It’s Pabasa For Holy Week!

2:47 AM after switching on the electric fan because it was a little stuffy tonight I got back into bed. I was almost drifting back to sleep again when all of a sudden I can hear ladies voices murmuring in earnest, twas faint at first, then gradually it becomes more and more distinct, building to a crescendo then again grows faint. Nagpapakiramdam ako, was thinking maybe it was just my imagination but no the up and down tempo of collective voices I could not mistake, it’s the same tone of novena praying during wakes. I checked the time, it is 3:15 AM so I figured these strange sound that drifts from somewhere must have started at 3 AM.

Titus beside me was sleeping deeply, I look around the room, the lamp post light cast a shadow on our bedroom and I was debating whether to check out on the window or not. The truth was that I was already feeling creep-ed-out,  is it real? Is there a ritual somewhere? I was thinking manianita but it’s too early, someone died and praying has started but that would be fast, another type of ritual, etc,  imagination was getting ahead of me..

Liliw where my home is now is so silent at night, the town sleeps early and slumbers deep, so I was trying to find an explanation why I am hearing these singsong voices at the dead hour of 3 AM! After a few more minutes of listening intently I found the courage to look over the window (I was afraid someone might caught me perched on the window scanning the neighborhood). It’s the house in front of us! There is light, so that is a good thing since heyyy if they are doing something not good, they’d be ‘under the covers’ right?.

I switched on the wifi and my tablet to keep myself busy since I was sure I could not go back to sleep again. Good thing Doi was awake and I hit her on messenger and told her there is something going on in our neighbor’s house. With all my tossing around I woke up Titus, ‘Bakit ka gising?’ I earnestly told him ‘Listen! What is that?’

‘Pabasa’ yan for the Holy Week, ‘tulog ka na ulit’. And promptly he went back to sleep.

Oh Okay, they start Pabasa Pasyon here in Liliw very, very early. I am used to this Holy Week tradition of pabasa in Cebu conducted in the glaring brightness of afternoons and only during the Holy Week itself. Not weeks before it.

Next year I’ll expect there are pabasa in the highlands that starts so early in the morning.

Nagulat ako hehehe 🙂 Another reminder I am no longer residing in the Metro. 😀

In case you want to hear a sample of ‘pabasa’ check on Youtube but the one still on-going right now does not use any musical instruments just plain voices in chorus.

Time check it is now 4:26 AM, the Pabasa is still on-going. I will now try to go back to sleep, hopefully. 😀