Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines

Objects of faith in various parts of the world draw visitors of all denominations, for different reasons. This paper studies the polysemic behaviour of people going to Quiapo Church in Manila, the Philippines. In particular, it focuses on the mammoth processions participated in by tens of thousands...

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Main Author: Celia Bonilla
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Technological University Dublin 2021-07-01
Series:International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol9/iss2/6
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author Celia Bonilla
author_facet Celia Bonilla
author_sort Celia Bonilla
collection DOAJ
description Objects of faith in various parts of the world draw visitors of all denominations, for different reasons. This paper studies the polysemic behaviour of people going to Quiapo Church in Manila, the Philippines. In particular, it focuses on the mammoth processions participated in by tens of thousands in a show of devotional fervour. In the conclusion, I tease out and summarise this aesthetic experience of devotion capturing the embodied values as annotated by the pilgrims. The three embodied values are a sense of personal miracle, a need to reciprocate, and a sense of community with and through this wooden image of the Black Nazarene with fellow devotees. This pilgrimage represents a radical levelling of social classes for the duration of a person�s participation in the ritual.
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spelling doaj.art-05a8af5df0ca413d887f4d207558b6d12022-12-21T22:45:50ZengTechnological University DublinInternational Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage2009-73792021-07-0192Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the PhilippinesCelia Bonilla0University of the Philippines, ManilaObjects of faith in various parts of the world draw visitors of all denominations, for different reasons. This paper studies the polysemic behaviour of people going to Quiapo Church in Manila, the Philippines. In particular, it focuses on the mammoth processions participated in by tens of thousands in a show of devotional fervour. In the conclusion, I tease out and summarise this aesthetic experience of devotion capturing the embodied values as annotated by the pilgrims. The three embodied values are a sense of personal miracle, a need to reciprocate, and a sense of community with and through this wooden image of the Black Nazarene with fellow devotees. This pilgrimage represents a radical levelling of social classes for the duration of a person�s participation in the ritual.https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol9/iss2/6pilgrimsaestheticsexperiencefaithphilippinesquiapo
spellingShingle Celia Bonilla
Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage
pilgrims
aesthetics
experience
faith
philippines
quiapo
title Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
title_full Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
title_fullStr Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
title_full_unstemmed Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
title_short Pilgrimage to and with the Black Nazarene: The Aesthetics of Devotion in Quiapo, the Philippines
title_sort pilgrimage to and with the black nazarene the aesthetics of devotion in quiapo the philippines
topic pilgrims
aesthetics
experience
faith
philippines
quiapo
url https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ijrtp/vol9/iss2/6
work_keys_str_mv AT celiabonilla pilgrimagetoandwiththeblacknazarenetheaestheticsofdevotioninquiapothephilippines