Sayaw Ng Bati: The System Of Easter Dance Sponsorship In Angono, Rizal, The Philippines

The brand of Catholicism that exists in the Philippines blends both Christian and folk traditions. During the precolonial period, sponsoring community rituals was obligatory for the datu (chieftain) and the local aristocracy, as these events consumed significant resources. The Christianization of the country through Spanish colonization transformed precolonial sponsorship traditions as new sponsorship practices emerged among the local elites, aligning them with the veneration of the santo (images of saints) and the fiesta (the feast of the town’s patron saint). This article explores a distinct Catholic sponsorship system in the Southern Tagalog region called sayaw ng bati or bati, a dance ritual performed in Angono, Rizal, during Easter. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with three performers, the article provided an overview of bati as a sponsorship system, focusing on the process of becoming a performer and the corresponding motivations, the material and economic aspects of the practice, and the positioning of bati within the context of panata (devotional pledge).