The Lost Devotions to the Santo Niño in Northern Philippines (Abulug and Bangui)

Abstract

The devotion to the Santo Niño or Holy Child enjoys great popularity all over the Philippines, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao. However, it is not particularly noticeable in the northern provinces of the country. Curiously, the documents presented here show that there were strong Santo Niño devotions in the northernmost towns of the Ilocos and Cagayan provinces, specifically Bangui (Ilocos Norte) and Abulug (Cagayan), at least in the first half of the eighteenth century. There are very little traces of these devotions at present in the mentioned towns.