Join the Vibrant and Exciting Festivals of Iloilo Part 8

It's More Fun in the Philippines, No.1 for Fun!

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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!

FESTIVALS IN ILOILO

Iloilo is a province of festivals, widely known in the Philippines and internationally for the Dinagyang Festival. Ilonggos are fond of hosting festivals and fiestas. In testimony if this is that fact that nearly all places in Iloilo hold a big town-wide celebration every year. It could be in the form of a cultural festival, a religious fiesta that honors a patron saint, or the town or city’s founding day. Read More: http://www.exploreiloilo.com/guide/iloilo-festivals-events/

Kahilwayan Festival

Photo from: http://www.myiloilo.net/a-historic-list-of-firsts-iloilo-part-1/

Kahilwayan is an Ilonggo term that means freedom or independence and Santa Barbara’s cultural festival depicts the role of the Ilonggos in the historic uprising against Spain.

The town’s Kahilwayan Festival showcases in a dance drama the series of events that led to the open declaration of the revolution in the Visayas that’s now known as the Cry of Santa Barbara.

The raising of the Philippine flag by revolutionary forces led by Gen. Martin T. Delgado in Santa Barbara on November 17, 1898 signalled the start of the rebellion against Spain in the Visayas and Mindanao. It is a testimony of the bravery and heroism of the Ilonggos who openly showed their defiance against Spanish oppressors. So important was the role of this uprising in Philippine history that Santa Barbara was the only municipality outside Luzon that was declared as a National Trunk Site in the Centennial Freedom Trail during the Philippine Centennial Celebration in 1998.

In 2001, the Municipal Government headed by then Mayor Isabelo Maquino launched the Kahilwayan Festival as an innovative way of retelling the story of the Cry of Santa Barbara. It is aimed at catching the attention not only of local folks but foreign tourists as well. Read More: http://santabarbara.myguide.ph/kahilwayan.html

Katagman Festival

Photo from: http://mybeautifuliloilo.blogspot.com/2016/04/expressing-unique-character-of-oton.html

The oldest municipality in Panay, Oton annually celebrate its rich and historical and cultural heritage through its Katagman Festival. The celebration is an exciting showcase of the town’s rich history.

The individual performances of assigned excerpts are energetic piece of dance theater inspired by historic periods in Oton that showcases clashes with Muslim pirates, Spanish authorities and the anti-religious sects. The performance is aimed to be informative.

Drawing on historical accounts, key images takes its audience on a historical journey, reminding us of the harsh realities that the Ogtonganons faced in the past. The presentations use symbolic movements, patterns and a body language to build up an intense portrait of repression and success and tell its story.

The festival icon is the golden death mask included among the 15 Most Intense Archaeological Discoveries in Philippine History. Considered to be a National Cultural Treasure, the mask was discovered in the 1960s by Alfredo Evangelista and F. Landa Jocano in a grave site in Barangay San Antonio, Oton.

The mask consists of a gold nose-disc and eye-mask is said to have been dated sometime in the late 14th to the early 15th century A.D. Around that time, the town of Oton was a popular trade route. The golden death mask was known to be the first of its kind recovered in the Philippines. It served as an amulet against evil spirits and was used to cover the face of the dead, an ancient Chinese burial practice common especially among southern Chinese. Read More: http://www.iloilo.gov.ph/tourism/katagman-festival/

Pandayan Festival

Photo from: http://mybeautifuliloilo.blogspot.com/2016/06/pandayan-sa-badiangan.html

Held in Badiangan every last week of June, the Pandayan Festival is a celebration of Badiangan’s excellent blacksmith traditions, which has been one of the main source of livelihood.

The municipality produces several kinds of bolo with specific uses: Binakuko for chopping wood; Sinuwak for carpentry and cutting shrubs and smaller trees; Ginunting having the same function as the sinuwak; Pinuti for slicing meat; Tangkap for kitchen use; Linamay, Surot, and Balintawak are used in gardening; Kayog is used to harvest rice; and Wasay used to chop lumber and bigger trees.

Badiangan’s blacksmith pride is the Bingawan Bolo, known for its durability and craftsmanship.

The Pandayan Festival is highlighted with Igbarasnons performing informative and unique presentations with themes focusing on the town’s local industries: the Bingawan Bolo-Making, Badiangan Instant Taho, and Loom Weaving. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/attractions/pandayan-festival

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