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CHAPTER 1: ESTABLISHMENT

General Introduction Preliminary Remarks 2 The Problematique 3 Rhetorical Strategies 3

Data gathering Techniques 3 Interpretive Frame 5

Relevance of the Study 6 Review of Related Literature 7 Definition of Terms 13 CHAPTER 2: TOTEM

The Dynamic Role of Totemism in the Establishment of Institutional Prohibitions as Postulated by Sigmund Freud

The Freudian Totem 18 Totem as Guard Against Incest 20 Formation of a Social Institution 22

Taboos Arising Out of Totemic Fear 23 The Concept of Taboo 23 Taboo vis-à-vis the Society 25 Religion as a By-Product of Taboo 26

The Return of the Repressed 27 From the Demon, to the Totem, to God 27 The Death of the Primal Father 28 Tracing the Past 29 CHAPTER 3: TABOO

Leonardo Mercado on Filipino Catholic Religiosity The Higher Ones 30 God Through the Eyes of the Filipino 31 The Spirits 32 The Dead 34 Filipinized Catholicism 35 Fiesta: Jubilation out of Sacrifice and Death 36 The Nazarene as a Tortured Redeemer 38 The Season of Pain, Death, and Rebirth 41 The Eucharist: “Eat My Body…” 43 CHAPTER 4: SACRED AND PROFANE

Synthesizing Freudian Totemism with Mercado’s Study of Filipino Religiosity to Construct a Filipino Religious Identity

The Reemergence of the Totem 45 The Totem as Deity 45 Feasting on the Totem Meal 48 A Totem Pole: the Nazarene of Quiapo 49 The Epic Road to Totemhood 50

The Totem Meal! 54 The Rise of the Taboo 56 The Dependence of Religion on Taboo 56 The Sacred 56 The Profane 58 Condemned? 58

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CHAPTER ONE: IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN

Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.

—Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All-Too-Human

PRELIMINARY REMARKS

Is religion really founded on faith? Or is it the other way around?

This is a yes or no question, yet the number of possible answers would be

infinite depending on the point of view of the person asked. It would depend

primarily on the identity of the person, and that identity is dependent on the

milieu upon which that individual was shaped. The Filipino identity has been

shaped by a great number of factors which may never be completely explained

even by the ablest and most dedicated scholar. The complex Filipino psyche is

a result of the fusion of various influences that came upon this nation from its

ancient inhabitants, foreign merchants, invaders, religious missionaries, and the

benefits of modernity. Extensive studies have been done to completely

decipher what the Filipino identity is, but instead of answering our questions,

the complexity of the issue even makes us question our questions.

Despite the very lengthy list of influences that have shaped the identity

of the Filipino, one of these should be seen as the most significant, as this has

been a major foundation of what the Filipino actually is. Religion is a crucial

factor in shaping the Filipino identity, and this thesis aims to prove that no

other influence is as significant for the Filipino in every aspect of his life other

than this.

In the search for the proof to this proposition, the researcher deemed it

proper to trace it through the primitive concept of totemism and try to draw

the parallelisms between the primitive civilizations that employed such concept

and the contemporary Filipino Catholic flock.

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THE PROBLEMATIQUE

Main Problem

For his thesis, the researcher seeks to answer the query:

HOW IS LEONARDO MERCADO’S CONCEPT OF THE

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY OF THE FILIPINO CATHOLIC

FOUNDED UPON THE FREUDIAN CONCEPT OF

TOTEMISM?

First Sub-problem

To be able to answer the main problem stated above, the researcher

would take into consideration the question:

WHAT IS THE DYNAMIC ROLE OF TOTEMISM IN THE

ESTABLISHMENT OF INSTITUTIONS ACCORDING TO

SIGMUND FREUD?

Second Sub-problem

To be related and synthesized with the aforementioned question is

the other half of the main problem, which asks:

HOW DOES LEONARDO MERCADO CHARACTERIZE

THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF FILIPINO ROMAN

CATHOLIC RELIGIOSITY?

THE RHETORICAL STRATEGIES

The Data-Gathering Techniques

As this paper seeks to synthesize Filipino religiosity with a Freudian

model of thinking, the researcher would try as much as possible to shun away

biases, not only on his part, but also on the part of the resources he would

employ in composing this thesis. The data gathering technique to be used

4

would primarily involve extensive library research, and would focus mostly on

books by and on Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. It should be clear,

therefore, that the sources would not solely rely on works of Freud, as there are

a great number of works done regarding the philosophy behind his

psychological theories by other contemporary thinkers both in Europe and in

the United States.

Aside from these, there would also be a great deal of study on certain

Filipino religious practices which would include festivities and occasions within

the Roman Catholic calendar. Works of renowned theologian Fr. Leonardo

Mercado SVD would be the primary source for the study of the

phenomenology behind these religious practices. This is so to be able to get a

better view of the picture from the perspective of one who is respected in the

field under study; for assessing a certain institution would be much credible if

there is sufficient knowledge on the said institution under study. It is also

relevant in the sense that sufficient knowledge of the topic at hand would make

the topic open for further criticisms and investigation.

Of course, there would be no synthesis unless the researcher deals with

the framework that is to be used. This is why a great part of this thesis would

deal with Sigmund Freud and his 1913 work Totem and Taboo. Focus on this

work is necessary, not to confine this research to its content, but to avoid

confusion with regards to the complexity of Freud’s work when viewed in

relation to his other works. As mentioned earlier, this paper would involve not

just Freud, but also a number of his interlocutors who did not only study his

concept of totemism, but also some of his works which the researcher deemed

significant in the study of the topic of this thesis. However, it should be kept in

mind that the aforementioned methodologies are non-exhaustive, for there

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could be a couple of other methods that could, as time comes, be used for the

betterment of this research.

The Interpretive Frame

In accordance with the abovementioned methodology of research, the

following theoretical framework is thus presented to be able to clearly plot the

line of thinking that this thesis would draw out.

Relying on Freud’s concept of totemism, this thesis would look up

certain episodes in the development of the Filipino religious identity and stress

the presence of totemism in those episodes. The reemergence of totemism in

the Philippine religious setting is the primary focus of this framework, and as

we would see in the progress of this thesis, every important episode in the

development of the religious identity of the Filipino Catholic is haunted by the

ghost of primitive totemism.

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THE RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

The researcher’s interest in the study arose out of the fact that Philippine

society has been molded into its present form as influenced, in one way or

another, by the Roman Catholic Church. Statistically, the Philippines is

predominantly Roman Catholic, and it can never be denied that the vision and

values of the society have been influenced by the Catholic Church. Policies and

decisions concerning the entire nation have been carried out by Catholic

leaders, and with it comes the influential lobbying habitually done discreetly by

the Catholic hierarchy.

It is accepted fact that religion plays an important role in the formation

of an individual, and formation of an individual reflects an entire society. Every

society owes its existence, in which ever way possible, to the values and

traditions that its people hold dear. It is therefore significant for us to study the

roots of the guiding principles this nation has, for it is upon this that our own

personal convictions are based upon.

It is not only necessary for Filipino philosophy to focus on nationalistic

identity or political ideologies to be able to draw a philosophy that is

distinctively Filipino. What is of utmost importance is for the Filipino

philosopher to trace where his identity and ideologies are rooted upon. The

researcher supposes that the link between ancient totemism and the religious

practices of the present to be useful in deciphering who the Filipino actually is.

If this is the case, then it is significant to look into the roots of the

phenomenology of Filipino Catholic faith to be able to fully understand how

the Filipino society came out with its guiding principles, which in turn has been

influential in the operation of our government and society. Using Freud’s

totemism as a primary basis for this study, this thesis would bear out its

significance once it proves the connection between the primitive totem and the

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Filipino concept of God, and how it became the primary instrument in the

establishment of the culture of restrictions and prohibitions prevailing within

our heavily Catholic-influenced society.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. Vienna, 1913.

Totem and Taboo is probably one of Freud’s most significant works, and it

is through this that Freudian psychology is clearly seen in practical application

to historical and philosophical inquiry. It traces the origins of societal

prohibitions from ancient adherence to totemism. Freud lays down the

situation of primitive people and how they managed to develop a set of rules to

guard against incest. He focuses his study on Australian aborigines, and also

cites studies done by his contemporaries regarding the said topic.

The first part of this book extensively discusses the primary importance

of the totem image in the formulation of the set of regulations that would

govern any society. In its evolution, the fear of the totem image started to

possess a status that supercedes even that of consanguinity of family

relationships. By focusing on primitive man’s fear of committing incest, Freud

clearly draws how a certain totemic fear could bring about a subconscious

anxiety, which in time became institutionalized, on the part of a primitive man

in sexually desiring a blood relative. Freud thus traces the origins of institutions

from the fear of totem images, and particularly cites religious prohibitions as

the most significant by-product of such totemism.

In the second phase of Totem and Taboo, Freud expounds on the

regulations resulting from the institutionalization of the totemic fear of the

primitive man. It is here that he starts to discuss about taboo and how it has

become in our contemporary period only a reference to the profane. Freud still

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draws out his analysis from the aborigines’ concept of taboo, referring to both

the sacred and the profane. From his observations on these primitive people’s

adherence to their taboos, he establishes his idea that taboos are merely the

projection of what the people feared, and has nothing to do with the resulting

practicality of avoiding such taboos. Upon this, he also based the modern

theistic fear of God, and in effect traces the concept of God from primitive

man’s fear of demonic spirits.

Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism. Amsterdam, 1939.

Freud’s final piece of his life was Moses and Monotheism, a historical novel

said to be a personal dedication to his ego ideal Moses. A whole new Israel,

Moses, and Judaism would be introduced by this book, and despite being a

novel, Moses and Monotheism would always knock into the realm of reality with

its shrewd literature and extensive historical validity. Historicity is something

that Freud never failed to employ in this composition, and the detective story

of this book would lead one to accept as true not just its concepts, but even its

story.

In brief, the book details the “real” events in the life of Moses and the

early Hebrews. According to the text, Moses was a pure Egyptian prince, and in

contrast to Biblical account, was directly related to the family of the then

reigning Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaten. This pharaoh was

pious and deeply religious, and was an ardent supporter of the monotheistic

faith under the Egyptian sun-god Isis. When Amenhotep died around 1350

B.C., the institutions under him started to collapse, and with this the

monotheistic religion he dearly loved started to fade away. Moses, being a loyal

follower of the pharaoh, devised a plan to resurrect the lost religion of his

master. He went to the Hebrews, who were under bondage in Egypt, and

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offered them statehood under the god of Amenhotep. He thus led them out of

Egypt and in effect, founded the Jewish nation.

However, these people, as the Egyptians were after Amenhotep’s death,

were not able to tolerate the religion offered by Moses. An uprising occurred

and Moses was murdered. They united with another tribe living within the area

that is now Israel and adopted the worship of the volcano god Jahve. The old

god of Moses was fused with the new volcano god, and the resulting god

became the Judeo-Christian God we know today.

Of great significance is Freud’s psychology playing a great part in the

narrative. In the tradition of Friedrich Nietzsche, Moses and Monotheism would

touch the concept of the return of the repressed, and its inevitability in the human

subconscious and in culture would be brought to better light.

