Sacred Camp
A response to Patrick Alcedo’s Sacred Camp:
Transgendering Faith in a Philippine Festival
Issues concerning gender and sexuality have always been subjects of interest even before I entered college; for me these concerns are not only pressing and important, they are also very personal. As a student I have been interested in topics concerning feminism and gender roles in society and I am also friends with various people from different sexual orientations and backgrounds. You could say that this was one of the main reasons why I decided to pursue sexuality in the arts as a topic for this class, and at the same time why I have also been moved irrevocably by Patrick Alcedo’s writing. Sex and sexuality are subjects that are sure hits in the academe, though I believe it is still quite taboo to openly discuss these things in modern society, especially in a predominantly Christian country.
Before I discuss the content of Alcedo’s reading I would like to give a brief introduction on the author: he is currently on the faculty of a Southeast Asia program in the University of California, Riverside. But most important of all, he relates his subject position as something that is not only academic but personal - he is a dance ethnographer, an Aklanon born and raised in Kalibo where the Ati-Atihan is held annually. With this statement the reader is then somehow assured of legitimacy, accuracy and given the point of view of one who is part of that culture or subject matter. The author writes the paper as if he were merely narrating a story; his words are mostly expressive adjectives, sometimes even bordering on the ornate. I had accompanying images in my head due to his writing, and then I thought ‘wow, this would make an excellent documentary or film’, if it isn’t already. Because of this I managed to enjoy what was written, and I perceived it as an informal essay, but in truth he touched matters that are highly complex and paradoxical. The article was also not written in order; the author would jump from one topic to the next and would oftentimes say words and situations repeatedly. Sacred Camp, therefore, proved to be difficult to discuss because there were so many points I wanted to raise and make people aware of, so I decided to categorize them based on the major ideas that he presented. The all-encompassing idea would be “double sense”, which is the central idea and is distributed in the rest of the article.
One of the paradoxical phenomenons that he presented would be the glorification of the Santo Niño or Holy Child Jesus here in the Philippines. The Ati-Atihan is a festival especially created for him, which is interesting because the official patron saint of Kalibo, Aklan is St. John the Baptist. Here he deftly explains how all facets of Philippine culture and society come together in a single celebration; the local Catholic Church and government fully support this event, and it also attracts many tourists, local and foreign. To me it shows that institutions are closely interrelated, and that different powers are eager to come into play when something that is favoured by many is concerned. What is also vastly unique about the Santo Niño is its recontextualization in Kalibo. There is a transformation of meaning and significance; the Santo Niño has become something or someone that we can call our own, or uniquely Filipino. I say this because according to the old tales, the Santo Niño is a mischievous little boy who likes going out to play, but at the same time he is also the patron of lost causes - which is most likely the reason why he is arguably the most famous of all patron saints in our country. “Double sense” comes into play regarding gender identity, or rather what Patrick Alcedo calls “double-gendering”. He explains that one of the reasons why the Santo Niño is so popular is because he is a child, and it leads to what Filipinos value above anything else-the family. And because the Santo Niño is a child, he is unaware of his own sexuality hence his gender is ambiguous. This makes the Santo Niño an indistinct yet more amenable symbol especially for the people of Kalibo, a response to the gender norms imposed by catholic institutions but at the same time one that is still greatly religious. Truth be told, I was aware of the dominating presence of the Santo Niño but I did not know its importance nor its contradictory nature, which is now intriguing to me. I find it ironic that to imply that Jesus has no gender would be deemed extremely heretical by the Vatican, and yet it is embraced and considered normal to Filipinos. This shows that culture is not homogenous, that the Philippines and even a province like Kalibo, Aklan would have its own multifaceted aspects, something that I wholeheartedly agree with.
