The System of Sponsorship for Processional Images and the Traditions Associated with them in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, the Philippines

In the town of Cabiao, as in other towns in the Philippines, Holy Week culminates in the commemoration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Tableaux of the images of Christ, Mary, the disciples and other saints - called santos - are borne in procession through the main streets of the town. Members of the town ‘élite’ commissioned the images and now stage the processions. To better understand their role, this paper analyses the dynamics of this form of sponsorship, including the systems, structures and practices of santo patronage, using the older images to help identify sponsors in the Spanish period. I used documents to find out more about the background of members of this élite – the estates and properties they owned and the political posts they held. The manuscripts also gave some clues about how and why the sponsorship of santos developed as it did in the mid-19th century.NB. ‘élite’ is used here to refer to a particular strata of Philippine rural society. It does not have the negative connotations (uncaring wealth and privilege) that the term suggests in many other parts of the English-speaking world.