Mercado, Leonardo. Filipino Religious Psychology. Tacloban, 1977.

A pioneer in the study of the Filipino psyche, Fr. Leonardo Mercado

SVD presents a detailed study on the psychology behind Filipino religiosity.

This book tries to portray Filipino religiosity from the Filipino standpoint. It

tries to remove the western bias against Filipino religious concepts by looking

into the topic using a purely Filipino psychology. The text includes studies

done by respected names in the academe such as Fr. Jaime Bulatao, Prospero

Covar, Lourdes Quisumbing, and Jaime Galvez-Tan. Their researches were

focused on particular religious settings and involved participant observation on

their part.

With the help of these Filipino scholars, this book presents a number of

significant Filipino religious ceremonies and rites and traces their roots from

various factors which include indigenous culture, geographical make up, and

political situation.

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Though overly Filipinized and heavily focused on the individual, the

approach of Mercado et al becomes an advantageous springboard for one who

seeks a deeper understanding of the roots of Filipino religiosity, and for this

reason, the researcher finds this text as a crucial material for this thesis.

Mercado, Leonardo. Elements of Filipino Theology. Tacloban, 1975.

As expected of a work by Mercado, this book aims indigenization of the

topic. It seeks to enlighten the reader on the roots of Filipino theology from

the frame of mind of a Filipino.

It is in this book that Mercado lays out how God of our contemporary

mindset arose from the ancient gods of our ancestors. Of great interest is the

trace that he makes by using the names of God used by local natives from

various parts of the country. Also of great significance is the analysis of the

Filipino concept of profane and sacred. This we can interconnect with Freud’s

analysis of the sacred and profane in the formulation of taboo restrictions

among ancient people.

Though there is no direct relationship between Freud’s study and that of

Mercado, it would be natural for the researcher to further explore the

possibilities of relating these to be able to arrive at a concept of Filipino

religiosity guided by the Freudian concept of the taboo. For this reason, this

text by Mercado should be considered as a primary source in the composition

of this thesis.

Badcock, Christopher. Essential Freud. Worchester, 1988.

This text cites Freud’s Totem and Taboo as the answer to questions posed

by some intellectuals regarding incest-taboo as the primary limitation to human

sexual life, and indirectly, to the human search for his desires. Christopher

11

Badcock’s work thus becomes essential since this thesis seeks to understand

how the transformation of totemic fear into taboo prohibitions brought about

human religiosity. Also of importance for this thesis is the book’s attempt to

answer an imposing question on whether the human fear of violating a taboo

due to a totem is natural or arbitrary on the part of an individual and of the

society in general as well.

According to Badcock, this could be answered if one is to look closely at

Freud’s concept of neurotic prohibitions, which sees the ego as a tool in

maximizing pleasure demands of the body being under the control of the

unconscious power of the totem. It could be seen as a product of an

institutionalized omnipotence of thought which is founded on the unconscious

fear of a totem image. To further understand this concept, Freud referred to a

primal horde, a group ruled by a single tyrannical male which could be

attributed to a primal father unto which each member of the horde manifests

extreme dread and love. This dread is due to the son’s jealousy of the father in

being able to commit sexual acts with his mother and sisters. The son then

murders his father, but in the end repents and makes his father the role model

he would emulate.

This father image is what this thesis would prove as a foundation of

Filipino religious faith, and as this thesis moves on, the concept of the Christ as

the “sacrificial lamb” in the eyes of his Church would bring our study to

brighter light.

Grubrich-Simitis, Ilse. Early Freud and Late Freud. London, 1997.

One of the ardent Freudian scholars, Ilse Grubrich-Simitis presents

Freud as a psychologist under study of another psychologist. Early Freud and

Late Freud is an academic study of Freud’s works on a rather technical aspect.

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Of primary significance is her study on Freud’s original manuscripts of

Moses and Monotheism. The chapter dedicated on this subject seems to seek a

deeper understanding of Freud’s psyche and how it affected his work. It

inquires on why Freud wrote Moses and Monotheism and Totem and Taboo, and

what psychological factors contributed to the desire on Freud’s part to write

both books.

Lehrer, Ronald. Nietzsche’s Presence in Freud’s Life and Thought. New

York, 1995.

This work impressively traces the link between Sigmund Freud and

Friedrich Nietzsche not just on the philosophical aspect, but also on the

psychological aspect. Ronald Lehrer draws the picture of Nietzsche (aside from

Moses) as the ego ideal of Freud. Various works of Freud were analyzed by the

author in his desire to map out every Nietzschean aspect in Freud’s writing.

Parallelisms occur whenever Nietzsche’s and Freud’s works are presented

together. From Zarathustra to Totem and Taboo, The Birth of Tragedy to Moses and

Monotheism, Genealogy to The Interpretation of Dreams, Lehrer manages to abstract

concepts that would link the two philosopher-psychologists together.

One significant parallelism between the teachings of the two is the

concept of the return of the repressed. It is upon this that our study on the

recurrence of the totemic fear in societies would center, and the similarity in

the philosophies of both Freud and Nietzsche would be one of the necessary

factors for the success of this thesis.

The idea of Freud as the continuation of Nietzsche is not only literal

(since Freud belonged to the generation after Nietzsche’s), but also academic.

Proof of this could be read in the chapter dedicated to Moses and Monotheism.

Also, the significance of the entire text for this thesis is centered upon the said

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chapter, and the researcher considers that for this thesis to achieve soundness,

a touch of Nietzschean philosophy is necessary.

Sta. Maria, Madelene. The Phenomenological Approach in

Psychological Research. Manila, 2000.

Since this thesis would tackle the phenomenological aspect of Filipino

Catholic religiosity, the researcher deemed it necessary to look for a reliable

source regarding the approach to phenomenology in contrast to another

science mistaken for the aforementioned philosophical craft. Madelene Sta.

Maria of De La Salle University tried to draw the line between phenomenology

and psychology by classifying both as sciences, with similarities that make the

distinction between them blurred to the point that mistake of associating both

with each other often arises.

Sta. Maria tried to distance phenomenology from psychology by dealing

with the subjectivity of both sciences. Though both disciplines aim at

objectivity, the human condition would not allow the absolute objectivity of

studies regarding the human psyche. In exploring the roots of Filipino Catholic

religiosity, there is a need to distinguish the psychological aspect of such

concept from its phenomenological aspect. Psychology is purported to be

objective in character, while phenomenology is subjective. If this is the case,

then segregating the psychological approach of Christian faith from its

phenomenological approach would be of utmost significance to be able to shun

away any possible hint of bias in the study of the topic.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

In the progress of this thesis work, certain general concepts would be

used in a different approach. This is why this section would give a brief

14

description of such concepts to enlighten readers as to how to treat such

concepts as used in this thesis.

Aborigines—the ancient inhabitants of a certain locality. Commonly attributed

to the primitive races who inhabited the Australian continent.

Abstinence—personal prohibition to indulge in natural and/or carnal desires.

Christianity—the congregation of the followers of Jesus Christ. Membership

covers more than a billion of the world’s population, but is divided into

a number of sects due to differences in interpretation of Jesus Christ’s

teachings.

Church—a body of believers in a similar religion.

Consanguinity—degree of blood relation.

Deification—the act of exalting a certain being as a god. This could be

paganistic or not, and whatever form of regarding an entity as a supreme

being qualifies as deification.

Dualism—in philosophy, this is the belief that every entity or concept in the

universe has its equivalent contradiction that negates the other.

Ego ideal—in psychological terms, a real or imaginary figure upon which a

person bases his principles, ideas, beliefs, and convictions. It could be

upon this image that the person tries to project himself.

Eucharist—in Roman Catholic faith, this is the focal point of worship. It is

claimed that it is here that Jesus Christ personally and literally interacts

with his flock by becoming the bread and wine that is partaken during

the Mass.

Exogamy—the practice of preventing marriage between members of a single

family or clan.

God—for purposes of this thesis, there would be two concepts of “god.” The

first one (a common noun to be used) would refer to the impersonal god

15

of primitive civilization. The second concept (a proper noun God)

would refer to the monotheistic God of modern civilization. Both

concepts point to the supreme being.

Hebrews—the Semitic race dwelling in Palestine. Founded by Abraham, this

race was subjected to Egyptian yoke until they were liberated by Moses,

who led them to the land now known as Israel. The Hebrews practice

the Jewish religion known as Judaism, and it is upon this that

Christianity is originally based.

Incest—the act of committing sexual relationships with a blood relative.

Inculturation—the process of assimilating a foreign concept into the native

culture.

Institution—a person, a group of persons, an organization, a belief, or a

conviction which by itself wields tremendous influence upon people that

it is revered in some way as a foundation of a person’s principles.

Liturgy—in Christian Churches, these are the ceremonies involving rituals

used for worship rites.

Monotheism—the belief in only one supreme being. By historical standards,

practice of monotheism is the basis in considering a civilization as

advanced.

Paganism—the primitive religion deifying natural forces.

Pantheism—the belief that everything that God created constitute the

wholeness of God. This means that God is considered to be present in

everything that He has created.

Passover—the Jewish celebration of their liberation from Egypt. A lamb is

sacrificed in commemoration of the day the Israelites killed lambs so

that the blood may be used to mark their doors. The Angel of Death

16

who slaughtered Egyptian eldest boys did not enter the doors painted

with the blood of a lamb.

Phenomenology—the descriptive study of the human experience.

Encompasses every emotion, thought or sensation as experienced by the

human being. This should be distinguished from mere experience, as this

involves a deed as a human act alongside the philosophy behind it.

Pre-colonial—for this research, this term applies to any concept which has

been present in the Filipino society prior to the colonization of the

country by the Spanish Crown.

Primal horde—the societal group of advanced primates headed by one primal

father-like leader. Anthropologists believe that early humans also lived in

such primal hordes before the dawn of civilization.

Primitive people—for purposes of this research, the term would not only

refer to pre-historical people of the past. Primitive people may include

those in the present or any point of time who are yet to be exposed to

the contemporary way of living.

Psychoanalysis—a scientific field dealing with the human mind and its

dynamism with the human experience. This is the expertise of Sigmund

Freud, and he is considered to be one of the foundations of this field.

Roman Catholic Church—the largest sect of Christianity. Claims to be the

original Church established in Rome by Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ. Its

head, the pope, is a direct successor of Peter, and wields supreme and

absolute power over the Church. This is the predominant religious sect

in the Philippines, with around 85% of its population under it.

Sacrificial meal—in primitive races, the community partook of the meat of

their totem as a form of celebration for a certain occasion such as

victory in a war or a plentiful harvest. Ceremonies accompany such

17

meals, and it is only on such special occasions that the community is

allowed to eat the meat of its totem.

Split-Level Christianity—pioneered by Fr. Jaime Bulatao, this tag has been

used against those who profess the Christian faith yet do not manifest

the Christian teachings in their actual lives.

Subconscious—in psychology, the subconscious is the repressed part of the

human psyche which is hidden from his cognizance.

Sublimation—in the field of psychology, this is the redirecting of desire,

attention, or emotion towards something that resembles the original

object of desire, attention or emotion.

