Basaan in San Juan - June 24, 2009

I was on my way to work and wasn't expecting any traffic on June 24th because for one, it's a non-working holiday in Manila and second, pre-school, elementary and high school classes were cancelled because Metro Manila is under signal number 2 as Feria hits Luzon.

The traffic was so heavy because my usual travel to where I work takes around 7-10 minutes only. This time, we were stuck for 25 minutes in the place where it usually takes us only around 1 minute.


After turning right to Aurora Blvd, we saw a bunch of people and we were thinking, "maybe there was an accident or a stalled vehicle." Then, this is what we saw next...



It's the annual basaan festival in San Juan (In Basaan festival, residents of San Juan splash waters to motorists and passersby). It's a tradition in the Philippines according to Wikipilipinas,

Filipinos appropriately commemorate the birth of St. John (other than the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist is the only saint whose birth is celebrated in the Christian liturgy; feasts of other saints are celebrated on the day of their death), who cleansed and prepared the people for the coming of Jesus Christ by baptizing them with water.

Matthew 2:11 quotes Saint John as saying: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentence but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he sahll baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire."

Children and grown-ups alike line up the streets and generously douse passersby or unsuspecting commuters and visitors with water, with the traditional “basaan” or "buhusan" (dousing of water)- supposedly to remind them of their baptism. They also enjoy engaging in water wars and other wet games using dippers, pails, hoses and even water pistols.

This popular custom is practiced as they recall San Juan's life and mission. That is why in some places, passing buses, cars, and jeeps become the targets of water splashed and thrown about with reckless gusto.

As an example, below is a video of a truck victimized by the open-door-splash-water gang in San Juan :)



Mind you, they are not targeting public vehicles only. They did try to open our car so if I were you, make sure your locks are working properly.

Happy Fiesta, San Juan!

To know more about the Philippine culture through websites, check this out: http://www.heypinoy.com/