Now going to what I consider the “star” of the story or the article: Tay Ausug, an agi. He embodies what is mentioned in the title, Sacred Camp, and the Transgendering of Faith. As mentioned in the article, his panaad or sacred vow to the Santo Niño was that he would dance with all his might every year for the Ati-Atihan festival if he would be cured of his sickness. Tay Ausug was eventually cured, and he stayed true to his panaad; he would join the “prusisyon” as he would call it donning a Bohemian Parisian outfit that glitters and practically shrieks with decoration, a stark contrast to the majority of the Ati-Atihan dancers who fashion themselves as Negritos in the noisiest, most carnivalesque (as the author put it) religious festival of the year.
Now there are many “absurdities” in that narration alone, and I shall start with the concept of Panaad. I believe it is similar to the Panata, in which one prays to or ‘negotiates’ with a certain god or saint for complete devotion in exchange for good health, successful business, etc. What is mighty odd with Tay Ausug’s negotiation is that he chooses to flaunt his sex and become a woman as a sign of penance and devotion to the Santo Niño, whereas logically speaking he should’ve instead converted back to a “normal”, heterosexual lifestyle. This is where I say “only in the Philippines”, not just because we have a history of transgendered figures or the babaylan during the precolonial period, but also with the proliferation of gay beauty pageants and parades and Santa Cruzans that prove to be even more popular than the formal, more “official” ones.
Alcedo explains that the concept of agi is unique to Kalibo. There is a hierarchical distinction set by the people of Kalibo, in which the author mentions that while the bakla are the flirtatious, parlorista types (and is quite derogatory), the agi can be associated with campiness yet it is more fluid in meaning and does not ultimately refer to sexual behavior or social class. This is the power of language and what it signifies; a term is not only made for convenience but it can also indicates aspects of power, class, behavior, and social norms. At this portion I admittedly felt conflicted; even if Tay Ausug can be considered an exemplary example of the third sex who was successful in transforming not only himself but also the significance of the Ati-Atihan and consequently winning over multitudes of people and the Church, somehow it seems that there could be discrimination within groups-or it also goes to show that we cannot totally group the so-called third sex in just one bunch and leave it at that. The same could be said with the male or female sexes. Another aspect of his transformation that gave me conflicting thoughts would be Tay Ausug’s preference to distinguish himself from the rest of the “Negritos” as a showy, feminized Caucasian Other. Frankly I was surprised that the author did not elaborate that idea, but perhaps he was focused on gender and spirituality rather than post-colonial theory. Besides the fact that it has not been totally proven that Filipinos have descended from the Negritos, Tay Ausug’s notion of what is feminine and beautiful rely on Western standards. That is why I couldn’t help but think that even when the author accounts that what makes Tay Ausug so special to the people of Kalibo is that everyone can identify with him for his religious commitment, vagueness, ability to entertain and please his audience and engage his own community, Tay Ausug is also somehow distancing himself from his fellowmen.
“Double sense” does not only end with Tay Ausug’s creation of a ‘third identity’ where he is not woman or man; masculine or bakla. It was also the fact that even with his flamboyant, loud panaad he is not just accepted by the local diocese, he also seriously considers it a sacrifice. It is this fusion of what is sacred and camp; a synthesis that is impossible to comprehend yet does in fact exist that makes Tay Ausug’s position a very extraordinary case. I thought that he would be ridiculed and shunned by the local church for his seemingly blasphemous version of the panaad, but he manages to make his performances and appearance sacred by relating it to the ultimate sacrifice, his own way of cleansing his sins. From what I gather, Tay Ausug still has this notion that being gay is a sin, and but he repents by his transgendered routines. Upon reading this I felt a little bit dismayed and quite confused as to what his intentions really are. Perhaps that is the point, that he is somewhere in the middle. Besides, spiritual fervor has always been a prominent outlook of Filipinos no matter which religious institution a Filipino belongs to.
