The “Pabasa ng Pasyon,” literally the “Reading of the Passion,” is a Christian devotion in the Philippines, especially during the Holy Week.
It is the uninterrupted chanting of the Pasyón, an early 16th-century epic poem narrating the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Readers are usually groups of individuals taking turns in chanting verses, usually as a fulfilment of a “panatà (vow).”
The “Pabasa” may be chanted “a cappella” or with the accompaniment of musical instruments, such as the guitar, accordion, piano, or by a rondalla ensemble. (Photos by Jire Carreon)