Taboo—in its modern sense, taboo is commonly attributed to what

contemporary society dreads. Although its early meaning both signify

sacred and profane, evolution of language made taboo appear as a

practice that ought to be avoided because it is not accepted within the

standards of society. It is upon this that rules and regulations become

part of society’s norms, and standards drawn.

Totem—an inanimate object representing either a living or a dead being.

Statues or icons qualify as totems, and believers attribute extraordinary

powers upon these objects. In ancient times, the totem was used as the

symbol of clans, and the beings projected by such totems are revered

almost as gods.

Utilitarianism—the idea that every action of man depends on the benefit he

would get out of the said action.

Veneration—the act of regarding something with utmost reverence due to the

exalted or superior status of the object. For purposes of this research,

the term would be limited to the lower degree of deification of particular

entities possessing superior attributes over man.

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CHAPTER TWO:

TTHHEE DDYYNNAAMMIICC RROOLLEE OOFF TTOOTTEEMMIISSMM IINN TTHHEE

EESSTTAABBLLIISSHHMMEENNTT OOFF IINNSSTTIITTUUTTIIOONNAALL PPRROOHHIIBBIITTIIOONNSS

AASS PPOOSSTTUULLAATTEEDD BBYY SSIIGGMMUUNNDD FFRREEUUDD

Religions owe their existence to the return of the repressed; they are reawakened memories of the very ancient, forgotten,

and highly emotional episodes of human history. —Sigmund Freud, letter to Lou Andreas-Salomé

THE FREUDIAN TOTEM

Man is known by the stages of development which he leaves behind us.

This idea is the jump-off point of Freud’s Totem and Taboo, a work which

merges together the human psyche, Freud’s expertise, with society and culture.

Sigmund Freud draws from the savage aborigines of Australia his

analysis of the formulation of customs and regulations in a particular society

using the psychic dread or fear for the wrath of a god-like image. In the first

part of Totem and Taboo entitled “The Savage’s Dread of Incest,” Freud focused

on the native’s fear of having sexual relationships with his blood relatives to be

able to show how certain fears could be traced to the animistic adherence to a

totem, which then dictates what the prohibitions are in an entire community.

Somehow, he saw in the primitive Australian the ideal form of totemism.

It is for this reason that he used it to expound on his theory that it is from

totemism that human institutions arose. Among these primitive Australians, the

system of totemism exists in all of their institutions, be they religious or not. A

totem is usually an animal representing a single tribe. This animal could either

be harmless or not, and everything that the tribe does as a tribe it does in the

name of its totem. Although at times a totem could also be a plant or a force of

19

nature such as thunder, it is more common to have an animal as a totem since

it could more likely represent the attributes of a human being.

Totem as Guard Against Incest

Primitive people consider a totem more than a figurehead to represent

their tribe. For them, the totem is literally an ancestor. This is so because the

animal that represents their tribe is the same animal that their ancestor used in

his heroic deeds way back in time. For instance, a tribe under the totem of an

eagle had an ancestor who came to be known as “the Eagle” during his time

due to his keen sense of foresight whenever he engages his enemies. In the

course of time, this “Eagle” was considered by his descendants as the great

forefather whom they elevated to the status of a demigod.

In being a totem, an animal therefore figuratively seen as the hereditary

ancestor of the people, and its spirit is considered omnibenevolent over every

member of the tribe. Ceremonies to honor totems are done in elaborate rituals

wherein offerings and dances are held. Such ceremonies are so sacred that it

would be only at these events that the tribe is allowed to eat the meat of their

totem as a sacrificial meal in honor of it. Not only is the totem considered as a

figurehead, but also as a god who transcends the existence of every member of

the tribe. What caught Freud’s interest is the fact that the totem’s power even

surpasses the importance of blood relationships as manifested by the resulting

system of exogamy practiced not only by the primitive people of Australia but

also of a number of primitive races studied by some of his contemporaries. He

supposes that these primitive people, as compared to modern man, need more

protection against sexual relations with relatives that the totemic system of

prohibiting incest becomes necessary.

20

In his analysis of the circumstances surrounding the savages, Freud

concluded that they need a more powerful guard against incestuous

relationships as compared to modern man. It is indeed the totemic system that

became the guard against familial intercourse, but one would still fail to

establish how the savages came up with it. The complexity of the system

fascinates Freud, and through earlier studies by anthropologists of his time, he

mapped out the totemic system of exogamy to point out how totemic fear

aroused such mental complexity among these primitive people. Freud saw that

tribes indeed form totem clans named after and in honor of an animal totem

wherein members of the same clan may not marry each other. However, the

prohibition does not end there. Members of two distinct totem clans may not

be permissible to marry if their clans are “incompatible” by tribe standards. The

system is complicated, as it involves subclasses of totem clans which are

matched according to a predetermined system of intermarriage. An illustration

in Totem and Taboo1 shows how a tribe is divided into twelve exogamous totem

clans. These twelve are then divided into two marriage groups called phratries,

which in turn are divided into two subphratries. Only three totem clans would

fall under the umbrella of a subphratry, reducing a person’s option of marrying

someone from only three totem clans.

1 Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. Taken from The Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud ed.

A.A.Brill. 781.

21

Given the complexity of such a system, Freud was left to conclude that

the primary purpose of grouping a tribe into totem groups was to restrict the

marriage among members of the tribe. The importance of such marriage

groups would cease once their purpose is accomplished. Again, what amazes

Freud is the fact that the totemic system did not wane from the psychology of

these people that even after the accomplishment of its purpose (to prevent

intermarriage) the adherence of individuals to their totem image remained. It

became the foundation of other regulations in their society. Freud even noted

that the aforementioned system of preventing intermarriage among clans is

similar to the one in effect in the present Catholic Church.2

Formation of a Social Institution

In his analysis, since this fear of the totem is inherent in all religious and

social institutions among the savages, it would be logical to presume that it is

the foundation of the established laws and restrictions of their society. The

establishment of such prohibitions is not necessarily induced from their fear of

the totem, but is merely the result of a practical coincidence by which primitive

people devised a way to avoid group incest, which they feared could have bad

results for their entire tribe. We say practical coincidence in a sense that the

totemic system became the most efficient way for the entire society to prevent

sexual relations among the same clan even without the coercive force of a

governmental body. As to how this system evolved, Freud could never really

answer. Nevertheless, what he is sure about is that the fear of the totem

evolved to create the institution of fear that society eventually learned to obey

voluntarily.

2 Freud. Totem and Taboo. 781.

22

Deification of the totem thus becomes the foundation of the social

relationships of the Australian aborigines and, as pointed out by Freud, even

supercedes the consanguinity of family relationships. The social obligation on

the part of these primitive people towards their totem is so strong that society

becomes a priority over blood relationships. The fear of committing any sexual

act with one who is of the same totem is one remarkable manifestation of this.

Freud goes further by describing how the fear of violating totem restrictions

psychologically created a sense of dread among relatives belonging to the

opposite sex. It is indeed remarkable that such respect for a totem, which is

nothing but a mere animal image, imposes upon primitive man a very great

sense of disgust over seeing even his mother-in-law!

Even Freud is fascinated by the very strong adherence of the primitive

man to this totemic system of incest dread, and he finds no other psychological

reason behind it other than fear. It is out of this fear that disgust becomes

automatic for an individual to the degree that it becomes institutionalized in the

form of norms and customs which are based on another concept which is

inseparable from the topic of totemism. This is the concept of taboo—and

Freud tries to draw its significance in every aspect of civilization despite his

acknowledgement of the fact that he lacks sufficient familiarity with the said

topic. Nevertheless, it is the focus of the second part of Totem and Taboo.

TABOOS ARISING OUT OF TOTEMIC FEAR

It is in part two of Totem and Taboo that Freud first mentions the term

taboo after a lengthy discussion on totemism in the first part. In “Taboo and the

Ambivalence of Emotions,” he describes the term “taboo” in the

contemporary time as branching off into two opposite directions. It could

either mean sacred, or could also mean unclean, both in the extreme sense.

23

Although these are contradictory terms, they both denote one thing—dread.

Society forbids both the holy and the profane, and reservations always come

before us once we come into the presence of these two. This “combination of

holy dread would always express the meaning of taboo.”3

The Concept of Taboo

Basically, taboos concern three principles: the sacredness of its

possessor, the prohibition arising from this sacredness, and the sanctity

resulting from a violation of the prohibition. Taboo could be natural in a

person by virtue of his status, as that of a king or a priest. It could also be

acquired through family relation or imposed upon a person by another person

of distinguished status (such as a king or a priest). Freud himself admits that he

himself does not understand how taboo came to be what it is. The restrictions

primitive people impose upon themselves are, for Freud, unfounded. The

restrictions are for no apparent reason. What is clear is that these taboos aim at

the protection of important people, of the weak, or of any person with regards

to the wrath of a god or spirits. It could also be imposed by priests to be able

to secure property from thieves. There is even a principle that states that the

taboo avenged itself. By that we mean that when the violation involved

breaking the will of a god (or a totem), then the punishment is deemed as

automatic. This concept evolved, and eventually society itself became the

implementor of the punishment against an offender. From this came man’s

first system of punishment.

Taboo thus becomes a tremendous force passed onto an individual as

transmissible as electricity. Removal of a taboo includes expiatory ceremonies

and requires only those with authority to preside. Priests, kings, and dead

3 Freud. Totem and Taboo. 789.

24

people are those who possess permanent human taboo, while temporary

human taboo is present in people undergoing unusual events in their lives. By

unusual event, we refer to experiences such as menstrual flows, participation in

wars, and circumcision among others. It is during these events in the life of the

individual that he/she is considered tabooed. This temporary taboo is a human

taboo, the second highest class of taboo. Of the three types of taboos present

in primitive societies, the animal taboo forms the core of totemism, with

systems of restrictions very strong. Human taboo only forms the second stage

of taboo; while plant/object taboo the last.

Taboo vis-à-vis the Society

Freud attempts to map out how taboo became what it is today by

looking at what it originally was. But he admits that taboo is such a complicated

concept that only descriptive study could be done regarding it. He heavily relies

on William Wundt’s study of Australian aborigines’ taboo restrictions and from

this he tried to draw out how taboos arose within the primitive societies under

study. Taboo, as a mysterious attribute of any single entity, always results in a

prohibition, and the prohibition always has its corresponding system of

implementing itself. Freud thought that there was something psychological

about the prohibition system of taboos among the primitive races, but he could

not surmise what it was. All he could do is to analyze Wundt’s study and try to

abstract concepts he could use to better explain how taboo came out of

primitive consciousness. What is clear is that not a single race or culture in the

world has escaped the power of taboo. Our modern contempt over using

another person’s property without consent or our dread over using certain

words are manifestations that even modernity could not completely wipe out

cultural taboos.

25

In a way, society has brought the extreme meanings of taboo together,

and what prevailed was its negative meaning. The common contemporary

connotation for taboo is prohibition, and dread always accompanies it. Among

the ancient races Freud mentioned in the previous chapter, taboo prohibitions

are prevalent. He differentiates taboo prohibitions from religious prohibitions,

stating that taboo prohibitions are never included in a system of standard

abstinences with rationality for the necessity to commit such abstinences.

