‘Dungaw’ reenacts moment Mother Mary meets a suffering Jesus Christ

The moment when Mother Mary met a suffering Jesus Christ, who was on his way to be crucified, was reenacted in front of the San Sebastian Church in Manila Saturday night during the Black Nazarene procession.

The image of The Virgin of Mt. Carmel was lifted onto a scaffolding to face the statue of the Black Nazarene for the reenactment known as the "Dungaw".

The crowd at the Plaza del Carmen had gathered as early as lunchtime to await the Black Nazarene. When it arrived, it brought with it thousands of devotees who followed it from the Quirino Grandstand during the Traslacion.

The meeting of the two statues prompted a brief silence from the crowd, while a priest gave a homily and the devotees sang along with the choir.

Once the Dungaw ended, the devotees once again swarmed the Black Nazarene and resumed tossing towels to be wiped on the statue, chanting "Viva Jesus Nazareno!"

The Dungaw began in 2014, but according to resident priest Father Rene Paglinawan, this was a forgotten tradition that had existed from the very beginning of the Traslacion.

Father Rene also explained the biblical meaning behind the event. "While Jesus was carrying the cross to calvary, he met his mother."

"Here, the mother meets her son who is passing by," he added, referring to the Black Nazarene, and its journey from the Quirino Grandstand to the Quiapo Church.

Father Rene also pointed out that the Dungaw's effect on the crowd was significant. "Parang there's a moment of silence, a moment of respect for when the mother and the son meet," he explained. — DVM, GMA News