Women in Manila brave the feast of the Black Nazarene

Once, it was only men who tried to touch the statue of Jesus during the procession.

A group of women carry a replica of the Black Nazarene to have it blessed two days before the feast on Jan. 9. (Photo by Patricia Nabong)

Manila:  Tens of thousands of predominantly men frantically pushed and shoved their way to touch the dark wooden statue of Jesus Christ during the feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila on Jan. 9.

Each of them hoped to wipe their towels on the life-size image and to touch its cross. At the very least, they tried to get a hold of the rope that’s pulls the andas (carriage) that carries the icon through Manila's central district of Quiapo.

Among the men, there were also women who braved the crowd to get to the statue, such as 22-year-old Rufa Ranoco. Despite the challenges, she has managed to touch the statue for the past three years in a row.

Ever since she was six-years-old, Rufa has celebrated the feast and her father would take her and her sisters to the event until last year when he got ill. For 2016, the Ranoco sisters again attended the feast and prayed for the full recovery of their father.

Among the sisters, it's Rufa who has earned the reputation for being the most daring. "She is the only one who has enough guts to get that close, and she does it alone," said Roseanne, Rufa's 16-year-old sister. Unlike most women devotees, who may partner with a man to get through the crowd, Rufa prefers to do it herself. But she has no plan of attack, she only makes the sign of the cross before shouting: "brother lift me up!" to the mass of men.

There was a time when touching the Black Nazarene was for men only. The women stayed on the sidelines so to avoid the dangerous nature of the processions where people can get trampled or crushed.

But women and the young have been braving the crowds and trying to touch the statue since 2008.

Rufa said women face challenges to get through a mainly male crowd. "You have to squeeze your way through people who are mostly bigger and stronger than you," Rufa told ucanews.com. "I do not think of getting hurt because I am only focused on touching the Nazarene," she said.

For other women devotees, being female has its advantages with men assisting them onto the carriage. Tess Birongoy, 36, was helped by two male friends, who sacrificed their own chances of getting to the statue for her. Birongoy has been a devotee since her bedridden brother recovered his health five years ago. After three plus hours of struggling under the burning sun, she was able to touch the cross of the Black Nazarene for the first time.

"Nobody can stop the people’s expression of devotion regardless of their gender. We do it for our families," said Birongoy.

The men often give way to the women "because they are lighter," said Nery, a hijos (marshal) who provided protection for the carriage. Nery said a lot of the men help women as a sign of respect.

Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos in the central Philippines said devotion to the Black Nazarene is not a question of gender but of one's capability to profess one’s devotion. "If anyone decides to [walk barefoot and climb the carriage] as his or her faith dictates, 'Who am I to judge?' as Pope Francis would say," the bishop said.

But the unruly crowd has in the past become violent and pickpockets have worked among the crowds. The procession has also come under some criticism for its supposed "fanaticism." However, Bishop Alminaza said everybody should consider the devotees' "desperate" and "frenzied" efforts to touch the image of the suffering Christ as an "urgent cry for help from someone who - like them - had fallen several times yet rose back to his feet as often as he had fallen."

This year, the Philippines marked the 410th anniversary of the image's arrival from Mexico. Over 5 million people attended the 20 hour-long procession and an estimated 1.5 million people surrounded the icon in an endless oscillating wave. Authorities say two people died during the event and at least 1,300 others needed medical assistance.

Source: UCAN