April 2, 2026
MANILA – Across the Philippines, women have long played a central role in expressing sorrow. They wear black vestidas, veil themselves with manto, and sometimes give voice to pain through chants.
But this role extends beyond personal loss.
Every Holy Week, as the church remembers the death of Jesus, women in places such as Pampanga and Camarines Sur take the lead in communal bereavement, reflecting on his sacrifice through decades-old traditions.
Through them, the remembrance of Christ’s death is given shape and voice within the community, with individual sorrow becoming a shared expression of hope, love and devotion.
White to black
About 85 kilometers north of Manila, Lubao, Pampanga, is home to the Hermandad de la Madre, a sisterhood promoting devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Mary, represented by seven swords piercing her heart in images of the Mater Dolorosa.
Women in Barangay Sta. Monica first emerge on Holy Wednesday dressed in white.
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But as darkness falls on Good Friday, white garments give way to black dresses, reflecting the descent into intense sorrow as they commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross.
Veiled in black manto, they stand beside the image of Our Lady of Sorrows, herself draped in black to depict a grieving mother who has witnessed the agony and death of her son.
Before them lies the image of Christ, lifeless, displayed for veneration after the Sto. Entierro procession that reenacts Jesus’ final journey from the cross to his tomb. Together, they form a representation of sorrow: a mother who has lost her son, and the women grieving with her.
They prepare the image of the dead Jesus before it is brought out in processions, with some carrying symbols of the Passion, such as the nails and crown of thorns.
‘Sayo’
From Pampanga, one can take a long ride to reach San Jose, Camarines Sur, where another Holy Week tradition takes place — one that has been documented by UNESCO’s Centre for Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region.
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Called Sayo, the Bicolano tradition highlights women clad in long black dresses who walk barefoot throughout Holy Week processions.
Their veils are held in place by the local vine makabuhay, which is “coiled to look like Jesus’ crown of thorns.”
The women, referred to as Sayos, “are said to represent the women of Jerusalem whom Jesus Christ met” on his way to Calvary — a scene depicted in one of the old Stations of the Cross, which Catholics reflect on when they visit churches every Holy Week.
As detailed in an article by cultural researcher Raquel Gocuyo, the women also go around villages to ask for alms on Holy Thursday. They visit houses from early morning until noon.
“Whatever they collect goes directly to the Church as contribution,” the report said.
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Their slow, barefoot procession is both an act of penance and a physical manifestation of grief.
By Good Friday, they attend the final procession, walking behind the image of the Mater Dolorosa and echoing the sorrow of a mother who has lost her son.
Color of sorrow
Several memorial websites say “black has long been associated with solemnity, dignity and respect,” and that while it is not the universal color for grief, “it conveys depth of feeling, making it a natural choice for marking loss.”
Spanish colonization brought Catholicism to the Philippines, and black became associated with sorrow and death, though some now prefer white.
Before the Second Vatican Council, black was “the color of sorrow, solemnity, and deep reflection,” said Fr. Prince Chidi Philip, stressing that “when the Church mourned, she wore black.”
“When the faithful gathered to pray for the dead, the priest, clothed in black, became a visible reminder that life is fragile and death is real,” he said, adding that in the church, the color once represented the “mystery of eternity.” /dm