Taboo therefore lacks the justification of moral or religious prohibitions, and is

merely rooted unto the culture of the predecessors of those who are beholden

to such prohibitions. Taboo could therefore refer to cases upon which

prohibitions result to the creation of gods or spirits to be able to back up

threats against violators.4

Religion as a By-Product of Taboo

It would be at this point that we could perfectly link the idea with

totemism, as Wundt himself regards animal taboo, the highest of the three

classes of taboo, as the very nucleus of totemism.5 According to him, this kind

of taboo in both primitive races and rich cultured peoples could be traced to a

common fear: fear of demonic power. These people thought that demonic

spirits possessed whatever it is that is tabooed, and as time went by, the

concept evolved and the taboo freed itself from the idea of a demonic force

and by itself became the foundation of society’s customs and laws. This

“transference of taboo restrictions from the sphere of demons to that of

theistic conceptions”6 could therefore be seen as the evolutionary process by

which societal prohibitions developed. From demonic fear, the primitive

4 Freud. Totem and Taboo. 790.

5 Wundt, William. Voelkerpsychologie, Religion, and Myths. 237.

6 Wundt. 313.

26

people shifted their fear to the sacred god-like totem which, through its

powers, avenged taboo violations for the sake of the people. The former fear

which was negative became positive when the concept of the totem was

introduced. Through this, the people were compelled to follow the restrictions

on a positive way instead of a conditional cooperation towards a demon that

they feared would harm their tribe. This is consistent with Wundt’s idea that

taboos indeed preceded the concepts of god and the totem. These two latter

concepts emerged to back up and improve the system of regulations within

primitive races. Taboo could therefore be considered as the oldest unwritten

code of law of all humanity, as it precedes the religious age and forms the

foundation for contemporary monotheistic religions.

If this is the case, then the development of religion heavily depended on

primitive man’s fear of violating taboo restrictions. But it is not solely

dependent on that fear, for a number of factors contributed to the

development of religion from its emergence as a by-product of taboo

restrictions towards its post-modern form as we see it today.

THE RETURN OF THE REPRESSED

The totemic system is not immune from the curse of time. It is also

subject to an evolutionary process through which it changed forms and

adjusted according to the dictates of civilization. Though Freud found it hard

to establish the psychological and theoretical roots of taboo restrictions, he did

not find it hard to draw out how taboo restrictions paved way for modern

man’s belief in God.

As pointed out in the previous segment of this chapter, theistic fear

came from demonic fear, and taboo restrictions are founded on the same

27

concept with just some modifications regarding the persona of the feared

entity.

From the Demon, to the Totem, to God

Man’s first object of fear was the demon. He feared that the demonic

spirit/s would get back to him once rules are disobeyed. Then came totemism,

and the fear was deviated towards the totem, the caring but strict tutelary spirit

of the tribe who punishes his descendants for violating regulations instituted

for their own sake. Totemism then evolved to theism, and the totem was

replaced by God, whose love for his people is the basis for punishment of

violations of his prohibitions.

It is in this process that we could see a repressed form of a previous

belief unconsciously emerging in a society. This return of the repressed is inherent

in all human institutions, and the evolution of religion from totemic fear to its

modern form is a perfect manifestation of this.

The Death of the Primal Father

In a number of his works, Freud uses the concept of the primal father to

clearly map out how animosity against a dreaded father evolved into an

endearment so intense that the image of the father becomes an image of a god

worthy of emulation. The primitive man, in his jealousy of his father’s sexual

relations with his mother and sister, harbors disdain against the father.

However, since he is under the power of the father, he represses his anger and

waits for the proper time to actualize that anger. When he finds the time, he

murders his father and rejoices the death. However, a psychological sense of

guilt would haunt him, and as time would pass by, the image of the father as a

protector and provider would be rekindled and would bring about emulation

28

from his part. The primal father becomes the totem of the son, and his acts

would all depend on what the father would have desired.

This concept emerges in a number of Freud’s ideas, one of which is the

historical fiction Moses and Monotheism (story discussed in chapter 1, review of

related literature). In this story, the original Moses, as primal father of the

Jewish nation, is murdered due to his intolerable teachings. His death marked

the emergence of a new Jewish nation with a new faith under the volcano god

Jahve. However, his status as founding father instilled an indelible mark on the

subconscious of the Jews, and his teachings reemerged and overwhelmed the

new faith.7 Moses thus became the new totem image of the Jewish nation for

two reasons: his previous status as founding father, and the guilt out of his

murder.

According to Freud, the primal father concept is not only evident in

humans, as primates also clearly manifest such psychological phenomenon.

Gorillas live in hordes wherein a single tyrannical male has the exclusive right

to have sexual intercourse with females. At the time that the younger apes think

they could take on the primal ape, they would contest with him and the victor

would be the new prime ape.8 The dead primal father would then be devoured

by the horde, and his meat becomes the sacrificial meal symbolizing the

transfer of power to the new master. In effect, the death of the father elevates

him to the status of being a totem, and his spirit becomes the light upon which

the entire horde looks up to.

Tracing the Past

In the cases of both Moses and that of the primal ape, the previous force

reemerges to topple a newly instituted force. The murder of the primal father

7 Freud. Moses and Monotheism.

8 Freud. Totem and Taboo. 871.

29

would always result to guilt, and guilt would always lead to the deification of

the dead father. Return of the repressed, as Friedrich Nietzsche puts it. The

fact that this phenomenon is inherent in all social institutions supports our

assertion that religions came from society’s repressed desire to reinstate its

subsequent totem. In using the term subsequent totem, we refer to a previous

belief upon which a society traces its basic values and convictions (taboos

included); and the succeeding chapter would be dedicated to tracing how a

particular society has been molded into its present form by the institutions of

its past.

30

CHAPTER THREE:

LLEEOONNAARRDDOO MMEERRCCAADDOO OONN

FFIILLIIPPIINNOO CCAATTHHOOLLIICC RREELLIIGGIIOOSSIITTYY

If the triangles made a god, they would give him three sides. —Baron de Montesquieu, The Persian Letters

THE HIGHER BEINGS

The idea that religion has encompassed every civilization is an accepted

fact for every educated thinker. Ever since primitive man started to think, he

saw some sort of a superior being upon which he gave utmost reverence. Now

that civilization has reached its present state, the thinker is left to wonder what

religion is for him. Is religion a part of the progress of civilization? Or is it just

a remnant of a past that reminds him of his primitive roots?

As human civilization progressed, the concept of the supreme being has

been a major force in shaping the individual human being. Man has made his

God the touchstone of his very existence, and he has devised numerous ways

to express his belief in this God. As mentioned earlier, this thesis aims to show

how the Filipino’s belief in the concept of God developed through the

reemergence of the totemic system in every important point of its history—and

how it resulted to the religiosity that has become an essential characteristic of

the Filipino.

This chapter would draw the evolution of the Filipino adherence to the

idea of the superhuman from its ancient roots to its colonial inculturation and

to its eventual Filipinization. To fully understand this, this thesis would present

each component of Filipino religiosity and discuss how they evolved as the

Filipino society went through its multifaceted historical progress.

31

God Through the Eyes of the Filipino

The religiosity of the Filipino is not just shown by the lady walking along

the aisle of the church on her knees. The religiosity of the Filipino is more than

that. The religiosity of the Filipino covers the entire time that he has envisaged

a superior being upon which he could confide to and give utmost devotion.

The religiosity of the Filipino goes way back to the time that he first started to

reason.

The Filipino does not ask whether God exists or not. Its existence is not

a matter of question,9 and whoever a person is, God is present in any possible

way. According to Fr. Leonardo Mercado, the concept of God for the Filipino

encompasses everyone. Status and condition in life does not matter. The

diversity of the Filipino race is thus reflective of the religious identity of the

Filipinos. In Mercado’s analysis, if a farmer sees God in his harvest, then an

activist sees God as a revolutionary hero. A person’s preoccupations and biases

color his idea of God.10 This is why God is seen in various ways, and personal

situation very well determines what God is for the Filipino.

In every aspect of life of the average Filipino Catholic, God is something

that he always takes into consideration. He leaves the consequences of his

actions upon God’s hands. The sign of the cross becomes a routinary act that

every Catholic does. It has become part of his day-to-day actions, be they evil

or not.

This is just one of the reasons why the Filipino Catholic has been

regarded as one of the most religious peoples of the world.11 The Filipino does

not just owe this religiosity to the Spanish colonizers who baptized him with

Christianity, for the religiosity of the Filipino is deeply engraved in his 9 Mercado, Leonardo. “God, Spirits, and the Departed.” Elements of Filipino Theology. 39.

10 Mercado. 40.

11 That does not necessarily mean that the religiosity of the Filipino is applied. The Filipino has

not yet learned to apply his religion.

32

consciousness by the ancestors who left an indelible mark on the culture of this

nation.

But what does the Filipino actually think of his God? Does he know

who and what God actually is? In Elements of Filipino Theology, Mercado lays

before us what God is for the Filipino. The old Filipino name for God is

Bathala. It was derived from the Sanskrit term bhattara, which means noble lord.

This is equivalent to other Filipino names for the supreme being such as

Panginoon and Apo. These names indicate that for the early Filipinos, God is

creator. This is why early Filipino creation myths reflect how the Filipino sees

his God.12

Filipino creation myths suggest that the supreme being created the world

out of pre-existing material. This is in contrast with the biblical concept of the

universe being created out of “nothing.” This signifies the Filipino adherence

to the idea of non-dualism wherein everything is harmonized. Mercado believes

that this non-dualistic mentality13 of the Filipino is the reason why the creation

story is non-pantheistic, that is, that God thrives in his creation, but he is not

what the creation is.

Another significant attribute of God for the Filipino is its being remote.

The Filipino God is taboo, that is to say, unapproachable, and it is only through

intermediaries that man is able to communicate with it. This reflects the highly

regarded social stratification in Philippine society wherein the Big People14 are

only accessible to the Small folks through intermediaries. This kind of

exaltation of God also reflects the apersonal attribute of God for the Filipino

believer.

12

Mercado. “The Filipino Image of God.” Inculturation and Filipino Theology. 74. 13

Mercado. Elements. 40. 14

Fr. Mercado referred to the financially well-off as “Big People” while the ordinary townsmen

as “Small People.” This reflects the social stratification of the Filipinos which dates back

to pre-colonial period.

33

Oriental philosophy sees God as an entity that does not have a persona,

and it cannot be embodied by the worldly concept of the person. If this is the

case, then intermediaries are indeed a must for the Filipino to be able to

understand and be in communion with the impersonal and inaccessible God—

thus the concept of the spirits.

The Spirits

The Spanish missionaries realized that it would be impossible to

completely erase the pre-colonial superstitious beliefs of the Filipinos. It is for

this reason that they just decided to assimilate Christian beliefs in the

indigenous culture of the natives. The manipulation of the hierarchical

structure of the pre-colonial Filipino spirits, with Bathala at its peak, became

easy.

