Coconut palm fronds which are blessed on Palm Sunday.
palaspas
People bring woven coconut palm fronds to church on
Palm Sunday. They are blessed with holy water by the
priest and then taken home where they are put on the wall
or near the door to keep away typhoons and witches.
When someone is sick, the dried fronds are crushed up and
used in water for bathing or burned by an albolario in
“smoking” the body (see tapa). Some people also
attach them to the end of their dibble stick when planting
rice.