By Leslie Ann Aquino

Devotees pushing and shoving each other to get near the "andas" (carriage) of the Black Nazarene or touch the rope pulling it are a common sight during the "traslacion" or procession of the image.

Some who want to get a piece of the rope go to the extent of cutting it with their own teeth.

But do you know that you can actually ask for the strands of the rope?

Father Douglas Badong, parochial vicar of the Minor Basilica of the Nazarene, said that since the ropes used in past traslacion are just being kept at Quiapo Church, he decided to place the strands in small plastics and give it to those who ask for it.

FILE PHOTO: Devotees struggle to get near the image of the Black Nazarene during its thanksgiving procession in Quiapo, Manila, on Sunday. Several people were reportedly injured in what is considered as a preview of the bigger procession on January 9, the fiesta of Quiapo. (Ali Vicoy/MANILA BULLETIN)

"It's (rope) just there. So, I said if you really want a piece of the rope I can give you after the procession. I already prepared it. I placed it inside a plastic so it will be presentable," he said in an interview at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where he presided a special Mass for "Traslacion" volunteers today.

"Others bite it just to get a strand. I tell them to just ask (for strands)," added Badong.

He said some devotees try to get a strand of the rope due to the superstitious belief that it will bring them luck.

"They believe it will bring them luck that's why you will see there are cuts in the rope," Badong said.

According to the priest, the rope used to pull the "andas" is being changed yearly as it cannot be reused.

"We use new ropes every year because the old ones already got wet due to perspiration," he said.

"Some devotees hold the rope to whisper their prayer," added Badong.

Not idolatry

While some critics say such act may already be bordering in idolatry, a former rector of Quiapo Church said it’s simply an expression of one’s faith or devotion, especially since Filipinos are a people of “the concrete.”

“Our expressions are expressed ‘in the concrete.’ This is an Asian trait. 'Christ was Asian!' according to one of the statements affirmed by the International Gathering of Asian Shrine Rectors,” Msgr. Clemente Ignacio said in an article posted on the Quiapo Church website www.quiapochurch.com.

He said it is a Filipino trait to want to wipe, touch, kiss, or embrace sacred objects, if possible because Filipinos believe in the presence of the Divine in sacred objects and places.

“The people want to be connected to the Divine, be it through the lining up for the “pahalik” (kissing of the image); or holding on to the vestments of the Nazareno after the pabihis; or to be able to touch the rope and put it on their shoulders - this is a way of expressing one’s faith. It is an expression of their devotion,” Ignacio said.

“We all know we don’t worship statues. We worship God and if these statues would ‘bridge us to God,’ then we want to connect with God using these statues,” he added.

Kissing or holding on to the statues is not worshiping statues, Ignacio said, it is connecting to the divine, to touch and be touched by heaven itself.