In the end the author says that it all roots back to the title of the article itself, Sacred Camp, and I share the same views. As mentioned earlier, they are two terms located at opposite ends of the spectrum - sacred as something somber and “decent” and something campy, lurid, and flamboyant - but because of Tay Ausug and Kalibo’s double sense they finally meet at the middle, creating something entirely new yet familiar and ordinary. It is different from Western dualism which emphasizes that the world is black and white, good and evil - in this phenomenon the divisions may be existent but they are blurred. I believe that double sense a very Asian belief; think yin and yang, or Tai Chi, as they all say that two opposites coexist in harmony and are able to transform into each other.
As a conclusion to my essay, I would like to share the reasons why I believe Patrick Alcedo’s article can be considered an important reference to changes and issues that are crucial in current times. One would be the Catholic institution. Even though he does not say it outright, there is a subtle critique of the workings of the church as an institution, especially since he mentions that the church cultivates general notions so that church leaders can remain in positions of power. The author is careful not to criticize Catholicism (being a devotee of the Ati-Atihan himself) but rather the workings and shifts of authority of the church. Furthermore, he discusses the Catholic Church’s stand on hetero-normative upbringing or “family values” as opposed to gay relationships. I believe this is relevant especially with the despair brought about by Proposition 8 in California. Though this incident may seem far away, I think it affects gay and lesbian communities around the world who want to marry and raise their own families even if it is not in a “normal” manner.
Finally, another would be the homogeneity of culture versus the relationship of the individual and the community. As Art Studies majors it would seem that the easiest way to memorize art concepts and ace exams would be to place everything in broad categories. Compartmentalization is also a fatal error made even by people who are supposedly the intellectuals or “superior” to everyday men (just look at our Senate hearings on the telly). Patrick Alcedo features Tay Augus, an example of everything that is bewildering, exciting, and intricate in the Philippines. He is one out of many people, and yet this agi managed to win the hearts of the people of Kalibo and their local diocese. That is truly an impressive feat for an individual. Therefore, one cannot undermine the importance of the Self and its relation to the society, as well as the heterogeneity and idiosyncrasies of each culture and community.
Transgendering Faith in a Philippine Festival
Issues concerning gender and sexuality have always been subjects of interest even before I entered college; for me these concerns are not only pressing and important, they are also very personal. As a student I have been interested in topics concerning feminism and gender roles in society and I am also friends with various people from different sexual orientations and backgrounds. You could say that this was one of the main reasons why I decided to pursue sexuality in the arts as a topic for this class, and at the same time why I have also been moved irrevocably by Patrick Alcedo’s writing. Sex and sexuality are subjects that are sure hits in the academe, though I believe it is still quite taboo to openly discuss these things in modern society, especially in a predominantly Christian country.
Before I discuss the content of Alcedo’s reading I would like to give a brief introduction on the author: he is currently on the faculty of a Southeast Asia program in the University of California, Riverside. But most important of all, he relates his subject position as something that is not only academic but personal - he is a dance ethnographer, an Aklanon born and raised in Kalibo where the Ati-Atihan is held annually. With this statement the reader is then somehow assured of legitimacy, accuracy and given the point of view of one who is part of that culture or subject matter. The author writes the paper as if he were merely narrating a story; his words are mostly expressive adjectives, sometimes even bordering on the ornate. I had accompanying images in my head due to his writing, and then I thought ‘wow, this would make an excellent documentary or film’, if it isn’t already. Because of this I managed to enjoy what was written, and I perceived it as an informal essay, but in truth he touched matters that are highly complex and paradoxical. The article was also not written in order; the author would jump from one topic to the next and would oftentimes say words and situations repeatedly. Sacred Camp, therefore, proved to be difficult to discuss because there were so many points I wanted to raise and make people aware of, so I decided to categorize them based on the major ideas that he presented. The all-encompassing idea would be “double sense”, which is the central idea and is distributed in the rest of the article.
