Bayluhan

Annually Obando town in Bulacan honors 3 saints. Santa Clara, (the more famous of the three), La Birhen de Salambao and San Pascual Baylon (the Patron Saint of the Franciscans). Each saint has a feast day set aside where they are moved in a procession accompanied by dancing through the narrow streets of the town. The women devotee-dancers are dressed in bright baro’t-saya or balintawak with matching flowered hat, waving buri fans whichare similarly decorated with flowers and colorful ribbons. Men sports camisa de chinos of old, while others use contemporary flowered shirts. Each saintis prayed to for one favor or another; Santa Clara for a female mate,

San Pascual for a male and the Birhen de Salambao for a child. Different saints for different favors cause devotees to pray to a different saint for a different favor in merry mix-up confusion. The sure-fire solution was to pray to all three in one kneeling. In fact, Santa Clara is always misadvertently approached by barren couples for a child .

The Obando triumvirate holds such strong swey on their devotees that dances of fertility and for other intentions were popularized. People from far and near come to pray, dance, make merry and get high.This feeling of highness is what is brought back home and shared with families and townmates. In Malabon and Navotas devotees who missed performing their annual pilgrimage to Obando await with great eagerness the return of their townmates from Obando. A brass band or the unique musikong bungbong (bamboo orchestra) provide welcome music playing the familiar “”Santa Clarang Pinung-pino”” tune and other popular 3/4 time pieces to which the devotees swing and swey lining up in a procession while carrying standartes or large cloth frames with pictures of saints. Their intention is to duplicate Obando’s magical enchantment and the high that the devotees achieve. Dance for San Pascual Baylon…..Mag-BAYLUHAN tayo.”””