THE CHURCH BELLS OF ALFONSO

THE CHURCH BELLS

These church bells are in many ways unique.They always catch the attention of visitors coming to town. Nowhere else in the Philippines could one find or hear as loud and penetrating sounds as those emitted by the bells of Alfonso. It was Rev. Fr. Candido Valles who first called the attention of the town people to the need for having bells. He called the prominent parishioners, some of whom were ex-town officials, and they agreed on a plan to raise funds.

As planned they invited musicians and some known singers in the municipality to go serenading around town. The serenader went from house to house followed by a cart. While the musicians and singers sung and played, the priest and a group of prominent citizens entered the granary (kamalig) of each house to haul sacks of coffee. These were loaded in the cart. Everybody gave his share. The collections were placed in a big “kamalig” in the churchyard and were later sold. A big amount was realized from the sales, which was used to buy the best bells from Spain.

At one time a certain priest planned to sell the small bells in order to earn money for the repair of the Church but the people protested. The plan had to be scrapped. At present the historical bells still hang on the tower, as mush a part of the town as the people themselves. The unique sounds are heard daily at 5:00 in the morning to announce the first mass; then at 10:00 a.m. to remind the housewives that it is time to cook. The next is at 12:00 noon to announce lunchtime; then at 2:00 p.m., bells ring again indicating siesta period of break from work, then at 6:00 p. m., the bells sing their final songs reminding the faithful to go into a minute of silent prayer (oracion or angelus). Formerly, bells also rung at 8:00 p. m. to remind the Christians to pray for the departed but when the “campanero”, Mang Juan Varias got blind, he was not allowed to climb the tower to ring the bells at night.

On joyful occasions or celebrations, one can hear the bells tingling with their own kind of laughter, as they “iskela”. But on sad occasions as when someone dies, one can also feel the crying and the moaning of the bells as the “agunias” and the “plegaria” are being played.

Old folks love to tell the story of a legendary bell which was so huge that the sounds could create vibrations enough to a cause a pregnant woman to abort. The bell was said to be buried somewhere in the vicinity of the present Church. However, no one can pinpoint the supposed location; it could be a very useful aid in the control of population explosion.

An old woman told the author though, that there was no such big bell for if there was why should it be buried when it could easily be ordered not to ring it if causes abortion.

From the book TINGKORAW: Alfonso's History and Legend by jett e. avinante, m.d.