Teacher turns hobby of making religious images into a religious devotion

CEBU, Philippines — A teacher from Ginatilan town in southwestern Cebu has turned a childhood hobby or “hilig” of making religious images from local materials into a religious devotion.

Rusell Lowell Ondoy, 35, has since made more than 40 religious images that he displays in a room in his house.

“Looking at these statues made me super elated that sometimes I would stare at the statues for eternity. It was my childhood vocabulary of leisure and fun,” he said.

These religious images were made of ‘anapog’ or limestone, wood, and some styrofoam, “local materials ra gyud nga makita sa palibot.” (only local materials that I can find around here)

“I used ‘anapog’ mixed with water and cement for the head. Once it hardened, I applied my untrained sculpturing skill using a blade or a kitchen knife,” he said.

He said his father, who is a tailor, made the clothes for them. He started using “sako sa harina” or flour sacks and dyed them.

“All I did was the cutting of the cloth and embellishing simple designs. Once I dressed the statue, that smile on my face would start to form and it would never disappear the whole day. I was just so happy,” he said.

Ondoy told CDN Digital that he had been doing this for 20 years now. The first image he made was the San Roque (Saint Roch).

He narrated that he attempted to make some during his elementary days with his cousins and friends. But those small statues have already worn out because of the light materials used.

Ondoy said that his parents and grandmother had influenced him as he grew up.

“I remember how my mother would regularly bring me to church for the Masses and other liturgical celebrations that included all the processions in our parish. As a curious child, the statues on the carozza and the retablo really gave me fascination.

“During Holy Week processions, my father used to bring me in front of the carozzas and give a brief insight about the saint’s life, for he was such a gifted storyteller. He even drew and cut pictures of miniature saints for me to play. The sheer joy I felt that time was indescribable.

“My grandmother, when she was still alive, had a lot of novenahans on her jampacked altar cluttered with hardened candle drips, match sticks, and wilted leaves and petals of santan. I would eagerly leaf through the pages of the novenahan and read the vida or life of the saints. In fact, she would fill my mind with the story of San Roque and the milagros of San Jose. I guess everything started there,” Ondoy narrated.

According to him, his childhood hobby has been given its profound meaning when it was blessed by the church last year, “At that moment, they became objects of devotion that will always remind me of God’s glory. That day was a day to remember and a day that I will never forget.

“These statues of saints may not be products of trained and skillful hands; nevertheless, they will forever remind me of God’s goodness and glory in the lives of the saints,” he added.

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