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

Abstract

Objects of faith in various parts of the world draw visitors of all denominations, for different reasons. This paper studies the polysemic behaviour of people going to Quiapo Church in Manila, the Philippines. In particular, it focuses on the mammoth processions participated in by tens of thousands in a show of devotional fervour. In the conclusion, I tease out and summarise this aesthetic experience of devotion capturing the embodied values as annotated by the pilgrims. The three embodied values are a sense of personal miracle, a need to reciprocate, and a sense of community with and through this wooden image of the Black Nazarene with fellow devotees. This pilgrimage represents a radical levelling of social classes for the duration of a person�s participation in the ritual.

Keywords

• pilgrims
• aesthetics
• experience
• faith
• philippines
• quiapo