These coloured candles, sold beside a church, correspond to specific wishes and offerings. Whether these are sanctioned or not, the business of religion still thrives and provides the faithful an alternative form of devotion. Even the vendor’s shirt is up to the occasion.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
A close-up of the lid of the Manunggul Jar, a funerary pot, reveals a design depicting sea waves. Interesting is the boat that caps the lid. The figure at the bow is the dead soul while the figure at the stern is the boatman. Belief in the journey to the afterlife has long influenced the culture and ways of living of early ancestors.
Photo by I.R. Arenas
With the Philippines having a predominantly Catholic population, seeing a sculpture or an image of a saint, like the Santo Niño, is commonplace. This one is in a church park, though.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
Maybe some people do crazy things regardless of where they are. Thus, this reminder.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
People line up to touch and pray at the statue of the reposing Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church, Manila.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
These children mould balls of wax from candle residue. Churches and shrines like the Grotto Shrine in Bulacan, produce a lot of candle residue as devotees offer their prayers during Lent.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
A devotee hears Mass with her cat in a church in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
Most Filipinos are conservatively and ristualistically religious. Here, a mother celebrates Palm Sunday with her child in San José Church in Bulacan, an image of a secular Madonna and Child.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
This is an iconic representation of the Christ inside the Quiapo Church. The stream of light illuminates the area from above and seems to extend to the rays of light in the painting.
Photo by Wata Dugayo
Visual Tales 