Since the veneration of the dead was the core of pre-colonial religion,

the Spanish missionaries substituted the saints as intercessors to God in place

of dead relatives.15 The veneration of the Virgin Mary easily became a hit to the

natives since the image portrays that of a mother. The mother image, being a

subconscious yearning in every individual,16 perfectly fitted the persona of

Mary.

If the images of the saints and the Virgin Mary easily crept into the

psyche of the Filipino in place of the ancient spirits they once deified, the

image of the evil underwent a different process. The Christian image of evil

was fused with the indigenous, and the resulting concept became an

“assembly” of evil forces composed of elements such as the manananggal,

tiyanak, aswang, kapre, nuno sa punso, and countless others. These are the 15

Mercado. Elements. 46. 16

Psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung spoke of parent images as archetypes in man’s subconscious.

In the case at hand, the Filipino natives used the psychological concept of sublimation in

adopting the devotion to Mary.

34

opponents of another group of spirits which are not in any way connected to

God. This block, composed of the diwata, engkantada, duwende, among others, are

indifferent to God and occupy another dimension which could not be traced as

one of God’s creations. These concepts deviate from the religious concept of

the devil and God, and are usually classified under superstition. However,

deeper analysis would show that in some ways, these superstitions are usually,

though erroneously, associated with the formation of religion.

This is evident in the beliefs of the Filipino regarding another group of

spirits which transcends the line between the forces of good and evil. The

kaluluwa, or the spirit of the dead, is a unique element of Filipino culture which

is very much connected to the evolution of Filipino religiosity.

The Dead

As mentioned earlier, pre-colonial Filipinos and even the ethnic

minorities of the present venerate their dead, and the spirits of these dead

relatives were accorded a special place in their religious practices. It is believed

that the dead still have interest in the lives of his kin that he remains in their

presence in the form of spirit.

Ethnic Filipinos express their communion with the dead by food

offerings.17 But this connection between food and the deceased is not exclusive

to ethnic groups though, as modern Filipinos hold picnics at cemeteries during

death anniversaries and All Saint’s day. This practice reflects the importance of

the dead in the religious life of the Filipino. It involves the belief that the dead

could intercede between the living and the supreme being. It is mentioned

earlier that God is inaccessible, and mediators are needed to be able to reach

Him. Since the dead are regarded as being in a higher level compared to the

17

Mercado. Elements. 46.

35

living, then they are considered to be worthy as mediators to God. The

departed, though in a lower level as compared to God and the saints, have their

“voice” in the transcendental world of the spirits, and could therefore bring the

sentiments of the living to God. This is contrary to Western practice which

places no power in their dead. If the Filipino prays to his dead mother that

their family be spared from poverty by calling unto God, the American prays to

God so He may take care of his mother’s soul.

Though not an exclusive Filipino concept, the veneration of the dead

has somehow developed a distinctive Filipino characteristic that sets it apart

from others. It has evolved as a fusion between the ethnic traditions of the pre-

colonial era and the foreign influence brought by the Spanish colonizers. This

applies not just to this aspect of Filipino religiosity, for it is evident that the

entirety of the Filipino religious tradition has been the result of the historical

events that have molded this nation into what it is at this moment of history.

FILIPINIZED CATHOLICISM

The extent by which the Roman Catholic religion has evolved and

assimilated into Filipino culture has been well documented and studied by a

great number of scholars. However, most of these focused on theory and

generalities. Instead of bringing answers to our questions, these arouse more

doubt. This is the reason why this thesis aims to bring the matter on a clearer

light by deviating from the general concept of Filipino religiosity.

The researcher deemed that it would only be possible to achieve the said

goal by studying specific components of certain Filipino Catholic religious

rituals, and at the succeeding chapter of this thesis, synthesize them with the

Freudian concept of totemism. The researcher took into consideration Filipino

Catholic practices wherein the concept of sacrifice serves as the foundation. It

36

would be through the rituals involved in these practices that this thesis would

try to trace the extent by which totemism has reemerged in the psychology of

Filipinos who participate in them. This thesis would also try to show how these

practices are parallel with and at the same time deviant from mainstream

Catholic tradition.

Fiesta: Jubilation Out of Sacrifice and Death

One of the most important features of Filipino religiosity is food. Food

plays a central role in the Filipino way of life. Love of food, though universal,

has a distinctive importance for the Filipino. Hospitality for the Filipino has

been world-renowned for its lavishness on feeding guests. Every important

occasion involves food and drinking. For the Filipino, the act of eating

transcends the necessity of doing the act—its essence is in the fact that eating is

a way to be in communion with others. The essence of the meal is not just

food—it is the pleasure of company.18 It involves the affection that

accompanies the act of eating. This is the reason why the Filipino formed his

own customs and rules of etiquette regarding the act of eating. For him, it is

unethical to sing in front of the meal, or to leave while others are still eating, or

to enter a house where a meal is being partaken without eating too. The

importance of food is something that is deeply embedded into Filipino culture,

and its importance is reflected even in Filipino religiosity.

Jesus Christ, who was considered as a glutton,19 conducted most of his

ministry under the backdrop of feasts and wine. In the same way, the Filipino

has himself expanded the significance of food into his religious practices—

most worth mentioning the fiesta. After being introduced by Spanish

missionaries as a religious event to commemorate the dedication of a church to

18

Mercado. Elements. 177. 19

Mercado. Elements. 179.

37

a certain saint, the fiesta has been completely Filipinized and now has its own

secular, social, political, and cultural dimensions.20

The fiesta has transformed from the colonial religious celebration in

honor of a saint into its contemporary form which reflects the entirety of the

Filipino cultural identity. The lavishness of the celebrations just astonishes the

foreigner. Fiestas are equivalent to family reunions, and localities declare

holidays even without government permission. Every sector of the community

participates in the celebrations, and the festivities last for days, with huge

amounts of money spent.

But the central aspect of the fiesta is not really on the activities or the

church services. Fiesta is now centered on food. A fiesta without food is not a

fiesta at all.21 Due to the importance that the Filipino places on food, the fiesta

has transformed from mere novenas and masses for the patron saint to the

extravagant feasts held around town. The Filipino has his reasons, chief of

which is that the festivities he holds are for the patron saint. The religious

aspect, though overshadowed by the aesthetic aspect, remains within the

subconscious of the festive Filipino.

Though the saint has been set aside by the commercialization of the

fiesta, the concept of the death and consummation of the sacrificial meal still

lurks behind every Filipino fiesta. Behind the festivities, the religious aspect of

sacrifice and the consummation of this sacrifice still serves as the foundation of

this highly Filipinized and totally evolved aspect of Filipino Catholic religiosity.

This is because the fiesta is held on the death anniversary of the patron saint. It

is a commemoration of the death of the person upon which their community

looks up to for intercession with God. The death of the saint is celebrated

because in a way, the death brings them closer to the supreme being. Again,

20

Mercado. Elements. 179. 21

Mercado. Elements. 179.

38

pain and suffering leading to death becomes the theme behind the celebration,

and sacrifice is seen as a medium for sacredness.

The fiesta illustrates that for the Filipino, death could be a reason for

jubilation. Through the fusion of the cultural fondness of the Filipino for food

and the colonial concept of commemorating the dead saint, a distinct Filipino

religious practice emerges. In its religious and cultural aspects, the Filipino

fiesta reflects the inseparability of sacrifice from celebration. Sacrifice, being a

significant component of Filipino religiosity, is the foundation for the

celebration of the fiesta. But it should not just be perceived to be confined to

fiesta, for it seems that sacrifice serves as the foundation for every Filipino

religious custom, and this includes the devotion to the Nazarene of Quiapo.

The Nazarene as a Tortured Redeemer

January ninth requires Quezon Boulevard and its adjacent roads to be

closed for traffic. The heavy vehicular traffic along one of Manila’s busiest

thoroughfares is replaced by a sea of barefooted people dressed in red shirts. At

least a million people flood the vicinity of the Shrine of the Black Nazarene

along Quezon Boulevard yearly. A million people with only one goal—to see

the statue of the tortured Christ.

The statue of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo is an embodiment of

sacrifice. The anguishing eyes, the thorn-struck head, and the bloodied body of

Jesus Christ carrying a heavy wooden cross are images of pain, and the Filipino

sees this pain as a way towards redemption, a way towards the divine.

The statue of the Nazarene was brought to the Philippines by the

Augustinian Recollect friars some time between the sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries. Devotion to this dark-skinned image started as early as 1742, when

39

the Confradia de Jesus Nazareno was established. 22 This confraternity of

devotees grew in number and their present strength could be seen in the yearly

processions of the statue around Manila held every January 9 and Holy

Monday. The devotion to the Nazarene is not confined to a specific social class

or age bracket, as the devotees come from all walks of life, from politicians to

beggars, from rich businessmen to bum drunkards.

As early as 2 a.m., devotees come in great numbers to be able to get a

better position for the procession of the image at noon. By the time the statue

comes out of the church, the throng of people move in unison towards the

statue. It is their ultimate goal to touch any part of the Nazarene, but due to the

great number of people, throwing a towel and having it wiped on the image is

enough. If they are not lucky enough to be near the statue to be able to throw a

towel, touching the rope tied on the carriage carrying the statue is enough.

They consider touching that rope to have the same effect as that of touching

the statue itself. This practice reflects the superstitious characteristic of the

Filipino being fused with religion. The devotee believes that the towel that

touched the statue would be endowed with healing powers and would bring

him blessings and forgiveness. It is an act of gratitude for the blessings of the

past and an act of penance for the sins committed and to be committed.

Devotees believe that it is through touching the image that they are

absolved from their sins for the past year, and not through going to the

confessionary.23 The devotees’ avoidance of fulfilling their religious obligations

and using the devotion to the Nazarene as an excuse has been a common target

22

Jacob, Wilfredis. “Religious Experience in the Quiapo Nazarene Devotion.” Filipino Religious

Psychology. Ed. Leonardo Mercado. 82. 23

Jacob. 89.

40

for critics of the Quiapo devotion. They contend that this is a manifestation of

what Jaime Bulatao called split-level Christianity24 among Filipinos.

A closer analysis of the Nazarene devotion would show that it is

somehow deviant from Roman Catholic teaching. Even the philosophy of the

Second Vatican Council calling for the inculturation of Catholic rituals into

native practices25 could not save the Quiapo phenomenon from criticism. In a

study done by Sister Wilfredis Jacob of the Congregation of the Missionary

Servant of the Holy Spirit, the Quiapo devotion is closer to paganism than to

theism, and the devotee seems to be ignorant of this. In fact, as part of the said

research, devotees asked regarding the religious aspect of the devotion are

dumbfounded on what answer they could give. It would suffice to say that

instead of faith and reverence, what really motivates the devotion to the Black

Nazarene are fanaticism and utilitarianism.

As to how the devotion is not faith but fanatism could be seen by the

presence of the “superstitious” practice of wiping the statue or the rope for the

supposed “healing” attributes. Genuine faith, by definition of the Church, does

not equate to that. Such act is a result of a blinded belief clouded by probable

desperation on the part of the devotees.

