00:00At 4 in the morning in Siquijor, is this really a cult?
00:22Here in Barangay Tacloban, in the province of Siquijor,
00:25someone is praying at 4 in the morning.
00:31Some believe that this is a cult.
00:37This was witnessed by the tourist, Sibin.
00:40I was invited by a friend to go to Siquijor for an island tour.
00:47I joined because I also wanted to unwind.
00:52When they arrived at their accommodation,
00:55he planned to jog in the morning.
00:58There, I noticed that there were old women
01:01with candles, crosses, and saints.
01:07When he saw this, his hair stood up.
01:10But what did Sibin see?
01:12Is this really a cult?
01:17To answer the curiosity of our wanderer,
01:20we headed to Siquijor and went to the barangay
01:23where the white people are having a procession.
01:26This is Barangay Tacloban.
01:29The I-Wander team wandered around the barangay
01:32until we met one of the participants in the procession,
01:36Francisca.
01:37But when Francisca clarified,
01:39she said that this is not a cult.
01:42During our time, we also used to pray there.
01:45In our barangay, the people here are joyful and happy.
01:51But for other people,
01:53just like the foreigners,
01:55who do not know what we are doing,
01:58they will say that this is a cult.
02:01But this is not a cult.
02:16The Don Rosary procession started in 1993
02:21under the leadership of our Lady of Fatima.
02:26The Don Rosary procession is often done by Catholics
02:33as a sign of devotion to the Blessed Mother,
02:37to Our Lady of Fatima,
02:39because this is one of the messages
02:42that she conveyed to her children.
02:45There is a sense of sacrifice because you wake up earlier.
02:48Holy Mary, Mother of God ...
02:51They do the procession every four o'clock in the morning,
02:54from Monday to Friday, and whenever there is an occasion.
02:57In our Don Rosary, we only wear a normal dress.
03:01We only wear a Sunday dress.
03:04It's not white.
03:06Maybe because the surroundings are dark
03:08and you can see it from a distance,
03:10others think it's white.
03:13We have a mindset when we say cult.
03:17That the cults should wear veils,
03:19that the cults should have candles,
03:22that they should walk around at night,
03:24that they should only pray.
03:25So we have that assumption.
03:28As time goes by,
03:30this tradition of Catholics in Siquijor
03:33is slowly disappearing from their place.
03:36There were many of us back then,
03:38but the reason why we are the only ones living
03:42is because others are old,
03:44some are no longer able to walk,
03:46some are already dead.
03:51After the procession,
03:52the devotees go straight to the church for the mass.
03:56Sometimes, even male devotees come here,
04:00like Luis, a tourism officer.
04:03I became a bit inactive.
04:05And then I thought,
04:07when there was a post on social media about the Don Rosary,
04:11instead of,
04:13I was a bit curious,
04:16so I joined again.
04:20That is why today,
04:21Luis will return to his work
04:23and will once again show his love and devotion
04:26to Virgin Mary of Fatima.
04:29But to those who did not expect,
04:31that morning, the weather changed
04:34and it suddenly rained.
04:36That is why they decided to pray inside the chapel
04:39of the Mother of Perpetual Health.
04:43Devotees, do not be afraid of us
04:45if you see us on the streets,
04:47because we are praying for all of us
04:50to be saved from disasters,
04:53for our places to be clear.
04:55That is our only concern with the Don Rosary.
04:58We do not have a cult,
05:00so do not be afraid,
05:01because we are all humans,
05:03we are all with you.
05:06We showed Vince the explanation of this by Francisca.
05:10I realized that we should not believe in pictures and videos.
05:15And based on what I saw in the interview,
05:18there is really no cult here in Siquijor.
05:23For Francisca,
05:24who continues the Don Rosary procession in Siquijor,
05:28it is good to know the complete story
05:31behind every step.
05:35www.donrosary.org
Comments