“Tra la! It’s May! The lusty month of May! That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.”
That’s from one of my favorite songs from Camelot. Could this be the reason why a lot of our fiestas are celebrated this month? Of course, since this is the Philippines, fiestas are a-plenty all throughout the year.
The colors and the pageantry of Philippine festivals dazzle the child in all of us who may have the opportunity to participate in them. In fact, I was a spectator in a recent event that featured the best of our festivals and I was awestruck by the kaleidoscope of rich, vivid colors that those of other countries may find difficult to match.
Upon the invitation of the Lyceum of the Philippines University’s (LPU) College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management (CITHM), through the Tourism chairperson Miriam Oreta, I recently witnessed a spectacular display of dances which are part of some of our country’s more colorful festivals, described as follows.
The coastal town of Abuyog, Leyte holds the Buyogan Festival yearly. The “buyog” (bees) is the centerpiece of this feast and is also where the town’s name was taken from. The highlight of the festival is the parade of dancers in brightly colored bee costumes, performing along a specified route through the town, with children crisscrossing the path, and buzzing around like bees. Other participants join the parade, with tribal designs in henna on their faces and bodies, depicting the ethnic history of the town. The festival coincides with the April 29 feast day of the town’s patron saint, St. Francis Xavier, but the merrymaking is done on a weekend closest to that date.
The Pista’y Dayat, also known as Sea Festival, is a thanksgiving celebration every April in Lingayen, Pangasinan, for the bountiful harvest and Neptune’s abundant gift from the sea. The event features mass offerings on the beautiful beaches of the province, highlighted by a fluvial parade.
Every third week of August, the Kadayawan Festival is celebrated in Davao City, for the bountiful harvest of fruits and orchids during the season. The festival’s name is derived from the ethnic word “madayaw,” a warm and friendly greeting which is also used to describe something that is valuable, superior, beautiful, good or profitable. “Kadayawan,” therefore, means anything that brings fortune, a celebration of life, a thanksgiving for the gifts of nature, the wealth of culture, the bounties of harvest, or the serenity of life.
Malaybalay, Bukidnon celebrates the Kaamulan Festival, taken from the Binukid word “amul” (to gather). Simply put, the word means a gathering of tribespeople for a purpose – either a datuship ritual, a wedding ceremony, a thanksgiving festival during harvest time, a peace pact, or all of these put together. Showcasing the unique indigenous culture of the province, the festival’s series of events is from the second half of February to March 10, as this latter date is also the founding anniversary of the province.
The Hinugyaw Festival is held in Koronadal, South Cotabato, revealing the city’s rich culture, tradition and beliefs. This is a weeklong celebration in the first week of January, with many activities planned to make the occasion more meaningful and colorful, ending in a major event, the Hinugyaw sa Dalan. This is a street dancing competition by residents of the city and those from the neighboring towns. The dances showcase the culture of the tribes around Lake Sebu, including graceful moves that depict the tribesmen’s courtship rituals.
I also saw excerpts of the Pintados Festival, a cultural-religious celebration in Tacloban, Leyte which banners the body painting traditions of the ancient tattooed “pintados” warriors. In 1985, the Pintados Foundation Inc. was formed by the residents of Tacloban to organize this festival in honor of the Infant Jesus. Many years later, it was merged with the June 29 Kasadyaan Festival also of the same city.
The Zamboanga Peninsula has the Vinta Festival which highlights the common form of sea transportation in Zamboanga City. It is a traditional boat with a sail emblazoned with assorted colors in vertical stripes representing the colorful history and culture of the Muslim community. The festival also reflects the floral displays that are bountiful in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
The Birds and Eggs Festival, also called the Ibon-Ebon, is celebrated on February 1 and 2 in Candaba, Pampanga, as thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. Its main feature is the presence of migratory birds in the town, consequently promoting it as a tourist destination because throngs of visitors come to watch the common, rare and endemic birds that chirp merrily along in front of them.
Thank you to LPU’s CITHM, and its Dean Lilibeth Aragon, for having educated me with this attractive array of celebrations that certainly make our country’s cultural horizon even more colorful and spectacular. Is it any wonder why “It’s More Fun In The Philippines”?
YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE:
Why can’t women stand a day in the jungle? Because there are no shopping malls.
For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com