One of the paradoxical phenomenons that he presented would be the glorification of the Santo Niño or Holy Child Jesus here in the Philippines. The Ati-Atihan is a festival especially created for him, which is interesting because the official patron saint of Kalibo, Aklan is St. John the Baptist. Here he deftly explains how all facets of Philippine culture and society come together in a single celebration; the local Catholic Church and government fully support this event, and it also attracts many tourists, local and foreign. To me it shows that institutions are closely interrelated, and that different powers are eager to come into play when something that is favoured by many is concerned. What is also vastly unique about the Santo Niño is its recontextualization in Kalibo. There is a transformation of meaning and significance; the Santo Niño has become something or someone that we can call our own, or uniquely Filipino. I say this because according to the old tales, the Santo Niño is a mischievous little boy who likes going out to play, but at the same time he is also the patron of lost causes - which is most likely the reason why he is arguably the most famous of all patron saints in our country. “Double sense” comes into play regarding gender identity, or rather what Patrick Alcedo calls “double-gendering”. He explains that one of the reasons why the Santo Niño is so popular is because he is a child, and it leads to what Filipinos value above anything else-the family. And because the Santo Niño is a child, he is unaware of his own sexuality hence his gender is ambiguous. This makes the Santo Niño an indistinct yet more amenable symbol especially for the people of Kalibo, a response to the gender norms imposed by catholic institutions but at the same time one that is still greatly religious. Truth be told, I was aware of the dominating presence of the Santo Niño but I did not know its importance nor its contradictory nature, which is now intriguing to me. I find it ironic that to imply that Jesus has no gender would be deemed extremely heretical by the Vatican, and yet it is embraced and considered normal to Filipinos. This shows that culture is not homogenous, that the Philippines and even a province like Kalibo, Aklan would have its own multifaceted aspects, something that I wholeheartedly agree with.
Now going to what I consider the “star” of the story or the article: Tay Ausug, an agi. He embodies what is mentioned in the title, Sacred Camp, and the Transgendering of Faith. As mentioned in the article, his panaad or sacred vow to the Santo Niño was that he would dance with all his might every year for the Ati-Atihan festival if he would be cured of his sickness. Tay Ausug was eventually cured, and he stayed true to his panaad; he would join the “prusisyon” as he would call it donning a Bohemian Parisian outfit that glitters and practically shrieks with decoration, a stark contrast to the majority of the Ati-Atihan dancers who fashion themselves as Negritos in the noisiest, most carnivalesque (as the author put it) religious festival of the year.
Now there are many “absurdities” in that narration alone, and I shall start with the concept of Panaad. I believe it is similar to the Panata, in which one prays to or ‘negotiates’ with a certain god or saint for complete devotion in exchange for good health, successful business, etc. What is mighty odd with Tay Ausug’s negotiation is that he chooses to flaunt his sex and become a woman as a sign of penance and devotion to the Santo Niño, whereas logically speaking he should’ve instead converted back to a “normal”, heterosexual lifestyle. This is where I say “only in the Philippines”, not just because we have a history of transgendered figures or the babaylan during the precolonial period, but also with the proliferation of gay beauty pageants and parades and Santa Cruzans that prove to be even more popular than the formal, more “official” ones.