Regarding the proposition that it is not reverence but utilitarianism that

binds a devotee to the Nazarene, this study is cited: according to Jacob’s

research, the devotees’ panata26 is based on a previous material benefit received

“from” the Nazarene.27 They vow to do the devotion year after year because a

24

Fr. Jaime Bulatao eventually recanted his statement that the Filipino devotee who wipes the

feet of a statue is a split-level Christian. 25

Mercado. Inculturation. 25. 26

Whenever a devotee asks for a favor from the Nazarene, he vows to do something if ever the

request is granted. The moment the Nazarene “grants” the request, the devotee faithfully

fulfills his vow. Usually, this vow involves the yearly participation in the procession of

the statue of the Nazarene. 27

Jacob. 88.

41

previous wish was granted and fear that the Nazarene might think of them as

not having a debt of gratitude brings them to Quiapo to fulfill their

“obligation.” The aspect of fear is important in this respect, as it clearly

distinguishes the revered God from the feared God. The devotee therefore

does his yearly sacrifice out of subconscious fear, and not really out of

reverence. The panata is done to pay for a devotee’s dues.

Since we have mentioned the fusion of Filipino superstitious belief and

religion, it would be worth noting that superstition may have gotten the upper

hand in this fusion. The religious aspect of the Nazarene devotion has been

overshadowed by the folk traditions that have helped this devotion assimilate

into Filipino culture. In the final analysis, the Nazarene of Quiapo is not just a

monument in commemoration of the death of the sacrificial lamb; the

Nazarene of Quiapo is a monument in honor of the fusion of Filipino animism

with Catholic religiosity.

The Season of Pain, Death, and Rebirth

As a monument to the fusion of Filipino animism and Catholic

religiosity, the Nazarene of Quiapo serves as a perfect backdrop to

complement another aspect of Filipino religiosity that is also founded on

suffering, pain, death, and eventual jubilation. The series of religious rituals

encompassing the entire Lenten season culminating in the Holy Week perfectly

presents the argument of this thesis work. Jesus Christ, as the central figure of

all Christian Churches around the world, perfectly fits in the totem image

postulated by Freud as the foundation of religious and social prohibitions. But

since it is the fourth chapter of this thesis that would deal with the synthesis of

the two mentioned concepts, this segment would not extensively discuss them.

Nevertheless, for purposes of bringing the topic to better light prior to the

42

succeeding chapter, a brief narrative on the Filipino observance of the Lenten

season is hereby presented:

Ash Wednesday. On the Wednesday forty days prior to the first Sunday

after the first full moon after March 25, the Roman Catholic Church observes

Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of the Lenten season. For forty days,

the Catholic faithful are prohibited from eating three full meals in a day. And

every Friday within this season, livestock meat is also prohibited.

Palm Sunday. The Church celebrates Jesus Christ’s glorious entry to

Jerusalem. His entry to Jerusalem was glorious because the Jews welcomed him

as king thinking he would liberate them from Roman bondage before the week

ends. This event is commemorated in the Philippines through the Palaspas

festival.

Holy Monday. The Nazarene of Quiapo is brought out of its shrine for

procession. Though not as festive as the January 9 procession, this is just one

of the two instances that the image is brought out for procession.

Maundy Thursday. The Last Supper is commemorated. The Roman

Catholic priest reenacts the momentous night when Jesus and his disciples first

celebrated the Eucharist. The priest also washes and kisses the feet of twelve

lay people representing the twelve apostles.

Good Friday. The Siete Palabras, or Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ

prior to his execution is reenacted. As a sign of mourning for the death of

Jesus, churches cover statues of Christ and saints with black or purple cloth.

No Mass is celebrated on this day. Somewhere else, penitentes whip themselves

to show solidarity with the suffering of Christ. Though not ritual loving

Catholics, these penitentes believe, like the Quiapo devotees, that through their

penitensya, God would absolve them of their sins.

43

Black Saturday. Again, no Mass is celebrated until midnight when the

Easter vigil would commence.

Easter Sunday. To celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a High

Mass is celebrated and the Easter Pascal candle is lighted. In the early morning,

the Salubong, a reenactment of the meeting between Jesus and his mother, is

held.

THE EUCHARIST: “EAT MY BODY…”

Vital to Roman Catholic faith is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.

The Eucharist rites were started by Jesus the night prior to his arrest and

eventual execution on charges of blasphemy and conspiracy to commit

rebellion against the Roman authorities. As he was celebrating the Passover

meal with his twelve apostles, he instructed them to do the same rites in

memory of him.28

For two thousand years, the Church celebrated this ritual, and it went

through innumerable modifications. In spite of the very long time that has

passed since its establishment, one idea remained intact in this Catholic ritual:

that the bread and wine partaken during the Eucharist is literally the body and

blood of Jesus.

The Roman Catholic Church bases this doctrine on the words of Jesus

to his apostles on that night.

“Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.” Then he took the cup, gave

thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said, “for this is

my blood, which seals God’s covenant, my blood poured out for many for

the forgiveness of sins.”29

28

Matthew 26:17-35. 29

Matthew 26: 26-29.

44

Since then, the Church ate the unleavened bread drank and grape wine

to “literally” partake of Christ’s body and blood. The consequence of “eating”

the body and blood of Christ is of great significance for the Catholic, for it is

an assurance of a place in Christ’s unearthly kingdom which he said he would

establish after his Second Coming. Partaking of the meal is equivalent to eternal

life as stated by Jesus,

Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. But the bread which

comes down from heaven is such that whoever eats it will not die. I am the

living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he will

live forever. The bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I give so that

the world may live. For my flesh is the real food, my blood is the real drink.30

The fellowship meal which is the Eucharist is therefore a solemn

occasion wherein Catholics eat the actual flesh and drink the actual blood of

Jesus, whose sacrifice on the cross redeemed those who believes in him. Jesus

spoke of himself often as the sacrificial lamb, and reminiscent of Freud’s totem

meal, whenever Jesus’ flesh is eaten, his status as god is strengthened.

It is tempting to jump into the comparison between the Freudian totem

and Jesus as the sacrificial lamb of Christianity, but it is not yet proper to

discuss such matters since the scope of this chapter is limited to the

phenomenology of the discussed Filipino Catholic practices. The synthesis of

this chapter with the preceding chapter would commence on the fourth chapter

where the development of the Filipino religious identity would be mapped out

by tracing how the Freudian totemic system emerged at certain episodes within

the formation of Filipino religiosity.

30

John 6: 49-50

45

CHAPTER FOUR:

SSYYNNTTHHEESSIIZZIINNGG FFRREEUUDDIIAANN TTOOTTEEMMIISSMM

WWIITTHH MMEERRCCAADDOO’’SS SSTTUUDDYY OOFF FFIILLIIPPIINNOO RREELLIIGGIIOOSSIITTYY

TTOO ((DDEE))CCOONNSSTTRRUUCCTT AA FFIILLIIPPIINNOO RREELLIIGGIIOOUUSS IIDDEENNTTIITTYY

Religion is the vision of something which stands beyond, behind, and within, the passing flux of immediate things;

something which is real, and yet waiting to be realized; something which is a remote possibility, and yet the greatest of all present facts; something which gives meaning to all that passes, and yet eludes apprehension;

something whose possession is the final good, and yet is beyond reach; something which is the ultimate ideal, and yet the hopeless quest.

—A.N. Whitehead, Science and the Modern World

THE REEMERGENCE OF THE TOTEM

The history behind the formation of Filipino religiosity is more

complicated than it seems. This chapter would interconnect the concept of

totemism with the Filipino religious practices discussed in the previous chapter

to be able to prove that from the ancestor-worshipping Filipino of antiquity to

the avant-garde multicultural Filipino of post-modernity, religion has played a

role more than that of a code of rules upon which man would peek into

whenever he feels the pain of a pin pricking his skin.

The Totem as Deity

Every civilization has had its own primitive religion upon which its

present religion is founded. Religions usually originate from primitive

paganism, and as discussed in the second chapter, its evolution is a

consequence of the progress of civilization. In the course of time, certain

aspects of geography, culture, and politics play major roles in the development

of a religion. The evolution of the totemic system from being a prohibitory

46

mechanism against incest to being an organized religion for the Australian

aborigines presents the significance of conditions of society in the development

of religion. It shows that as the need for such mechanisms arises, society finds

ways to adopt certain practices which would bring about the desired result

considered best for the entire community.

The Filipino concept of God is the result of an evolution of this kind.

Considering the type of society of the pre-colonial Filipino, creation myths

reflect how God was first conceptualized. The non-pantheistic, non-dualist,

and apersonal approach towards a creator-god is based on the general situation

of the pre-colonial Filipino society. The totemic system associates godliness to

ancestry. The totem image, notwithstanding its animal image, is considered as

the hereditary ancestor of the entire tribe. This is parallel with Filipino

veneration and/or deification of their ancestors. The Filipino has an affinity

with his ancestors which he considers to transcend earthly life. This affinity is

manifested by both the ethnic and modern Filipino practice of praying to their

deceased for guidance and for intercession to the supreme being.

It is in this belief in the ability of ancestors that this thesis would link the

foundation of the Filipino concept of God. The Filipino God is a father-figure,

a provider, and a protector. The totem, being the hereditary ancestor of the

entire clan, is also the father-figure, provider, and protector for the tribe. The

primitive people Freud studied looked up to their totem for agricultural

prosperity by attributing to it the control of weather and natural disasters. In

the same way, the totem is believed to be the primary force behind military

success as manifested by the use of the totem symbol as the coat-of-arms of

armies.

The Filipino God is also remote, and that means that it is

unapproachable. This inapproachability of God perfectly reflects the taboo that

47

the sacred/profane dichotomy incurs to whatever possesses it. Direct

communication with God is taboo for the Filipino, and this brought about the

need for intercessors. This could be attributed to the social stratification

resulting from the Filipino sakop mentality which draws lines of demarcation

between social classes. The elites are therefore not accessible to the masses

other than through intermediaries. For the Filipino, God, like the socio-

economic elites, is in a different sphere and does not have a persona that they

could relate to/with.

The spirits of the saints and dead relatives, therefore, are in a parallel

position to the Filipino middle classes who have access to the elites by virtue of

their educational attainment or socio-political achievement. They are not taboo

from both approaching the elite and mingling with the common people. (See

figure below) The sacred/profane dichotomy is therefore offset by their

educational attainment and social achievents.

As discussed in Totem and Taboo, communication with the totem and the

imposition of taboo are exclusive tasks of priests. In a way, they are accorded

the status of saints and it is presumed that they embody the will of the totem.

In Roman Catholic practice, priests are accorded the same status. Catholic

48

theology imposes upon its flock the dogma that the priest, whenever he

celebrates the Mass or conducts confession, is endowed with the powers of

Christ in exercising his ministerial duties of celebrating the Eucharist and

absolving sins. This reflects the principle under the totemic system that taboo is

transmissible. But this transmissibility of taboo does not just end there. It is

also present in the other Filipino religious rituals under this thesis, the

discussion of which would commence on the later subchapter that would be

focusing on taboo.

Then again, this thesis would, for this subchapter, focus on the traces of

totemism in specific Filipino religious rituals discussed in the previous chapter,

one of which involves the link between the veneration of saints and the act of

devouring the sacrificial totem.

