Carcar Church is only one of three religious structures in Cebu that incorporates Muslim architectural features. The minaret like domes capping the twin belfries is it’s defining feature though it is also paralleled, to some extent, by the one in Naga. Not many people have gone up these parts but for the curious, going through the narrow stone steps from the choirloft are in for a delightful surprise. Make that three surprises!

The Catholic cemetery in Carcar is the oldest cemetery in the municipality. I haven’t got information when this was constructed but it might be 19th century as it is located far from the current church, following the decree of King Charles IV in 1787. It is still in use with modern niches tightly crowding any available space. It might have lost it’s original chapel but there are still remnants of the perimeter fence.

I was in Oslob over the weekend to check on the progress of the reconstruction of the burned church of Oslob and was happy to find that it now has a roof so that masses can again be said at this old structure. While this is commendable development, there is still much to be done. I asked Jun Tumulak, a member of the Parish Pastoral Council and he said that the total cost needed in bringing it back to a functional church complete with it’s flooring paved and tiled, pews, windows, painting, etc. is about P35 million.

The three tiered Graeco-Roman façade of the church of Carcar is simple yet elegant. While such style can also be found in a few other places in the country, it is not as severe as that of Talisay, a few towns to the north or Bacnotan, La Union in Luzon. The interplay of planes, arches and quiant details make this tall and compact church one of the unforgettable structures in this island province.

Carcar is located at the eastern coast of Cebu south of the capital, Cebu City. It is bounded by San Fernando in the north, Sibonga in the south and Barili in the west. It’s beautiful church overlooks the equally beautiful heritage town, the only one of its kind in the province with its many ancestral houses from different periods.

I visited the Basilica del Sto. Nino, the Augustinian convent in Cebu last 31 October to take photos around the church for a future post at my travel blog, langyaw.com. When I went out, I was surprised that the centuries old icon of the Inmaculada Concepcion (Immaculate Concepcion) of Oslob Church was just outside, encased in clear plexiglass and there were two long lines infront where people waited to come close and touch it.

Extant mortuary chapels in the country are hard to find. Except maybe if you are in the province of Iloilo where there are a few excellent examples. However, beyond that province and Cebu, there are also scattered across the rest of the regions but not all and I haven’t seen one from Mindanao. During my travels, I was able to find some that are now posted here.

The cemetery and mortuary chapels in Cebu are not as grand as those in Iloilo and are in different degrees of condition with most having been renovated and one in near collapse. In this post, I am presenting the eight cemetery and mortuary chapels that can be found in Cebu: Calamba (Cebu City), Sibonga, Argao, Dalaguete and Oslob.

Cebu doesn’t have the impressive colonial era cemeteries of Iloilo. There’s no ornate polygonal cemetery chapels like that of San Joaquin, Cabatuan and Janiuay. However, it does have its own surprises that would also delight lovers of these heritage structures.

While browsing through archival photos, I found two images of the old altar of Oslob Church in Cebu. These were probably taken during the late 19th or early 20th centuries. From the setup of the altar, these might have been during a major feastday or Holy Week. These two were from San Agustin in Intramuros, Manila.

Oslob has always been frequented by Muslim slave raiders but in 1813, with the aid of Fray Julian Bermejo’s string of watchtowers, the local armed militia was able to repel and capture the leader of a raiding party off Sumilon Island. This decisive event led to the formation of a new town that is now the current poblacion of Oslob. Prior to that and located around two kilometers south, are the ruins of a former fortified settlement called Daanglungsod.

The Muslim slave raids in the middle of the 18th to the middle of the 19th centuries were indeed one of the darkest years of colonial Philippines. It is estimated that during this period, around 200,000 natives were abducted. Because of the ineffectiveness and lack of political will of the governing colonial power to stem these raids, and prior to 1848, the navy vessels were often outrun by the faster prahus, or, in the case of Bicol, refused the request of the mayors to arm their towns for fear that the townspeople will revolt against them, these depradations dragged on for more than a hundred years.

The pirate wind, locally called the habagat or the southwest monsoon blows between May and October. It intensifies in August and September of which the Ilanun (or Iranun or Lanun) and later, the Balangingi (Iranun and their captives who were integrated into their community living in the island of Balangingi) took advantage. These were the months that communities across Southeast Asia were afraid of.