Alcedo explains that the concept of agi is unique to Kalibo. There is a hierarchical distinction set by the people of Kalibo, in which the author mentions that while the bakla are the flirtatious, parlorista types (and is quite derogatory), the agi can be associated with campiness yet it is more fluid in meaning and does not ultimately refer to sexual behavior or social class. This is the power of language and what it signifies; a term is not only made for convenience but it can also indicates aspects of power, class, behavior, and social norms. At this portion I admittedly felt conflicted; even if Tay Ausug can be considered an exemplary example of the third sex who was successful in transforming not only himself but also the significance of the Ati-Atihan and consequently winning over multitudes of people and the Church, somehow it seems that there could be discrimination within groups-or it also goes to show that we cannot totally group the so-called third sex in just one bunch and leave it at that. The same could be said with the male or female sexes. Another aspect of his transformation that gave me conflicting thoughts would be Tay Ausug’s preference to distinguish himself from the rest of the “Negritos” as a showy, feminized Caucasian Other. Frankly I was surprised that the author did not elaborate that idea, but perhaps he was focused on gender and spirituality rather than post-colonial theory. Besides the fact that it has not been totally proven that Filipinos have descended from the Negritos, Tay Ausug’s notion of what is feminine and beautiful rely on Western standards. That is why I couldn’t help but think that even when the author accounts that what makes Tay Ausug so special to the people of Kalibo is that everyone can identify with him for his religious commitment, vagueness, ability to entertain and please his audience and engage his own community, Tay Ausug is also somehow distancing himself from his fellowmen.
“Double sense” does not only end with Tay Ausug’s creation of a ‘third identity’ where he is not woman or man; masculine or bakla. It was also the fact that even with his flamboyant, loud panaad he is not just accepted by the local diocese, he also seriously considers it a sacrifice. It is this fusion of what is sacred and camp; a synthesis that is impossible to comprehend yet does in fact exist that makes Tay Ausug’s position a very extraordinary case. I thought that he would be ridiculed and shunned by the local church for his seemingly blasphemous version of the panaad, but he manages to make his performances and appearance sacred by relating it to the ultimate sacrifice, his own way of cleansing his sins. From what I gather, Tay Ausug still has this notion that being gay is a sin, and but he repents by his transgendered routines. Upon reading this I felt a little bit dismayed and quite confused as to what his intentions really are. Perhaps that is the point, that he is somewhere in the middle. Besides, spiritual fervor has always been a prominent outlook of Filipinos no matter which religious institution a Filipino belongs to.
In the end the author says that it all roots back to the title of the article itself, Sacred Camp, and I share the same views. As mentioned earlier, they are two terms located at opposite ends of the spectrum - sacred as something somber and “decent” and something campy, lurid, and flamboyant - but because of Tay Ausug and Kalibo’s double sense they finally meet at the middle, creating something entirely new yet familiar and ordinary. It is different from Western dualism which emphasizes that the world is black and white, good and evil - in this phenomenon the divisions may be existent but they are blurred. I believe that double sense a very Asian belief; think yin and yang, or Tai Chi, as they all say that two opposites coexist in harmony and are able to transform into each other.
As a conclusion to my essay, I would like to share the reasons why I believe Patrick Alcedo’s article can be considered an important reference to changes and issues that are crucial in current times. One would be the Catholic institution. Even though he does not say it outright, there is a subtle critique of the workings of the church as an institution, especially since he mentions that the church cultivates general notions so that church leaders can remain in positions of power. The author is careful not to criticize Catholicism (being a devotee of the Ati-Atihan himself) but rather the workings and shifts of authority of the church. Furthermore, he discusses the Catholic Church’s stand on hetero-normative upbringing or “family values” as opposed to gay relationships. I believe this is relevant especially with the despair brought about by Proposition 8 in California. Though this incident may seem far away, I think it affects gay and lesbian communities around the world who want to marry and raise their own families even if it is not in a “normal” manner.
Finally, another would be the homogeneity of culture versus the relationship of the individual and the community. As Art Studies majors it would seem that the easiest way to memorize art concepts and ace exams would be to place everything in broad categories. Compartmentalization is also a fatal error made even by people who are supposedly the intellectuals or “superior” to everyday men (just look at our Senate hearings on the telly). Patrick Alcedo features Tay Augus, an example of everything that is bewildering, exciting, and intricate in the Philippines. He is one out of many people, and yet this agi managed to win the hearts of the people of Kalibo and their local diocese. That is truly an impressive feat for an individual. Therefore, one cannot undermine the importance of the Self and its relation to the society, as well as the heterogeneity and idiosyncrasies of each culture and community.