Colorful Banigan Kawayan Festival in Samar

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Samar is divided into three parts – Northern Samar, Western Samar and Eastern Samar. For purposes of clarity, Western Samar is simply referred to or called SAMAR.

BANIGAN KAWAYAN FESTIVAL

Photo from: https://allaboutbanig.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/banig-festival/

The most awaited Banigan Festival will be held at Basey, Samar on September 28, 2014. Basey is the municipality in Samar province. The people of Basey will be celebrating the Banigan Festival again as an annual event on September 28 until September 29. Banigan Festival is also known as Kawayan – Banigan Festival. This festival is a yearly dance parade of different kinds of mats. This festival shows the 2 main source of livelihood in Basey. These are the bamboo weaving and the mat weaving. It is being celebrated up until now to continue the tradition that has been passed to them for many years. Read More: http://www.metrokelan.com/festivals-and-fairs/banigan-kawayan-festival_i6878

Photo from: https://www.eventurista.com/136-banigan-kawayan-festival

Prominent for its meticulously woven and beautifully designed mats, Basey, Samar is known as the “Banig Capital of the Philippines.”

The festival highlights the town’s woven mats and bamboo crafts through its annual street dance parade. Showcasing the major source of livelihood of the people of Basey, the mats are made of dyed “tikog” (Fimbristylis miliacea) leaves and are uniquely designed using vibrant colors.

Weaving has become a tradition of Basey and was handed down from generations to generations. In the year 2000, Basey attempted to submit a Guinness Book of World Record entry for the longest mat. The 1-meter wide and more than a kilometer long banig was paraded by hundreds of townsfolk. Read More: http://www.choosephilippines.com/do/festivals/3523/banigan-kawayan-festival-basey

Photo from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV7Lr30sACI

Banigan-Kawayan Festival is celebrated every 29th of September, a showcase of unique hand woven mats and bamboo crafts produced by the people of Basey, Samar. It is a tribute to the native bamboo mats as Agri-tourism is promoted nationwide. Read More: http://greedypeg.org/samar/Banigan-Kawayan-Festival.html

Photo from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Banigan-Kawayan_Festival.JPG