Feasting on the Totem Meal

It is probably the Filipino fiesta that best depicts the ceremonial meal

concept of the totemic system. The fiesta is celebrated on the death anniversary

of the patron saint of a town (or any local unit). A patron saint is a saint

imposed on the locals by the Church. Usually, the patron saint assigned to a

certain local unit is dependent on the type of community that the local unit has.

For example, an agricultural town as a rule has San Isidro Labrador, the farmer,

as patron saint. Whenever the death anniversary of the patron saint comes, the

entire community holds elaborate celebrations. The church is decorated, the

public park is filled with people, programs and concerts are initiated, families

conduct reunions, bands march around town, and banderitas are seen hanging

everywhere. Every sector of society plays its part.

But above all of the pandemonium that accompanies the fiesta, its most

important aspect would have to be food. Fiesta has been synonymous with

49

lavishness when it comes to food. Every house opens its doors for visitors,

both known and unknown. The food aspect, when connected to the core idea

of the celebration of fiesta, perfectly reflects the ceremonial meal offered by

primitive men in the name of their totem. The death of the totem is the central

idea behind the offering of a totem meal wherein the entire community

partakes of the meat of their totem animal. Feasting on all sorts of food to

honor the patron saint, the local unit’s totem, is the focal point in the

celebration of the fiesta.

A Totem Pole: the Nazarene of Quiapo

If the fiesta presented the ceremonial meal aspect of totemism, then the

devotion to the Nazarene of Quiapo presents the other aspect of totemism—

the suffering of the totem.

The bloodied body of a dark-skinned Jesus carrying a wooden cross is a

perfect picture of the totem ready for the sacrificial offering. The spectacle that

occurs every January 9th and every Holy Monday, which attracts at least a

million devotees every year, is the manifestation Filipino totemism, and as

shown by the other “superstitious” practices that the Filipino devotee includes

in the profession of his belief in the Nazarene, all that could be concluded is

that the Filipino, from the words of Bulatao, is still an animist.

The parallelism between the totem of Freud and the Quiapo Nazarene is

highlighted by the fact that the Nazarene is an image of suffering, and his pain

is the basis for his exaltation. The wounds on the statue are the source of its

power over the multitude of devotees. The anguish on the face of the bloodied

image fuels the devotees to walk the excruciating procession amidst the unruly

crowd that sees nothing else but the statue that each of them targets to touch.

50

Touch is a key element of totemism, as it is through touch that taboo is

passed. Apparently, touch is also a key element in the Quiapo Nazarene

devotion, as mere touching of the image is believed to bring cure to whatever

physical or even financial burden a devotee has. The Nazarene is therefore the

totem pole of the devotees, and the taboo that the statue projects finds no

other realization than in the taboo that arises out of the totem of the primitive

man.

The Epic Road to Totemhood

The suffering of Christ is not confined to the Nazarene devotion

though. The suffering of Christ is apparent in every tradition instituted by the

Catholic Church—most notable of which is the Lenten observance of Christ’s

passion, death, and purported resurrection.

Roman Catholics around the world commemorate the passion of Jesus

through the observance of the Lenten season. For the Catholic, it is a season of

repentance and reconciliation with God. The forty days covered by Lent starts

from the Wednesday forty days before Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is set on

the Sunday following the Jewish commemoration of the Passover. On every

Friday in the entire duration of Lent, all Catholics are prohibited from eating

meat from livestock such as swine, poultry, and cattle. They are also required to

drop one whole meal in a day, also for the entire duration of Lent. The

reasoning behind these is that it is through these abstinences that a Catholic

shares with the suffering that Jesus went through.

To culminate the Lenten season is the Holy Week. It starts with Palm

Sunday, the feast of the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem.31 When Jesus

31 Prior to his entry to the city, Jesus’ apostles forewarned him that a plot was in the making to

implicate him into a conspiracy to commit rebellion against the Roman authorities. Jesus ignored the warning and entered Jerusalem where jubilant people welcomed him. The people

51

entered the city, the crowd waved palm leaves in his honor and laid blankets on

his path. The Catholic Church in the Philippines celebrates this event using the

palaspas, a handcrafted object made of palm leaves. After the palaspas is blessed

at the Palm Sunday Mass, it is taken home and kept or displayed in the house.

Most of the time, it is displayed at a conspicuous place or near windows and

doors due to the belief that it drives off evil spirits, aswangs, and bad luck. The

palaspas is therefore tabooed and accorded totemic power based on the premise

that it was blessed at the commemoration of Christ’s entry to Jerusalem and at

the same time to “welcome” the Holy Week.

On Holy Monday, the Quiapo of Nazarene is brought out for

procession. Similar to the mayhem on its feast day on January 9, the devotees

of the Nazarene once again flood the streets of Manila to join the procession

and touch the statue or even just the rope of its carriage. Again, the totem pole

manifests its power!

Maundy Thursday is a national holiday in the Philippines. This day

marks the day Jesus ate his last supper and instructed his apostles to continue

the tradition of the Eucharist. A dramatic scene would commence in the

church during the Last Supper Mass. There would be a reenactment of the Last

Supper, and the priest would wash and kiss the feet of twelve people playing

the role of Christ’s apostles. Eucharistic celebration on this day should be

regarded as the most solemn, as this day marks the day Christ first instructed

his apostles to continue the ritual until his “return.” (The discussion on the

presence of totemism in the Eucharist would be discussed on a separate

subchapter.) The solemn Maundy Thursday ceremony is a universal practice in

the Catholic Church, yet Filipino culture is still prevalent in this ritual as

were thinking that Jesus was to liberate them from Roman bondage before the Passover feast was over. Their expectations were failed when Jesus was arrested four days later. Frustrated, the people called for his execution for blaspheming about being Messiah.

52

manifested by the grin on the face of teens while watching the priest kiss the

foot of complete strangers.

The next day is a day of mourning. This statement does not only apply

to religious people though, as the entire community is indeed in a state of

mourning on Good Friday. Also a holiday in the Philippines, Good Friday

marks a day when traffic is light, people are nice, and stomachs are empty. This

day of sorrow and fasting continues until Black Saturday and ends on the

Easter vigil and Salubong of Easter Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection from

the dead.

There is no doubt that totemism is prevalent in the said religious

practices. However, the one that attracts more attention than any of those

numerous Church activities is the Good Friday penitensya. In any local

community, one would never fail to encounter someone who practices this

Filipinized Holy Week ritual. The penitentes inflict pain upon themselves by

whipping their back under the scorching heat of the sun. They usually do it in

groups and walk around town barefooted wearing crown of thorns. In some

instances, they would invite people on the road to join them. Usually, the

penitentes culminate their procession in a plaza where some of them are crucified

(although the nails they use are sterilized prior to their crucifixion). The

spectacle is a usual tourist attraction.

In a study done under the auspices of Mercado, Fr. Benjamin Bacciera

tried to extract the motives and emotions of the penitentes of Palo, Leyte.32 The

penitentes of Palo are unique among the penitentes of other places as they do their

rites wearing robes and hoods similar to the ones used by the Ku Klux Klan.

At the conclusion of Bacciera’s study, the unanimous answer of those asked for

32

This study formed part of the extensive studies done by the Pambansang Samahan sa

Sikolohiyang Pilipino, which was later published by the Divine Word Seminary

Publication through Fr. Leonardo Mercado.

53

their motives in undergoing such rites is “to do penance for their sins and

failures of the entire year.”33 It became apparent that the penitentes do such acts

to clean themselves of their shortcomings for an entire year. This gives the

impression that an entire year’s accumulation of misgivings could be offset by a

day’s worth of self-flagellation.

According to the interviewees, the main emotion behind their sacrifice is

fear of punishment from God. Though it happens just once a year, the devotee

feels that his Good Friday ritual is enough for his year-long string of sins to be

absolved. His fear for the year ends in a day of sacrifice. This reflects the

primitive man’s fear of his totem. The primitive man believes that his totem

watches his actions and could inflict punishment upon him should he defy

prohibitions. The most significant prohibition under the totemic system is the

prohibition against incest, and the representation of the totem applied to clans

and phratries (as discussed in Chapter 2) best imposes this prohibition.

Another element of totemism that could be seen in the penitentes is their

imitation of the experience that Jesus Christ endured. Their desire to be in

solidarity with Christ by undergoing the pain of his passion towards the cross is

similar to the primitive man’s ritual in sacrificial totem ceremonies. Primitive

people mimic the acts of their totem, and it is only on rare and special

occasions that they do such tabooed acts. In the same way, the penitentes do

such acts of penance, which includes imitating Christ, on the very special day of

Good Friday. This once-a-year event puts them in the same situation Christ

went through the day he was executed. It is amusing to say that these penitentes,

most of which are self-confessed non-practicing Christians and menaces to

society, return to God on a single day—a day when they carry the same cross

and same burden that Jesus Christ, their totem, carried.

33

Bacciera, Benjamin. “Religious Experiences in Palo Lenten Observances.” Filipino Religious

Psychology. 79.

54

The Totem Meal!

So far, this thesis work has tried to establish the notion that Jesus Christ

is the primary totem of Christendom; we say “primary” because Filipino

Christianism has had a great number of totem images which makes it

impossible to place on Jesus the exclusive status of being totem. In trying to

present Jesus as the totem of Filipino Christianity, the researcher finds one

specific component of Filipino Catholic religiosity that best places Jesus on the

totem pole. It is none other than the Eucharist.

The celebration of the Eucharist is a universal Christian ritual which is

not even exclusive within the Catholic Church. However, there are certain

aspects which make the Filipino Eucharist distinctive. Mercado gave four

natures of the Eucharist34 upon which this thesis work would base the assertion

that Jesus is being portrayed by the Eucharist as the totem of Christianity.

The first characteristic of the Eucharist is that it is a meal. Early Filipinos

celebrate meals in honor of their dead, and the primitive aborigines of Freud’s

study honor their totem through sacrificial meals. It is the Eucharist, above all

Catholic rituals, that perfectly presents the totemic ceremonial meal of the

primitive man. For the Filipino, the Eucharist is the fellowship meal by which

he could be in communion with others. The importance that the Filipino

accords the act of eating is reflective of the value of the Eucharist for his

spiritual life. If the Filipino expresses his love for food through the fiesta, it is

through the Eucharist that he expresses his love for the soul. The Eucharist,

therefore, is the ceremonial meal in honor of the totem who embodies the

salvation of the Filipino Catholic’s soul.

34

Mercado. Elements. 184.

55

Another nature of the Eucharist which highlights the parallelism

between its Filipino form and the totemic system is its concretization of the

concept of the sakop or subject. In the totemic system, each member of the

tribe is bound to the group by the totem. The totem serves as a figurehead

upon which every individual attributes the essence of his existence. In the

Eucharist, Christ serves as the body (even literally) that binds the people

together. Partaking of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist makes one

feel solidarity not just with Christ, but also with his fellow believers. In the

same way, the primitive man feels solidarity with his totem ancestor and other

members of his tribe through the ceremonial totem meal.

