Imbayah Festival is a Renewal of Tradition

Planning a trip? Those who love to travel know the essence of all travel is about you and your enjoyment. Travelers know that the destination is a major part in planning a trip, experiencing and delving deeper into unfamiliar places, people and culture is paramount.

Expand your horizons and set your sight to the Philippines, an off the beaten path travel site! An undiscovered paradise made of thousands of islands and white sand beaches all around! A tiny dot in the map of the world, and yet a haven for travelers, backpackers, retirees and even passersby.

It offers awesome tourist attractions, magnificent beaches, hot spring resorts, colorful festivals, hundreds of scenic spots and world-class hotels and facilities. Not to mention the tropical climate, the affordable prices as well as the friendly and hospitable, English-speaking people! You will be glad you came, and we’re sure, you WILL come back for more FUN in the Philippines!

IMBAYAH FESTIVAL

Photo from: lakas.com.ph

In the highlands, there is a festival that is somehow underrated, specifically the Imbayah Festival. This festival celebrated every three years is a grand festivity highlighting the rich and colorful culture of the Ifugao.

Photo from: http://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/arts-and-culture/57048-imbayah-festival-renewal-tradition

The Philippine pride Banaue Rice Terraces was bedecked with much merriment and excitement as Ifugaos celebrated the 10th Imbayah festival. The Imbayah is celebrated once every three years to give thanks to the bounty and blessings the Ifugao receives through the years from the divine Providence.

The festival hosted plenty of tribal and native sports to show their deep respect for their rich culture and tradition. The festival started their major events last April 26 and commenced brightly on the 29th. The festival is a nine-day-affair which kick starts last April 17 with a merry making, dancing and chanting all night long. Imbayah festival is traditionally a celebration of rice which is the main produce of the people in the Cordillera Region in their dubbed stairway-to-heaven Rice Terraces. The famed extraordinary rice paddies had been hailed worldwide as one of the Eight Wonders of the World earning global respect and recognition on the Ifugao’s ingenuous craftsmanship, resourcefulness and hard work. Despite their lack of flat lands to cultivate their staple food rice, they invented a means of carving on the mountainside rice paddies which resembles a stairway that seems to reach out to the heavens. Read More:http://www.pinoygigs.com/blog/lifestyle/ifugao-celebrated-indigenous-imbayah-festival/

Photo from: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1127537

Imbayah Festival is Banaue’s grandest cultural celebration which only happens every 3 years.The Imbayah comes from the word “bayah”, meaning rice wine. “Bumayah” or “ Imbayah” connotes nobility or abundance – an occasion were it is said that wine overflows from heirloom jars and the feast set for mortals and gods.

One of the highlights of Imbayah Festival is the demonstration of Ehtnic Games, which dated back in the forefathers of Ifugao people. For example, two male Ifugaos wearing their traditional G-strings are gripping each other legs which is populary known as “Balintugan.” The goal is to pin the other’s leg onto the surface, with the winner’s leg over the loser’s leg. Read More: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1127537

Photo from: http://www.baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph/life.asp?mode=%20archives/2016/may/5-1-2016/life1.txt

INDIGENOUS RACE — Ifugao tribesmen in their native attire participate in a friendly downhill wooden bicycle race from the main viewpoint to the town center during the Imbayah Festival in Banaue on April 27. The crowd drawing event showcased Filipino ingenuity and resourcefulness during the time of their great ancestors, who carved the world famous Ifugao Rice Terraces more than 2,000 years ago. Read More:http://www.baguiomidlandcourier.com.ph/life.asp?mode=%20archives/2016/may/5-1-2016/life1.txt