#sinulogbula

[malipayongnicole-blog]

SINULOG, 2019

(VSCO Preset: A6)

January 15, 2019 - Barangay Bula, General Santos City

One of the most attended annual event of General Santos City is the Sto. Niño de Bula Patronal Fiesta, celebrating its 41st year. Annually, the Sinulog Festival has an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 attendees.

The word Sinulog comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog which roughly means "like water current movement;" it describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. 

According to historical accounts, the Cebu natives already danced the Sinulog in honor of their animist idols long before the arrival of Magellan who led a Spanish expedition on April 7, 1521. Magellan did not live long after he introduced Christianity. He died in a failed assault on nearby Mactan island at the hands of a local chieftain named Lapu-Lapu.

Survivors of Magellan's expedition left behind the image to be discovered 44 years later.

The expedition led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi bombarded the native settlement when they arrived on April 28, 1565. In one of the burning huts, one of Legazpi's men, Juan Camus, discovered the image of the Santo Niño inside a wooden box beside other idols. This time however, Legazpi discovered that the natives already dance the Sinulog honoring the Santo Niño.

Today, the residents of Barangay Bula and the fishing industry celebrate Sinulog as a thanksgiving to the patron saint for the bountiful harvest. Devotees attend the early mass, followed by the procession of the Sto. Niño on the amphibian. The amphibian then follows its route until the Sto. Niño is handed safely on a ship in the sea where the fluvial parade begins. The Sto. Niño is given back to the amphibian as it heads back to land where the devotees greet the Sto. Niño. The Sto. Niño heads back to the parish church as another procession starts and street dancers show off their dance.