This old, historic church dates to arrival of the Augustinian Friars in the area during the mid-1750s to evangelise the area's inhabitants. It is a small and interesting church to visit in a very pleasant community.

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photographed and written byphotographed and written by:: Fergus DucharmeFergus Ducharme,, assisted by:assisted by: JoemarieJoemarie AcallarAcallar andand NiloNilo JimenoJimeno..
proudly present:proudly present:
The old, historic Church ofThe old, historic Church of
Saint James the Greater,Saint James the Greater,
Maasin, IloiloMaasin, Iloilo

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The driving distance from our jumping off point at the
SM City parking lot in Iloilo to the Church of St James
the Greater in Maasin, Iloilo is approximately 30
kilometres. Which translates into a driving time of
between 45 to 60 minutes.

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Maasin is known as being the premier Bamboo producing area in the region.
Town artisans produce many varieties of bamboo based products such as
furniture, wall coverings, musical instruments and even items of clothing. It is all
quite impressive and this diversity is celebrated annually during the Tultugan
Festival.
Set one day before the town fiesta, Tultugan Festival, the 29th of December,
annually, features competition of tribes and street dancing with participants
wearing native costumes made of bamboo as dominant material and dancing to
the live beats of bamboo instruments.
Tultugan comes from the root word Tultug, an action verbalizing the act of
playing sound on bamboo. Usually this is rendered through a bamboo stick
striking it against the body of the bamboo, thus becoming a rhythmic instrument
called Tultugan.
This is classified in ethno musicological term as idiophone because the source
of sound is the body of the instrument being used as percussion in contrast to
the membranophone where a membrane or animal skin is being struck as a
drum.

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Participants in the annual Tultugan Festival held on December 29th each year.

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A few of the bamboo products
created by the artisans in and around
Maasin, Iloilo using locally grown
bamboo. The full line of products can
be seen at the LGU Office in Maasin.
You’re probably asking yourself why
is he spending so much time writing
on the bamboo business, when
we’re here to see the Church. Be
patient – all will become clear soon
enough.

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As you can see from this photo and the ones to follow showcase the work of the local
artisans with the bamboo raw materials of the region. The Church is truly beautiful with
the panels highlighting the intricate bamboo work of the natives.

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It’s important to remember that all the wood work in the Church is bamboo or
bamboo by-products that are all locally sourced..

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In the courtyard, just to the east of the Church itself within the compound is
the Convento and the various parish offices…

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Closer to the compound entrance is a wall of burial chambers which appears to be
the final resting place of some members of the leading families in the community as
well as some of the Fathers who have served the Parish in the past years.

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Next door to the Church Compound is the Compound occupied by the St James
High School operated by the Daughters of Jesus (Hijas de Jesus). Unbeknownest
to me a cousin of “She Who Must be Obeyed” is the Superior of this particular
School as well as the School in Cabatuan. We will be visiting Sister Nilda and her
colleagues when we return to Maasin and Cabatuan in the next week or so. Nilda
has promised us lunch and when she does that you just can’t miss it…it’s always so
delish!! And her company and that of her fellow sisters is always an interesting and
fun experience. I for one, am really looking forward to it.

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If you head west from the Plaza facing the Church and school, a five (5) minute
walk takes you to the foot of Gines Hill, where if you climb the 160 steps you will go
through the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross until you reach the top of the
‘mountain’ and are greeted by a statue of the Sacred Heart and a magnificent view
of the town site and the countryside in the distance.

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They say it’s only 160 steps, for me, it was a huge workout trying to reach the top of
Gines Hill. I made it only as far as the 4th station about 20% of the way up. I was
beat and had to turn over the camera to Joemarie and Nilo who headed to the top –
they know what we’re looking for and as usual they did the job properly. I waited for
them at the bottom of the Hill and it seemed like an eternity, it was really only about
40 minutes in all so for someone with health challenges you can make it up and
down in about an hour.
There I am waiting for their return, Joemarie appeared
first and Nilo was not far behind, still taking pictures.
Once we reunited at the bottom, we decided to head
home…after a good day on the road…
We’re sorry if you feel that this visit may not quite measure
up on the basis of the history and the full story of the Church
we normally bring you. Try as we might we have not been
able to get our hands on anything to do with the actual
history of the church. The only thing we have been able to
establish is that The Augustinians first came to the area in
1752. Other than that NOTHING. We’ll try to do better, next
time!

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If you have suggestions or recommendations on how we can improve
this service for you please send your ideas along to:
info@historicphilippines.com