Under a blistering summer mid-morning sun that second Saturday of April, Epifanio ‘Jhun’ Macario, Jr. and Loyda ‘Loydz’ Malanes exchanged marriage vows at the grounds of the Kibungan municipal hall. Officiated by pastors from the Free Believers in Christ Fellowship, the wedding transformed the municipal hall compound into hallowed ground as well-wishers participated in a lively praise and worship that accompanied the wedding rites.
The praise and worship were even more enlivened by local and “imported” singing talents from the mining community of Philex in Acupan, Itogon town, whose golden voices were accompanied by electric guitars and drums. Even the shy or reluctant, who were used to often drab traditional church hymns, were enticed to clap their hands as they swayed their hips to the upbeat rhythm of the praise songs.
Weddings are usually held in churches or cathedrals. And weddings become unusual when a couple decide to wed under water or inside a jungle. But Jhun and Loydz’s wedding was equally unusual in a way.
That it was held at the municipal grounds made the wedding distinct. Other couples get married under civil rites at the municipal hall with the mayor or municipal judge officiating. But a religious wedding rite at the municipal hall ground was something new for the community folk of Kibungan.
Courtesy of supporters, flowers, palm leaves, banana plants, and ferns adorned the wedding venue. Instead of a red carpet, the path through which the new couple and the whole wedding entourage walked was blanketed with green moss and ferns.
The shaded main entrance to the municipal hall was transformed into an altar where its backdrop announces in a mural the wedding rites of two young adults who finally decided to bid goodbye to single-blessedness. Besides announcing the Macario-Malanes Nuptial of Jhun and Loidz, the mural also carried “Heaven knows I treasure you in my life” and a painting of two flying white doves about to kiss each other.
For the simple Kankanaey folk of Kibungan, the transformation of the municipal hall grounds into a wedding resort, even for half a day, was a spectacular, if not dramatic, event, which they would talk about for weeks.
After the wedding rites, the community folk and guests were treated to lunch at the Malanes’ ancestral home in Tamog-o. The celebration continued after lunch as messages of best wishes and advices from elders and more golden voices and drama talents pre-occupied the whole afternoon. Some people stayed on until the night, singing and dancing under the peaceful Kibungan sky.
The wedding of Jhun and Loydz in a way had broken the monotony of rural life in a sleepy town, which becomes noisy only during electoral campaigns or during the town’s founding anniversary in November.
But most important of all is how weddings help establish ties between in-laws and next of kin. Because of the wedding, the sisters and other relatives of Jhun Macario’s mother, who hails from Bicol, came over to witness the recent historic event. Loydz’s grandfather (the uncle of her mother) and uncles and cousins from as far as Apayao (where they migrated) and other relatives also sacrificed their time to also witness the wedding and reunite with their long lost kinfolk in Kibungan.
Such is the magical impact of weddings, which also help make us closer as a people. We don’t only improve our genetic make-up as a people through inter-marriages. Through inter-marriages, we are also building bridges and so we are in a way helping promote peace and harmony in a world still divided by walls.
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