Have you ever gone to a “Holy Mountain” in the Philippines? Considered as a sacred place, Mt Banahaw which is located on the boundary of Majayjay, Laguna and Lucban, Quezon, serves as a pilgrimage site for Filipino people where “holy water” is believed to heal illness.
What is something special about this place that I want to share with you? When I went here together with my classmates in Kasaysayan 1 ( Philippine History) for our Field Trip under the supervision of our professor Mr. Jely Galang, we all enjoyed this very historical and religious place and so I concluded that indeed, it is really one of the places in our country that every Filipino should not miss. The first thing we did was a kind of hiking and mountain climbing. Well, I expected this thing since this place is very popular not just to religious people but also to mountain climbers. Well, it was quite a more challenging experience because it rained. There is a belief that once people there are too noisy, it rains so I think we created a lot of noise when we were there. We visited every popular spot in that place. What I recall most is the Cave they call as “Husgado”. People believe that we can quantify our sins by passing through the tunnel-like of that cave. Once you get out of that cave without wound, then you are not a sinful person and so it goes that if you get more and more wounds you are a very sinful person. There were some I knew who had wounds after passing through that cave. It was just so satisfying that I was able to get out of that cave without wound although I accidentally hit my head on the wall. The next spot I enjoyed the most was the waterfalls. Since there is that idea about “holy water”, although I was so tired, I decided to take a bath. The water was so cool, and so refreshing after doing a lot of activities. I was able to swim because there was an area there that the water was quite deep. As a result, I now believe in the “holy water”. Would you believe me if I tell you that before taking a bath to that fall, my asthma attacked and after taking a bath, I felt so well? We have gone also to the spot there where on the wall, if we scrutinize well, there is that shape of a person which people believed to be someone powerful. We lighted candles for it and then on the three wide, flattened stones we wrote our wishes and anything we want to accomplish.
As I have mentioned, Mt. Banahaw is a historical and religious place. Some Filipinos believe that this mountain has its own power not encompassed by God, and they go here and worship during the day that God is believed to have passed away because it is the time that this mountain reaches its powerful state. There are a lot of religious sects present here. Have you ever heard of Rizalistas? Well, they are believers that our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal is a God. There is also another sect there composed of women only. We attended their mass and I was just amazed with their church, so colorful, antique-like and the roof had structures of big eagles. Of course each of the groups has regulations but if you are really curious, you can always raise your questions properly. They invite questions, and they will always be willing to entertain and answer your questions to the best of their knowledge. Before we were so curious about each of the sects so when we were given the chance to ask them, we did so that’s why I realized more that it was not just a simple trip—it was a trip in which I was able to load my mind with a lot of information about our history and our ancestor’s legacy as well.
As usual, if we go somewhere else, can we forget the idea of Pasalubong? Well, there are a lot of items you can choose from. They have food like palatable “kakanin” and fruits like rambutan that you can buy at much cheaper price as compared if you are in Manila. You can also buy to take home religious items aside from the pictures you have taken in order to reminisce the happy moments when you are here.
