La Niña Maria de Sariaya - The Little Lady of Sariaya

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La Niña Maria de Sariaya
In the scenic and historic municipality of Sariaya, Quezon Province, there lies a parish that has a significant importance in our country's unique Marian devotion. This parish enshrined the lesser known yet important image of La Niña Maria which the devotion in the area is the pioneer of such devotion in the country.

With the gradual rise to popularity of the devotion to the Child Mary in the country, it is about time to discover the pioneer of this devotion in the country that one day, it would be a site of pilgrimage and devotion in the country.

The image

The image of La Niña Maria of Sariaya, Quezon is that of a 10 inch image of the Child Mary standing on a cloud peaña surrounded by cherubs. The image was vested in a traditional manner with a white robe with a palikpik drapery on her shoulders and wears a veil. The Child wears a crown and holds a baston de mando on her right, in reference to her role as the Queen of Heaven and Earth on the right while a book that alludes to her knowledge in Scriptures. The image is encased in an antique urna for the protection and preservation of the image.

La Niña Maria de Sariaya preparing for her procession
The beginning of the devotion

the devotion to the Child Mary would soon take the stage with the existence of the oldest known venerated image of the Child Mary in the country located in Sariaya, Quezon Province. This petite ivory image of La Niña Maria was owned by the rich spinster philanthropist Doña Margarita Rodriguez. The image is vested golden metal garment, and embellished with precious stones, a set jewels made of precious stones adorns the image.

The Grand Festivities of Old

The devotion to the Niña Maria in Sariaya was surrounded with much pomp and devotion that the fiesta for the Child Mary begins from September 12, the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary and ends on September 15.  the roving “Banda ng Musiko”, mostly from the lake shore towns of Laguna and Rizal provinces, were only hired from the "bisperas" on  September 12th to the fiesta day itself on the 14th, after which they leave for their respective hometowns. By the 15th, people were already that tired and weary of all the frenzied preparations of the past few days but Doña Margarita Rodriguez had yet  to pay traditional reverence to her beloved little lady.

La Niña Maria de Sariaya in her carozza
It even had its own landholdings or “Bienes”, which saw to its maintenance and upkeep, particularly for its Feast day.  Accordingly, it was only a wooden  replica that was always included in the procession of September 13th and 14th , as  the original image came out in all its finery and splendor only during its Fiesta of September 15th. Surrounding its carroza would be a retinue of loyal caretakers or the “Katiwala” who would see to the security and welfare of their beloved icon. By then, Doña Margarita had already hired two or so of the “Banda ng Musiko” to stay, roam around town, and provide rousing and lively music for the whole day.

Another traditional attraction of the Niña Maria Fiesta was the presence of an all-female choir during the Holy Mass, its members coming from the affluent families. Accordingly, they even trained and practiced by a professor or alumnus from different music schools in the country.. They wore lovely and appropriate custom-made dresses, same cut and in one tone, which complimented their beautiful and inspiring performance.

Photos of the original ivory image of La Niña Maria de Sariaya
During the procession, Doña Margarita would always be at the balcony of her old  house along Calle Rizal, waiting for the procession to pass by, and where she beamed with satisfaction and reverence at the sight of it all thereafter. As the procession ended at the churchyard , the big fireworks display courtesy of the Chinese community of Sariaya would commence,  capping up the three day festivities to the thrill and ultimate satisfaction of the townspeople.

Moreover, the wooden replica of the Niña Maria was kept at the house of the good matriarch along Rizal street, which was hailed in town in the old days as the "Patroness of Safe childbirth".  As such, pregnant women visit the house to light candles for the very purpose, and even if the "Ang Garita" as she was known was not in her house, the servants were accordingly instructed to let the pregnant faithful in to do as the old tradition bid them.

So much so that due to the popularity of the devotion to the Niña Maria in Sariaya that an image of her was enthroned at the main retablo of St. Francis of Asssi Parish in Sariaya, Quezon.

La Niña Maria Parish of Sariaya, Quezon
The tragic fire and its rise from ashes

However, the tradition came to a halt when the house of Doña Margarita was caught on a devastating fire in 1951 and the the image was kept by the family for safekeeping were unknown and a replica was later commissioned for public veneration. Though the grand old fiesta tradition halted, the devotion never waned a church dedicated to the Niña Maria was established years later in Castañas, Sariaya, Quezon.

The current altar image was donated by the family of Doña Margarita Rodriguez and family, the initiator of the Niña Maria devotion in the country. As of this writing, the Niña Maria Parish in Sariaya, Quezon is the only parish in the Philippines dedicated to the Child Mary. In keeping of the old traditions of Sariaya, the fiesta is celebrated every September 12, the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary.

The devotion to Child Mary has a great potential and destined for further popularity and longevity. Along with devotion to the Infant Jesus, it proclaims the beauty of innocence and childhood to a world which seems intent on destroying both.

The Catholic Philippines is only beginning to tap the potential of this old-yet-new devotion. Perhaps one day all Filipino Catholics, and the whole world as well, will experience and benefit from the graces which fall from the tiny hands of La Niña Maria, as she did in Sariaya and other parts of the world.

La Niña Maria de Sariaya, Ipanalangin mo kami!

Reference:

"La Nina Maria Parish History", Retreived on September 1, 2017 from http://www.facebook.com/laninamariaparish.

Interviews:

Albrando, Josefa,  Contributor, Idea of Sariaya
Dedace, Eric, Member, Local Government Unit, Sariaya, Quezon
Luna - Bitong, Gregoria,  Contributor, Idea of Sariaya

Special thanks to Mr. Eric Dedace and Erico dela Cruz for the photos of La Niña Maria de Sariaya and to the owners of other photographs of the Child Mary that was utilized in this blogpost.

Bloggers' Note: The main texts of this article was culled from the article "The Immaculate Little Lady - The devotion to La Niña Maria in the Philippines" that was posted earlier in this blogsite.

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