Katagman Festival and the Golden Death Mask

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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/

Photo from: http://ramzkie.com/2012/04/oton-katagman-festival-2012/

Katagman was the original name of Barangay San Antonio before the coming of the spaniards. Barangay San Antonio is where the civilization in this part of country started. The katagman festival features Laro ng Lahi which revives traditional games like Palosebo, Tumba Patis, Kadang sa Paya and Many more. The highlights of the festival is the Tribe contest which is a unique combination of Street dancing and Street Theater. The tribes are represented by 37 barangays, the tribes are: Tribu Kanipaan, Tribu Nakatundan, Tribu Katamnan, Tribu Parayan, Tribu Paraw, Tribu Mandaragat and Tribu Malaca.

Katagman Festival is enjoyed by the Visitors and local residents because Oton is 10.2 kilometers or 30 minute jeepney ride from downtown Iloilo. The Katagman Festival has an interesting cultural. theme. The festival is aimed at recognizing the historical significance on this mask to the community which has been fading in the past years. The gold mask is the official symbol of the Katagman Festival, representing Oton’s rich historical & cultural heritage. The mask is a gold nose-disc and eye mask that covers the facial orifices of the dead. It was the burial custom of the Southern Chinese and was practiced by a limited group of Filipinos that persisted through the Spanish Era. The original mask, dating from the late 14th or early 15th century A.D., was retrieved from an open grave in Brgy. San Antonio, Oton, Iloilo. It is now kept at the National Museum in Manila. A duplication, donated by the museum, is displayed at the Oton Municipal Building SB Session Hall. Read More: http://katagman-festival.blogspot.com/

Photo from: http://mybeautifuliloilo.blogspot.com/2014/04/katagman-festival-bringing-ilonggos-to.html

Katagman Festival is a yearly celebration in Oton, Iloilo which celebrates the ancient Ilonggo culture as Katagmans. Merrymakers in the Katagman Festival dance to the beat of traditional instruments adorned with golden eye and nose piece or death-mask, a replica of the golden mask dug in Oton in 1973.

The mask is part of the ancient burial custom and was used to ward off and protect the deceased from evil spirits and for guidance in he afterlife. The original death-mask is currently enshrined at the National Museum in Manila.

The festival is celebrated with a theatrical dance competition as the highlight followed with minor events such as garden show, porma-balas, and motor boat race among others. Read More: http://www.localphilippines.com/events/katagman-festival

Photo from: http://www.iloilo.gov.ph/tourism/category/festivals/