Dancing candle vendors of Basilica Minore del Santo Niño: Keeping the ‘Sinug’ dance tradition alive

Nanay Udto, 63, prays to the Señor Santo Niño that she will able to finish the construction of their house this year and for good health for her family this year. |CDND Photo/ Raul Constantine Tabanao

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Candles symbolize light and hope to many.

Hope that by the end of every tunnel there will always be a light that will lead them to the right path.

The bright light given by these candles gives people especially the devotees of the Señor Santo Niño strength and guidance to face life’s challenges.

At the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño there are a number of candle vendors selling white, blue, red, and yellow candles.

And among these candle vendors is the smiling 63-year-old Fortunata Udto.

“Nanay Udto,” as what people fondly call her at the Basilica, caught CDN Digital’s attention as she was one who was smiling the most and was happily vending her candles among a group of candle vendors and in a sea of Santo Niño devotees who have filled the church and its grounds since January 9, the start of the nine-day Novena Masses for the celebration of the Fiesta Señor, or the Feast of the Child Jesus held every third Sunday of January that is the religious core of the world-famous Sinulog Festival.

Nanay Udto, a native of Barangay Tisa in Cebu City, sells candles for a living for 20 years now.

But Nanay Udto is no ordinary candle vendor. She is among the candle vendors at the Basilica who also offer dance prayers, the same dance that is at the root of the Sinulog dance performed by contingents participating in the Sinulog grand parade, the cultural aspect of the festival also held every third Sunday of January. This year, the culminating event falls on January 19.

“Akong pagpaninda akong gi buhi sa akong pamilya. Naa koy upat ka anak ug akong bana retirado na nga guard,” says Udto.

(Selling candles is how I make a living and feed my family. I have four children and my husband is retired security guard)

Nanay Udto used to sell seafood in Pasil but decided to went into candle vending instead as it provides better income and gets her closer to the Señor Santo Niño.

“Ni undang kos akong pagpaninda oy, grabe ang utang kaysa sa halin. Na balhin kog pagpaninda og kandila tungod rasad sa akong mga kaila didto. Unya mas na uyon ko ani, mas duol pakos Señor,” smiles Nanay Udto.

(I decided to sell seafood because there was more debt than earnings. I decided to sell candles because of some friends who are doing it. I like doing this and it gets me closer to the Señor.)

As early as seven in the morning, Nanay Udto is already at the Basilica’s Pilgrim Center to sell candles.

But here in Cebu, candle vendors at the Basilica like Nanay Udto do not just simply sell candles. They offer a dance prayer as they hold unlit candles that carry with them the solemn intentions of the candle buyers.

This tradition is called “Sinug” (pronounced with a long ‘u’ or  Si-nuug).

Nanay Udto, a candle vendor from Barangay Tisa in Cebu City, performs the traditional “Sinug” dance at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño.

The act of dancing while praying is an offering to the Santo Niño for their intentions to be heard.

Nanay Udto, while having been offering dance prayers along with the candles she sells, does not know how the tradition started. But to her, what is more important is not how it started but the meaning behind each dance she offers.

“Wa gyud ko kabaw kinsay nag sugod ani pero kabawo ka, mao gyud ni ang na andan sa mga tawo, nga kung sa Santo Niño mag pa sinug aron ma dungog dayon atong pag ampo,” says Nanay Udto.

(I don’t know who started this but you see, this is what the devotees are used to; that if you dance the Sinug to the Santo Niño, your prayers are heard)

CDN Digital stayed with Nanay Udto for a couple of hours to observe her life as a candle vendor at the Basilica.

And it came as no surprise that she was one of the favorites of most devotees.

“Ako naa gyud koy mga suki dinhi, kay akong sayaw og pa sinug sayaw gyud,” laughs Nanay Udto.

(I have regular customers because when I dance the Sinug, I dance with all my heart)

The traditional “Sinug” dance is quite simple: Two steps forward, one step backward. The dancer slightly swaying to the rhythm of the music in her mind and to her own heartbeat,  as she murmurs the petition sought by the candle buyer.

“Ang pagsayaw kay usa ka tikang sa atubangan usa ka tikang sa likod unya ikid gamay. Mao ni ang Sinug nga na andan, ang pag ampo nga atong na andan sa Cebu,” adds Nanay Udto.

(The way to dance is to take one step forward, and slightly way with another step as you take another step backward. This is the Sinug dance of old; the manner of praying that is part of the tradition in Cebu)

In an ever-changing world some are left to wonder if this “Sinug” tradition is still known to many or is this one of the many dying traditions in Cebu.

To this question, Nanay Udto has this to say:

“Sa kadaghan namo dinhi, hurot-hurot gyud ni among kandila matag adlaw. Daghan pa gyud ang magpa sinug. Daghan pa ang kabaw’ ug daghan pa ang mo too aning pag Sinug.”

(Even with so many of us here, we all get to sell all candles every day. There are still so many who asked us to do the Sinug. Many are still aware of this tradition and come to here to offer prayer dances through us.)

In a day’s work of selling candles for P10 a piece, Nanay Udto usually goes home with P1,000 per day. Now that the Sinulog Festival is just around the corner, she is hoping to bring home at least P3,000 per day.

“Kani akong pag paninda, maoy rason nga naka palit kog yuta aron patukoran sa among balay (My selling candles and offering dance prayers are the reasons why I was able to buy the lot where I am building my house),” beams Nanay Udto.

In the last two decades, Nanay Udto says she has heard so many stories from the devotees  — stories of thanksgiving, repentance. But the most common petition is to be healed from illnesses, she reveals.

“Ang pagpa Sinug sa mga tawo naay para sa birthday, pasalamat, sa pag eskwela, ug uban pa. Pero ang labing mag labaw ang kani gyung pag pa ayo sa mga sakit,” she says.

(People ask for Sinug when celebrating birthdays, to offer thanks, to accomplish their educational goals, etc. But the most requested petition for healing)

Teary-eyed, Nanay Udto adds that she prays harder for those asking to be cured of their illnesses so that they will have the strength to visit the Santo Niño again and give thanks to him.

“Ako gyung hangyo nga i-ayo sila akong ingon sa Señor, ayoha sila aron balikon ka nila sa ilang pag pasalamat,” says Nanay Udto.

Nanay Udto also has her own petitions. In those moments in between the paid-for dance prayers, she quietly dances to the Santo Niño for her personal intentions.

“Ang ako lang kay tabangan ko niya sa pagpa human sa akong gipa tukod nga balay ug tabangan ko niya sa pag tiwas sa pag data-data sa akong yuta,” prays Nanay Udto.

(I pray to the Santo Niño that after I am done with building my house, he will help me so I will be able to fully pay the lot I am paying by installment right now)

Nanay Udto, while in her sixties,  still has the energy of a twenty-year-old in terms of doing the traditional “Sinug.”

Before parting ways, Nanay Udto lets out a simple line that always touches every devotee’s heart.

“Day, way pag ampo nga di dungon sa Señor. Mao nay timan-i (There is no prayer that the Santo Niño doesn’t hear. Always remember that).” /elb