AN MALOFFAN I LIKAO

An maloffan i likao, songge i danges ya un pega gi bentåna.

(When the procession passes, light the candle and put it on the window.)

I thought the custom had totally disappeared, but here it is 2018 and I saw one house in Mongmong continue it. We were passing this home in procession and I spied a lit candle on a table in the carport.

In the old days, people would light a stick candle, less frequently a jar candle since they were not as available back then, and put it on the window sill facing the road where the procession would pass. Back in the 1980s, I still saw it done here and there, especially in the south.

It was a way of the residents showing respect for the religious image that was passing the home, either on a karosa pulled by people or on an åndas carried on the shoulders. This way the home could ask for a blessing from that saint or the Lord.

Sometimes it was because an elderly or sick person in the home couldn't leave the home to attend the church function. At other times, even if the whole family was going to attend the Mass at church, they would leave a lit candle anyway at the window or wherever convenient and safe, as a way of inviting a blessing on the home. In modern times, some families turn on the outdoor lights, too, as a way of giving respect to the passing image.

If there were someone elderly or sick inside the home, they would try to situate themselves by the window or door so they could see the passing image, make the sign of the cross and say some prayers while the image was passing, unless of course they were unable to rise from bed, unconscious or in a very bad state. Then a caregiver in the family was the one who did that for him or herself, and on behalf of the sick or elderly family member.

Lighting candles by the window was a custom in other parts of the world, continued to this day in some places. There were different reasons for this, including the passing of processions.