “Kanus-a, Diin Hikaplagi ug Kinsay Nakakaplag sa Santo Ninyo sa Sugbu” (When, Where and Who discovered the Santo Niño of Cebu) appeared in the newspaper Bag-ong Kusog.
Magellan brought the image
“Many believe that the holy image of the Senyor that’s venerated, not only by the Cebuanos but also in the other islands like in Bohol, Negros, Leyte and Mindanao, was an image that was found floating in the sea by the ancients. There’s even a story that goes that the Santo Niño came from a piece of charcoal that was always fished by the fishermen of Pasil but later grew and turned into the image of the Senyor.”
The article, written by one who read from the Spanish sources claimed these stories are wrong because the Santo Niño was already being venerated by the Cebuanos even before Legaspi came. It said that the image was brought here by the Magellan expedition. Magellan was later slain in Mactan and it was only after many years that the Spaniards set foot in the island again. It continued that when the Legaspi expedition arrived, the Cebuanos fled to the hills and burned their village so that the Spaniards won’t be able to benefit from the latter:
The discovery
“That morning, a Saturday, 28 April 1565, a Spanish soldier from Vizcaya named Juan de Camus went inside the huts which were not burned down, and from one of these huts – which is said to be on the very place of the church of Saint Augustine – the said soldier found a small chest that was locked and tied very well. Juan untied the ropes and opened the wooden chest. He saw that there was yet another small chest inside that was again well tied.” The same act went on again and until the third time. “It was then that the soldiers believed that the chest was indeed mysterious. On the third time, he finally discovered the image of the Santo Niño – the one called Senyor by the Visayans (which is) now venerated in the church of St. Augustine. The image had a cap… and wore a flowing shirt. Its clothes were beautiful and resplendent and a knowledgeable writer believed that it was a miracle since he couldn’t believe that Cebuanos then could make such. “Ang duha ka tudlo sa kamut nga tuo gibakyaw ug nanalangin ug ang kamot nga wala nagasapnay sa usa ka bula nga malingin nga pinatuyboan sa usa ka kurus.” (Two fingers of the right hand is raised in blessing and the left hand is holding an orb with a small cross.)”
The Santo Niño
“There and then, the soldier Juan de Camus took it and secretly showed it to his superior named Mateo del Saz and it was this Saz who brought the Holy Image before General Legaspi. When Legaspi saw it, he commanded all his men to commemorate and venerate the image the whole year round and every 28th of April; in the same manner, Gen. Legaspi ordered that an Act be written for the discovery of the image of the Senyor by the scribe named Fernando Requiel. Since that day onwards, Cebu was renamed City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. When the image had been placed inside the church, General Legaspi called for the Cebuanos to come back and not to fear and to continue to pray and venerate the Senyor because he is the true God, and that, they abandon animism.
Because of this, the Cebuanos who previously fled to the hills because of their fear for the explosion of Spanish cannons, slowly returned to their homes and with the encouragement of the Spanish priests who were with Legaspi, the Cebuanos venerated their Senyor again – whom they previously called Balahala – who returned in their hearts.
Since that time on, the veneration of the Holy Child, led by Legaspi and the Spanish priests was done all year round and this veneration of the Holy Child took root and flourished in the hearts of the Cebuanos....”
__________