GUAGUA, Pampanga- Across from the 17th century Baroque-inspired Betis church in this town is an old two-story house that has kept, for the past 254 years, seven lifesize statues that have become the main focus of veneration during the traditional Holy Week processions in Betis.
The fact that Betis is world-famous for its carved furniture hints on the quality of the statues carved by locals. While no one could say who had carved the six-foot-tall Jesus Nazareno, the six others were known to have been chiselled and painted on by brothers Juan, Martin, and Severino Pangilinan in 1760.
They were sons of Betis gobernadorcillo Don Mariano Pangilinan who had inherited from his forefathers the even older and bigger Jesus Nazareno whose history has been buried in time. The six were those of the Santo Entierro or the Dead Christ, the Blessed Mother, Mary Magdalene, John the Beloved, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
The statues are kept for most part of the year in the old house, known to Betis folk as Bale Piskal (literally ‘’house of the prosecutor”) of Don Mariano where his family and their descendants took care of them, to be brought out only during Holy Week processions, said writer Precy Cunanan, fifth generation granddaughter of Don Mariano who had spent her youth in the old house.
Cunanan said the statues were kept at the old house for the most part of the year because her grandmother ‘’maestra’’ Maria Pangilinan discouraged fanaticism among Catholics fond of kissing holy statues. ‘’It was my grandmother’s way of stressing that saints are for veneration, not adoration which is owed only to God.’’
Bale Piskal itself had played a religious role in Betis, as Don Mariano- better remembered by old folk as Don Mariano Piskal- had used it as venue to teach local folk not only the basics of reading and writing, but more importantly for him, the rudiments of Catholic catechism, especially for those who are scheduled to be married in the Betis church, recalled Cunanan whose account of the history of Betis was passed on to her and her siblings by grandparents.
‘’The statues carved by the brothers have remained well preserved with their fine features, including veins that could be traced in their hands and arms and their realistic eyes,’’ said Cunanan who, as a girl, slept in Bale Piskal surrounded by the statues which, she admitted, sometimes scared her ‘’because they looked so real.’’
Cunanan said that in carving the statue of the Blessed Mother, the Pangilinan brothers paid special attention to ensure that her face, while reflecting sadness over the death of her Son, did not portray desperation. ‘’This was because her sadness was mixed with faith that her Son would rise on the third day,’’ she quoted her grandmother as saying.
The Jesus Nazareno is brought out for the Maundy Thursday procession, while the six others are loaded together on one carro on Good Friday, trailed by weeping women in black during the long procession which, in modern times, have even become longer arising from more participating holy statues.
‘’It has always been a devotional commitment for some local folk to offer flowers and help decorate the carro for the Nazareno and for the six other statues, so the old house fills up with people during Holy week,’’ said Cunanan.
Cunanan said the six statues complement each other to portray the Santo Entiero being carried to the Holy Sepulchre after He was brought down from the cross. The statues of Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and John the Apostle had holes in their hands that provided for hanging a large rectagular piece of thick cloth where the Santo Entierro would be lain.
This scenario is then trailed on the same carro by the weeping statues of the Blessed Mother and Mary Magdelene.
This Holy Week, thousands are again expected to visit Betis not so much to shop for its world-famous furniture as to again see the Pangilinan statues brought out in the grandeur of their artistry and drama they portray. For after this, the holy statues are again to be kept in the old house, zealously guarded by the descendants of Don Marianl Piskal.
For those who have never accustomed themselves to blood shedding flaggelants and actual crucifixions in Barangay Cutud in nearby City of San Fernando, Betis, rather solemnly, has been an alternative to Holy Week pilgrims.
