TITLE: Moryonan (Moriones) Mask and Breastplate
TYPE: helmet mask; costume
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Philippines
SUBREGION: Marinduque
ETHNICITY: Filipino (Tagalog)
DESCRIPTION: Moryonan mask and matching breastplate decorated with tangala
CATALOG ID: ASPH003
MAKER: Mask: Renato Morales Sr. (Mogpog, 1942-2018); Helmet and Breastplate: Jerónimo Nagutom (Mogpog, 1968- )
CEREMONY: Moryonan Festival
AGE: 1987
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: tangala (coconut stems); coconut shell; adhesive; vegetable fiber; cotton cloth; foam rubber; plastic helmet strap
Every year during Holy Week, Catholic inhabitants of the island of Marinduque stage a passion play in which some dress as Roman soldiers and Syrian mercenaries who persecute and ultimately crucify a man playing the role of Jesus to expiate the town’s sins. The soldiers, or Moryonan (usually called Moriones in the media) wear palm wood and fiber helmet masks in imitation of the Roman legionary’s galea. During the festival, the Morynonan parade through town for several days. Before Easter Sunday, they bring through town a bound Jesus figure (usually unmasked), who participates in a stage play with actors playing other Biblical roles, such as the pharisees and Pontius Pilate. Jesus is tortured with rope whips, and then driven through town carrying a cross, alongside two common criminals who are also whipped as they go. This part is known as the kalbaryuhan, or Via Crucis. Eventually they are symbolically crucified, and a partially blind soldier named Longino (Longinus) pierces his side to ensure he is dead (this character’s mask typically has one eye closed). Later that evening, Longino emerges with full sight, cured by the blood of the dead Jesus, and he is chased through the town, caught, and beheaded for having converted to Christianity (called the Pugutan). His lifeless body is then paraded around town to conclude the festival.
Some masks and costumes are made with very creative materials, such as consumer product boxes, beer cans, or organic materials. This mask and breastplate are decorated with the dried stems and shells of a coconut fruit and was worn by Abel Livelo (Mogpog, 1967- ) from 1987 until about 2015.
