The Resilient devotion and Tradition of the Holy Cross of Wawa

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The Holy Cross of Wawa
In the town of Bocaue, south of Bulacan, famous for its firecracker industry and its iconic festival next to Obando fertility rites, the famous Pagoda (Fluvial Procession) of the Holy Cross of Wawa. Long before the tragedy of 1993, the Pagoda gained throng of devotees for centuries and it is proven to be a resilient devotion when it was revived in 2015.

Bocaue's Tree of Life

The Holy Cross of Wawa was wooden crucifix without the Corpus that is intricately decorated with silver accesories from rayos (rays at the four corners), three decorative ends of the Cross, a sun, a skull. the Sacred Heart of Jesus and draped with an intricately embroidered cloth. Flonking the flat cross are the images of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist and the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mater Dolorosa which is reminicent of the moment where the Blessed Mother and St. John at the foot of the Cross.

Detail of the Holy Cross of Wawa
The origin and the miracles 

The actual origin of the the Miraculous Cross was uncertain due to lack of available written records about the arrival. However, local folklore has it that the forefathers of Bocaue extracted the Holy Cross of Wawa from the river and it was enshrined in the Parish of St. Martin of Tours for veneration.

A well-known miracle story surrounding the Holy Cross tells of a woman who was saved from drowning by a floating cross which is presumed to be the Holy Cross of Wawa. Since that miraculous incident, several miracles were reported through the help of Bocaue. Bulacan's Holy Cross.

The Pagoda festival 

The Pagoda sa Wawa is held every first Sunday of July in Bocaue, Bulacan, in honor of the Holy Cross of Wawa (Mahal na Krus sa Wawa). The festival is also known as the Bocaue River Festival, Bocaue Pagoda Festival, and the Pista ng Mapagpalang Krus sa Wawa (Fiesta of the Blessed Cross of Wawa). The main attraction of the celebration is the fluvial parade of the pagoda or decorated barge and colorful small boats.

The Holy Cross of Wawa is set on a pagoda, which is paraded down the river, led by a retinue of bancas. The entire fluvial procession is colorfully decorated and hundreds of devotees from all over the Philippines gather to pay homage to the Holy Cross of Wawa. The festivities also include a nine-day novena, which celebrates the rescue of the Holy Cross of Wawa from the Bocaue River. Devotees customarily douse each other with water from the river during the festival, especially during the procession. The density of devotees forces some to swim alongside the pagoda when they cannot find space for themselves on the vessels. Days after the Pagoda, a "Basaaan" will take place.

The Pagoda in 1993
The 1993 Pagoda tragedy 

More or less than 300 people drowned on 2 July 1993 when the pagoda sank. The pagoda, which was already overloaded with devotees, sank because of an uneven distribution of weight in the vessel.
The measures taken to ensure the safety of the devotees have been strictly enforced because of the tragedy. This move was spearheaded by Richard Gordon, who also led the team that originally responded to the incident.

The tradition was halted on 1994 and was resumed 2014, continuing up to the present. The tradition now commemorates not only the Holy Cross of Wawa, but also the devotees who died in the sinking of the pagoda during the tragedy of 1993.


The devotion

The devotion to the Holy Cross of Wawa became one of the most recognizable devotions in Bulacan province, along with the famed fertility dance dedicated to San Pascual Baylon, Sta. Clara de Assisi and Nuestra Señora de Salmbao, the Flores de Mayo tradition in Bulakan, Bulacan among others. The annual Pagoda is held every First Sunday of July to commemorate the finding of the image. The devotion continues to be resilient over the years and the tradition of the Pagoda, at least we could say, is here to last. As long as there are devotees, the devotion and the tradition will continue for more generations to come.

References:

Feast of the Holy Cross of Wawa, Retreived from http://www.bulacan.gov.ph/tourism/touristspot.php?id=76.
Pagoda sa Wawa Festival, Retrieved from http://www.philippinefiestas.com/bulacan-festivals/bocaue-river-festival-of-bocaue-bulacan/.

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