WHEN FAITH TAKES A STEP: The Living Devotion of Tigaon’s Santa Clara Devotional Dance

By Queena D. Padron

“Dai man ini basta sayaw. May panata ako.”

It is a simple explanation, but for a devotee standing among hundreds of others during the annual celebration of St. Clare of Assisi in Tigaon, the words carry a meaning far deeper than the movement of the body.

Every August 11, on the eve of the feast of Tigaon’s patron saint, the streets surrounding St. Clare of Assisi Parish become a moving expression of faith. Devotees gather, music fills the air, hands rise, and feet follow familiar movements as the procession slowly makes its way forward. To someone seeing it for the first time, it may look like a dance. For those who participate, it is a prayer.

Known in the parish as the Santa Clara Devotional Dance, the tradition has become one of the distinctive expressions of devotion to St. Clare of Assisi in Tigaon. It brings together parishioners and devotees not only from Tigaon but also from communities across Partido, each arriving with an intention of their own—a prayer, a thanksgiving, a promise, or a hope carried for months or even years.

The devotion, however, did not begin as an age-old tradition.

Its story began in 2003, when students from Sta. Clara Academy, now Siena College Tigaon, presented a dance as an expression of tribute to Tigaon’s patron saint. What may have appeared at the time to be simply a student presentation would eventually become a tradition deeply associated with the parish’s celebration of St. Clare.

In June 2004, then Parish Priest Rev. Msgr. Juan R. Celso, PC accepted the students’ suggestion to replicate the dance. On August 11 of that year, the first Santa Clara Devotional Dance was held as a competition. The following year, the dance opened its doors to participants from different towns in the Partido area. By 2007, through the initiative of then parochial vicar Fr. Rory Lunario, the activity was submitted to the Department of Tourism as one of the festivals in Bicolandia.

But the dance would eventually return to something more intimate than competition.

In 2009, it went back to its original devotional character. Three years later, in 2012, the Santa Clara Devotional Dance was incorporated into the procession of St. Clare held every August 11.

The change was more than organizational. It transformed the meaning of the dance.

What began as a tribute by students became a parish devotion. What began as a presentation became an offering. And what began with a group of young people eventually became a tradition carried by an entire community.

The word devotional gives the dance its deepest meaning. For many devotees, the movements are more than a performance. They bring something with them—a prayer, a promise, a thanksgiving, or a personal intention.

Some devotees dance in thanksgiving. Others come with petitions for their families, health, livelihood, or personal circumstances. Some participate because of a promise they have made. Others continue because the devotion was introduced to them by their parents or grandparents. For some couples, the dance is connected to the deeply personal hope of having a child.

For these devotees, the procession is not merely something to attend. It is something to offer.

“Haloy na kami nag aarang sa mahal na Diyos na magkaaki, sa papaagi kaining pag bayle mi asin pagiging deboto ni Santa Clara, inaarang mi saiya na biyayaan na kami ta iyo ang makumpleto samong mag-agom.” Rose P. Dacoro

The Santa Clara Devotional Dance is only one part of the much longer history of St. Clare of Assisi Parish.

According to the parish history published in its fiesta souvenir program, the parish was established in 1794 following missionary efforts in the area. The Archdiocese of Caceres likewise lists St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Tigaon as having been established in 1794, with St. Clare of Assisi as its titular and August 12 as its feast date.

Against that centuries-old history, the devotional dance is relatively young.

• 

•