A unique ritual practiced by Filipinos even before the colonizers arrived,

the sanduguan (blood compact) is also one aspect that the Eucharist has acquired

when it was inculturated by the Filipinos. As a sign of brotherhood, pre-

colonial Filipinos sealed pacts through the sanduguan. Through the Eucharist,

Christ’s body and blood serves as the new instrument of sanduguan through

which a believer seals his pact of solidarity with his God. The totem meal, on

the part of the primitive man, serves as the sanduguan which seals the

regulations setting the prohibitions in their society.

The last attribute of the Eucharist echoing totemism in the Filipino

setting is that it indicates sacrifice. The blood of the primal ancestor has to be

sacrificed for him to become totem. For ethnic Filipinos, sacrificing blood is

necessary in every ritual, such as when blood is spilled on a new house to drive

away evil spirits. When the Filipino was Christianized, Christ’s blood became

the sacrificial blood that took the place of his previous pagan sacrifices.

Sacrifice thus evolved from its pagan roots to its present Catholic form. This

element presents the necessity of sacrifice in every religious undertaking, and as

56

the concept of sacrifice resurfaces on Filipino religiosity through the Catholic

Eucharist, traces of totemism just become clearer.

THE RISE OF THE TABOO

The more manifest totemism becomes in Filipino religiosity, the more

does its consequence. Taboo is an essential element of the totemic system, and

it is due to this that this thesis would never discount its relevance in the

establishment of the Filipino religious identity. To be able to grasp the extent

by which taboo has resulted from the development of the Filipino religiosity

through totemism, the researcher considered it necessary to identify certain

taboo aspects of the religious practices discussed earlier to be able to emphasize

that taboo is necessary in the institutionalization of any religious conviction.

The Dependence of Religion on Taboo

In establishing any organized religion, there is a need to concretize the

power relations between the believers and the object of the faith. Doing this

warrants the imposition of rules and regulations binding upon every member.

The most efficient way of instituting such rules is through the imposition of

taboos. As this thesis has presented in the second chapter, taboo arises out of

the totemic system of fear based on deliberate adherence and not on coercion.

The method by which the totemic system induces voluntary cooperation from

its adherents has been clearly shown by how incest dread resulted from the

totem clan system. In this light, this thesis moves on to present how Roman

Catholicism in the Philippines has utilized totemic fear to institute taboo

prohibitions which induced voluntary adherence from the Filipino believer.

The Sacred

57

It has been repeatedly mentioned in earlier parts of this thesis how God,

the saints, the spirits, and the dead possessed taboo of different magnitudes. It

would not be a burden for this chapter to repeat the discussions done in the

previous chapters by elucidating on the taboo of these higher beings. However,

this segment would present how taboo became an instrument of control

through which the Filipino Catholic was brought into submission.

The Black Nazarene of Quiapo is the perfect manifestation of this

sacred submission, as the taboo it possesses simply astounds the outsider. The

way by which hundreds of thousands of people struggle to be able to touch of

the statue reflects the degree of taboo that it possesses.

The primary element in the taboo of the Nazarene is the pain that the

image projects upon the Filipino believer. The appearance of the statue

suggests extreme pain, and the resulting taboo is sacredness. The pain on the

face of the Nazarene impresses upon the devotee a sense of association. The

devotee associates his personal grief in life with the grief of Jesus, and this

solidarity links him with the Nazarene, thus resulting to a degree of affinity that

brings about desire on the devotee to take part in the predicament of Jesus by

physically touching the image. This is where taboo (as discussed in Chapter 2)

arises.

This taboo is projected by the devotees’ belief that touching the statue

would result to healing, and that this healing attribute is transmissible through

towels wiped on any part of the statue. Even the rope tied to the carriage of the

statue is considered to be taboo, as devotees who fail to get near the statue to

be able to throw a towel on it would make do with touching the rope. The

sacrifice by which a million devotees are willing to go through is the result of

the taboo arising out of the image of sacrifice emanating from the Nazarene.

The image of sacrifice begets devotion, and devotion results to deification. The

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taboo that this projects is the complete opposite of the taboo arising out of

dreaded objects as manifested by the taboo on eating meat on Lenten Fridays.

The Profane

The other face of taboo is the profane. What is not prohibited because

of sacredness is prohibited due to profanity. In the previously discussed

components of Filipino religiosity, the practice of fasting and abstinence during

the Lenten season ideally presents the idea of the profane. As discussed earlier,

Catholics are prohibited from eating meat on Fridays during the entire duration

of the Lenten season. At the same time, they are also required to skip one

whole meal every day during the said period. This taboo arose out of the idea

that Christ’s suffering for his people was too much that Christians ought to

make up for the pain that he had endured. The taboo was based on the

sacrifice of Jesus, and the commemoration of his death during the Lenten

season in effect tabooed indulgence in full meals and meat.

The dualism between the sacred and the profane is once again presented

on a clearer light by the taboo that arose out of the said Filipino religious

rituals. It is therefore necessary to look into taboo not just as a mere contingent

element of religious institutions, as its role in the perpetuation of a religious

practice is something that could not be simply set aside. It is indeed true that

taboo arises out of totemic fear, but once taboo is removed, the totemic fear

itself would have no sense at all because a base with nothing on it has no use

being a base after all.

CONDEMNED?

The dualism between the sacred and the profane is the basis for the rise

of the concept of the taboo in Filipino religiosity. However, the argument in

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the third chapter of this thesis that the Filipino sees his universe in a non-

dualist light poses a contradiction between the mindset of the Filipino and the

resulting religiosity that this thesis is trying to propose. There seems.

The fact of the matter is that the present Filipino religiosity is the by-

product of the interaction among forces that have tried to instill different

versions of religious truth in the mind of the Filipino. The non-dualist mindset

of the Filipino sought to harmonize these forces through deconstructing the

opposing sides and trying to patch the differences up. However, in the course

of his quest to harmonize the concepts laid before him, he realized that the

irreconcilability between the sacred and the profane is actually the harmony

that he was looking for.

The task of the Filipino thinker, therefore, is to formulate harmony out

of irreconcilability by treating opposing forces as sides of a magnet. Opposites

attract, so they say. The irreconcilable concepts thus attract every opposing

force, and the pile-up results into the genuine Filipino religious identity which

is always on its formative stage. It is always on its formative stage because it

repels no contradicting force, and finality is something that it is condemned not

to ever achieve.

Should the Church employ methods to be able to achieve such actuality,

it would face several obstacles which are deeply embedded into the

subconscious mind of the Filipino. As this thesis has presented, Filipino

religious identity is founded on unstable ground, and to be able to reconstruct

it, there would be a need to pull it out of its present foundation. There would

be a need to uproot the foundation of these religious rituals for the Church to

succeed in avoiding the self-destruction that Filipino religion’s continuous

formative stage would eventually bring about. And that is a risk.

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The fate of the faith thus lies in the hands of both the lay and the clergy,

for the Church does not merely exist as a body of close-minded prelates or a

band of blind followers. There is a need for the clothed men to do away with

their ritualistic distance from the faithful should they desire to move away from

the rock-solid fundamentalism of religious institutions, particularly the Catholic

Church hierarchy. The Filipino religious identity should therefore free itself

from the cultural merger of colonialism, modernism, and the human

subconscious ties with the totem image. However, the task does not seem

feasible considering the complexity of the interrelation between the individual

psyche and the influence of society. An impossible task it seems, if seen from

the perspective of the average Filipino.

The Filipino thinker is therefore left with the gargantuan task of

reconstructing his faith to be able to build it on a more solid ground. But how

could the Filipino reconstruct his faith if this faith is still in its formative stage?

He is left with no other choice but to gamble. The Filipino thinker is left to risk

deconstructing his religious rituals to open up for new possibilities by which he

would establish a better religious identity. He should abandon a faith that is

condemned to be ever formative, with actuality a contradiction of its very

existence.

The Filipino religious identity is therefore a totem pole made up of

vertically arranged totem statues. It grows in height whenever a new totem is

placed on top of the previous topmost totem. No totem really gets toppled

down in the process; they just pile up until the totem pole reaches an

intolerable height. Unless the church acts to consolidate its religious truths into

an unswerving and cohesive whole, a day would come that the imbalance

would eventually cause its collapse and bury the formative Filipino religious

identity into oblivion.

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It is therefore nothing less than paradoxical to state that the more

complex and developed the Filipino religious identity becomes, the farther it

gets to the truth—and the closer it gets to its demise.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This thesis paper is a result of the hard work and sacrifice not just of the

researcher, but also of other people who contributed to its successful

conceptualization, drafting, data-gathering, and eventual finalization.

I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Professor R.Rafael

Dolor, chair of the Department of Philosophy and Human Resource

Development, for playing a major role in the conceptualization of the topic of

this thesis.

Also, this thesis was partly made possible by The Bedan, the official

student publication of the College of Arts and Sciences. The hours I spent

away from my personal computer at home was made productive by the

resources of the said publication, and I could not give anything else to express

my appreciation for the publication except for my devoted service to its cause

by being an exemplary writer and editor.

Of course, an archival thesis work such as this could not be made

possible without the service of the College Library. Although the head

librarian has been most critical to us senior Philosophy majors, we could never

discount the fact that the accommodating privileges that were given to us were

of great value to the completion of this thesis work.

To Professor Maxwell Felicilda, who has taught me that humility is a

far more reliable virtue than confidence, I offer my thanks. Without him I

would not have realized that utmost dedication for the cause of this thesis work

is not enough to make it free from both structural and substantive flaws. Sir, I

would like to express my apology for my arrogance during the defense of this

thesis, and I humbly accept the fact that my confidence and dedication for the

cause of this thesis blinded me from seeing the right path to its perfection.

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Also, Professor Daxter Beley has been more than instrumental in the

finalization of this thesis work. He has not only shown his concern for the

technical betterment of this thesis work, but has been an inspiration for me in

the quest for philosophical enlightenment.

Lastly, the four years I spent in San Beda College as a Philosophy major

could not have been as worthwhile as it could be without the tutelage of

Professor Jose Ma. Arcadio Malbarosa. As our mentor, he has molded our

batch into the rational and astute critical thinkers that we have become. For his

role both as a professor and as a father-figure for this batch of Philosophy

majors, the only way by which we could proudly express our indebtedness is by

saying that, “Sir, we have not been miserable!”

JC Sadian March 18, 2005

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REFERENCES

Bacciera, Benjamin. “Religious Experiences in the Palo Lenten Observances.”

Filipino Religious Psychology. ed. Leonardo Mercado.

Badcock, Christopher. Essential Freud. Worchester, 1988.

Freud, Sigmund. Moses and Monotheism. Amsterdam, 1939.

Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. Vienna, 1913.

Grubrich-Simitis, Ilse. Early Freud and Late Freud. London, 1997.

Jacob, Wilfredis. “Religious Experience in the Quiapo Nazarene Devotion.”

Filipino Religious Psychology. ed. Leonardo Mercado. Tacloban, 1977.

Lehrer, Ronald. Nietzsche’s Presence in Freud’s Life and Thought. New York, 1995.

Mercado, Leonardo. Elements of Filipino Theology. Tacloban, 1975.

Mercado, Leonardo. Filipino Religious Psychology. Tacloban, 1977.

Mercado, Leonardo. Inculturation and Filipino Theology. Manila, 1982.