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CEBU CITY, Philippines — “Appropriateness.”
This was the comment of a friar from the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño on the ‘Sinulog dance trend’ that has been circulating on social media, specifically on TikTok.
Fr. John Ion Miranda, one of the priests at the Basilica, made this comment on the “Sinulog dance trend” that is making waves on social media platform TikTok.
What is the “Sinulog dance trend”? Once you search this on TikTok, you’d see videos featuring users dancing the Sinulog beat using modern steps that are far from the basic Sinulog dance.
Cebuano choreographer and founder of Sandiego Dance Company, Val Sandiego, previously shared with Cebu Daily News the basic steps of the traditional Sinulog dance.
READ: 3 basic steps for 6M people
One of the basic moves include the classic one-step-forward-two-steps-backward motion that portrays flowing water (“sulog” is the Visayan word for current of a river or the sea), meanwhile the two other dance positions portray the “offering” of prayer and “thanksgiving”.
But with the advent of social media, dance trends are not uncommon especially in short-form video platforms.
Keeping the tradition
Fr. Miranda said that the Augustinian friars at the Basilica wants to ‘keep the tradition.’
“We keep the tradition to connect us with faith experience with our elders. Sa Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, usahay mamadlong ko sa atoang mga kandila [vendors] mga manalabtan kay usahay magtinapulan na [sa pag sayaw gunit ang kandila],” he said.
(We keep the tradition to connect us with faith experience with our elders. At the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, sometimes I call the attention of our candle vendors who sometimes become lazy in dancing while holding the candles.)
He added that the priests reminded the vendors of the tradition of Sinulog “as faith experience” and as “a prayer to the Holy Child.”
“For that, we keep on reminding people…since Sinulog is also our expression of our faith in Santo Niño, let us keep the tradition,” he said.
READ MORE: Fiesta Señor and Sinulog Festival: What’s the difference?
Appropriateness
Miranda also relates this to the costume of Cebu’s representative of Bb. Pilipinas 2023 pageant, where the candidate dressed up like the Holy Child in a national costume competition.
“The appropriateness of our action. That’s our reminder gyud. [For instance] we are wearing [clothes like] Santo Niño but is it appropriate in our activities?” he asked.
But for those children who wear Santo Niño costumes inside the church, he said that it is appropriate since they are inside the church to participate in the Holy Mass.
He also added that the church always maintains the traditional steps for Sinulog as a way to honor its rich history.
“We maintain that one because [we should not forget] historicity. There is a context (reason) [that that] tradition [happened,” he said.
“We [in the Basilica] will maintain the traditional dance…Sinulog is our faith expression also to the Holy Child. Kung atong i-distort ang music, ato pong pahinumduman what is the reason why you distort that music?” he added.
(If we distort the music, we should ask, what is the reason why you distort that music?)
In the celebration of the Fiesta Señor, Miranda urges the public to “focus more on Christ” and always remember the “appropriateness” of their actions.
/bmjo
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