In Cebu, cemetery work and Undas ‘rites’ spring to life

CEBU, Philippines – Thousands of families from distant cities and rural neighborhoods flooded the gates of Cebu’s cemeteries on the Feast of All Saints, November 1. 

For Manileños, the day is called “Undas” but to Cebuanos, it is simply referred to as “Kalag-kalag” which literally means soul-soul. 

In one of the biggest cemeteries of the Queen City of the South, the Carreta Catholic Cemetery, colorful flowers, candles of varying sizes, and food stalls greeted visitors from left to right.

The Carreta cemetery is home to more than 10,000 sleeping souls, including the families of tomb painters and groundskeepers who take care of them. 

Here, among those who serve the dead is 56-year-old Soledad Tantaculoy. She has been looking after the tombs of her clients’ loved ones for 15 years. 

Life by the grave

Tantaculoy hails from Negros Oriental. In order to support her family, she moved to Cebu and saw an opportunity to work as a caretaker in the Carreta cemetery.

“Back then, people would come and ask me to look after the tombs, then I would agree for a price. This went on for a time until eventually, I ended up caring for 17 tombs,” Tantaculoy said in Cebuano.

Each of her clients would pay her P150 a month to sweep the dust and scrub the dirt off the gravestones. Tantaculoy spends at least an hour repainting the inscription on each headstone.

Tantaculoy enjoys her work, so much so that she refers to the dead as family members as well. 

She shared that it’s gotten to a point where she has gotten to know the families by heart — it is to no one’s surprise as the families, she said, also seem to remember to send her cakes on her birthdays.

Through her eyes, there is so much life to see at a place that is often considered a “lifeless” estate.

Tantaculoy’s husband roves the property at night, keeping an eye out for stray animals and grave diggers, while the youngest of her children assists her in maintaining the beauty of the darkened headstones.

For them, it is a natural instinct to assist the families who go about their usual rituals at the cemetery.

“The dead here also watch over us. After all, who would clean their graves if we’re gone?” the cemetery worker said.

Rites of yore

A few steps away from the exit gate of the Carreta cemetery, children burn leaves and twigs placed in a tin box. As they do so, visitors offer coins to the children and proceed to “envelop” themselves in smoke.

According to locals, this is a ritual called “Palina” which is performed by most Cebuanos after every cemetery visit .

“Mao mana ang tradisyon para kuno dili musunod nimu ang kalag (That is the tradition so that souls would not follow you),” Pinky Iyac, a candle vendor, told Rappler.

Iyac has witnessed the ritual almost every year and believes that while this practice has helped ease the minds of the superstitious, it is better to pray to God for safety.

Father Ricardo Pitogo, a diocesan priest, told Rappler on Thursday, October 31, that the palina is rooted in folk religion and must be distinguished from the use of incense in church.

“Incense in the context of liturgy, meaning public worship, is used as a symbol of worship to God and that’s why it is really officially used and sanctioned by the church,” the priest said.

While the church tolerates the practice, Pitogo added, it would be ideal for cemetery visitors to gradually understand the difference between the two and value the burning of incense in mass even more. 

The palina is now banned in some public cemeteries due to concerns over health and safety. Despite this, the practice continues in more open and far-flung graveyards in Cebu. – Rappler.com