In Tawi-Tawi, Sitangkai, and the Sulu Islands, the houseboat is called lepa and is considered one of the most beautiful traditional boats of the Philippines. The lepa is the most complex of the buggoh dugout boats, which can be paddled for steerage or poled by fishermen to get them to areas where they spearfish or dive. Buggoh construction differs from that of other boats in that the ends of the planking at the prow (munda) and stern (boli) are attached to end blocks (tuja) rather than to stem posts.
■National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) of the Philippines
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Script
When Spanish missionaries brought Roman Catholicism to the Philippines in the sixteenth century, the Christian religion spread through many parts of the archipelago and its beliefs, rituals and practices were embraced by many ethnic groups.
Rituals and practices during the Holy Week, which commemorates the passion and death of Jesus Christ, thrive, especially in central and southern Luzon, which are predominantly Tagalog.
Together with the Kapampangan, they have the richest trove of Holy Week traditions in the country, many of which are imbued with folk practices and beliefs.
The residents in the small island province of Marinduque, southwest of Luzon Island, in the heart of the Philippine archipelago, continue to practice many Lenten traditions, one of which, the distinctive moryonan or pagmomoryon, has become well-known.
Moryons are the townspeople who wear masks and costumes, and roam the streets in the oppressive of summer.
Presently, the costumes portray Roman centurions or soldiers during Biblical times.
The practice also involves the reenactment of the story of the Roman soldier Longinus, locally called Longhino, who is said to stab Jesus Christ with his spear during His crucifixion. In the legend, a drop of Jesus’s blood fell on Longinus’s blind eye, which miraculous healed.
Longinus was converted, persecuted, and beheaded.
Every town in Marinduque now practices the moryonan such as Gasan, Santa Cruz and the capital Boac, but the tradition originated in Mogpog.
Longinus is very important character in the moryonan. He and the other moryons take part in the reenactment of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, usually as soldiers and tormentors, on Good Friday.