Colorful and Magnificent Festivals in Cebu Part 8

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MAGNIFICENT FESTIVALS

People in Cebu love to celebrate festivals or are fiesta-loving people. Cebu has one of the most colorful and world-renowned festivals in the Philippines and they celebrate it with excitement and high spirits. Cebu celebrates different festivals in different towns and cities. Cebu celebrate fiestas with religious rituals and dancing in the streets to the beat of the drums. Read More: http://www.etravelpilipinas.com/events_festivals/cebu_festival.htm

Siloy Festival

Photo from: http://www.tourganize.com/article/blog/2015/08/23/cebu-festivals-that-you-should-visit/

The festival culminates on the last Saturday of August and promotes the Mag-abo Forest, with its famous black shama bird (local name: siloy), as well as the town’s scenic white beaches and dive spots. It also celebrates the town’s patroness, Saint Rose of Lima.

The forest is the treasure trove of endemic plants and animals. It’s home to 91 bird species, 12 fruit bats species, and a host of potentially still unknown species. It’s also the abode of the globally threatened Cebu flowerpecker, which the scientific community had once considered to be extinct, and the most threatened tree in the world, the Cebu cinnamon tree.

Most of all, the Mag-abo Forest is the home of the Black Shama (Copsychus cebeunsis), locally known as siloy. Siloy is a threatened Cebu endemic animal known for its melodious song that soothes the senses of those who hear it. Read More: http://www.choosephilippines.com/do/festivals/1646/siloy-festival/

Karansa Festival

Photo from: http://mycebuphotoblog.com/2007/09/21/ay-karansa/

Karansa Festival is a popular merry-making celebration among the inhabitants of Danao, Cebu Province. The festivity includes various dancing performances, eating and drinking in celebration to the area’s pottery-making livelihood. It is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of September and in honor to the city’s patron saint – Santo Tomas de Villanueva.

The festival is primarily a happy and playful dancing and prancing activity in coordination with the rhythm of music, beating of the drums and occasional loud shouts. The pot-makers dance, sing, eat and drink coconut wine after a day’s pottery-making work using four basic steps – swaying (kiay), shaking (karag and kurug) and juddering (karahay).

Nowadays, these four dance steps are being performed by well-choreographed teams from elementary and high schools in the area. Read More: http://www.cebu-bluewaters.com/karansa-festival.html

Pitlagong Festival

Photo from: http://www.choosephilippines.com/do/festivals/3536/pitlagong-festival/

The town of Argao is considered as one of the oldest towns in the province of Cebu, having been founded by the Spaniards and established as a pueblo in the year 1608. The name of the town was derived from abundantly growing plant in the area, known locally as “Sali-argaw”. The culture of the Argawanons is deeply rooted in its Roman Catholic faith so most of its socio-culture activities revolve around the Fiesta and Holy Week Celebration. They are considered religious, hospitable, fun loving, hard working and determined people. The Pitlagong festival of Argao is celebrated as a form of prayer and offering to Saint Michael the Archangel, the town’s patron saint. It is also considered as a way of uniting the people to participate in the community development efforts.

“Pitlagong” is an instrument made of bamboo and is used to clean the bamboo container (sugong) used in collecting coconut wine (tuba) or vinegar (suka). “Tuba” is part of the daily lives of Argawanon. Read More: http://cebufestivals.blogspot.com/2009/04/pitlagong-festival.html#.WYxRSumQxaQ