The Local and Locale in the Nineteenth Century Novenarios to the Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje of Antipolo, Philippines

Abstract

In the latter half of the nineteenth century, novenarios to the Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje in different regional languages were published and circulated in the Philippines. This paper examines these nineteenth-century novenarios published in the following languages: Spanish, Tagalog, Hiligaynon, and Waray. Among the prayers found in these novenarios, the study focuses on the closing prayer of the prayerbooks, referred to as the “Gozos” or “Capurihan.” These, which could also be sung at the end of each novena, were composed of at least ten verses and narrated the miracles attributed by the locals to the Our Lady of Antipolo. The provenance of these miracle narratives in prayerbooks can be traced back to the eighteenth-century writings of the Jesuit Pedro Murillo Velarde. A critical reading of these novenarios aims to bring out local worldviews and the forging of community identity, highlighting the role of the locale and the dynamic process of placemaking in the Spanish Philippines.