Sinulog is held in celebration of one of the country’s most famous historic relics:
the Santo Niño de Cebú. This was the statue of the baby Jesus that was handed to the
Rajah Humabon of Cebu by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521.
This was one of the most important events in the religious history of the
Philippines as it paved the way to the birth of Christianity in the country.
At the moment of receiving the holy image, it was said that Queen Juana, the
main consort of Rajah Humabon, danced with joy holding this image of the child Jesus.
The other natives followed her example, and this event was regarded as the first
Sinulog dance. The same event was used as the basis for most Sinulog dances.
The Sinulog dance steps are also believed to originate from Baladhay, Rajah
Humabon's adviser. When Baladhay got sick, Humabon ordered his tribe to bring
Baladhay into a room where the Santo Niño was enthroned.
After a few days, Baladhay was heard shouting and was found dancing by the
native tribe. Baladhay was asked as to why was he was shouting and dancing. He
pointed at the image of the holy Jesus and explained that baby Jesus was tickling him.
In turn, Baladhay danced with the little child and explained that he was dancing the
movements of the river. To this day, the two-steps forward, the one-step backward
movement is still used by Santo Niño devotees who believe that it was the Santo Niño's
choice to have Baladhay dance.
Sinulog comes from the Cebuano word “sulog” which means “like water current
movement” which depicts the forward-backward step of Sinulog dance.
