Fiesta today: (A)political Parade

Fiesta today: (A)political Parade
J. Colima Bajado


There must be something wrong with us.

Tacloban, the eastern Visayas capital, celebrated its fiesta last week, June 30. When I heard that the Pintados-Kasadyaan festival parade was blocked by Tacloban's TOMECO and other city personnel, I was not surprised. In superficial, it is Sangyaw versus Pintados-Kasadyaan festivals. But straightforwardly, it is a politically-driven agenda.

I am not apathetic to the ongoing political squabble between the provincial government of Leyte and the HUC government of Tacloban. But I will put that matter to one side. My emphasis here will be the celebration of fiesta. Theoretically, fiesta is a religious endeavor, thus, apolitical. But in the case of Tacloban, it shows otherwise. There must be really something wrong with us.

Fiesta is a thanksgiving celebration in honor to the patron saint of the town for all its intercessory marvels. The celebration of fiestas in eastern Visayas can be traced back to the introduction of Christianity by the Spanish conquistadores in the 1500s.

The early Visayans unreservedly embraced this celebration for this is not uncommon to their pag-anito (offering) to their deities. This celebration is much closely related to the type of pag-anito called pagtigma, or literally means “to congregate” or “to gather”. The person who summons the villagers to the pagtigma, by shouting in top of tall trees, is called “parayawyaw”. The celebration revolves on the thanksgiving and asking favors to their gods. Regardless of its animistic nature, it was purely religious.

At present, fiestas are more colorful with overture activities, such as the festival of festivals- the Kasadyaan in the case of Leyte. In the Visayan capitals, Cebu is noted for its Sinulog, Kalibo for Ati-Atihan, and Ilo-ilo for Dinagyang. All these three festivals are well established and rooted to their respective cultures.

What about the Pintados-Kasadyaan and Sangyaw festivals? Some of us are informed (but unfortunately many of us are not) that Pintados festival is based on the “painted” men and women, as the Spaniards describe our natives. And Kasadyaan, they say, is a Visayan term for “merriment” and “jollity”. Furthermore, “Sangyaw” means “to herald a news”. How are these festivals rooted to our cultural history?

Pintados entails to the tattooed natives. Tattooing is actually not peculiar to our region. It is in fact practiced all over the different regions of the country. Jesuit Father Ignacio Alcina wrote in 1600s that almost every Bisayan has a painted body as early as twenty years old, except the women, who paint a portion of their hands only. Bur generally, tattooing is a presentation of one’s “nobility, achievements or heroic feats”. But how do we see this in the Pintados festival of Tacloban? Does is coincide with the cultural roots of our region? Pintados by the way is a Spanish term. Pagpatik is a more appropriate word.

I cannot find the word “kasadyaan” in any Waray dictionary, and probably from my ignorance, I thought this word might be derived from the Tagalog “sadya”, or perhaps, from a Sebuano lexicon. And from my imperfect mastery of our language, I only know “kalipayan” and “kamaribhong” as words that will suffice the word merriment. While “sangyaw”, as far as I know means “to proclaim”. Then, to proclaim what?

More than that, we should couple these supposed culture-rooted undertakings with a “religious” spirit, for fiesta is primarily a church celebration. This is a time for prayer and thanksgiving for all the bounties we received. This is not a time for pageantry of politicians- our first problem. Secondly, we are all ignorant of our own culture, much less of its essence. We all want to attend the pagtigma, but everyone also wants to become the “parayawyaw”. Namamarayaw!

Our culture is the strongest foundation of our identity. Why is it that Pintados, or Kasadyaan, or the Sangyaw cannot compete with the prominence of Sinulog, Ati-atihan and Dinagyang? Because of its shallow cultural foundations, plus, its shallow religious substance. Again, I will not be surprised if in the future, another festival will be birthed. Another Petilla or Romualdez festival of festivals. ###

(Published in Gahum Weekly)

The “Buayas” of Palawan and Leyte-Samar

The “Buayas” of Palawan and Leyte-Samar
J. Colima Bajado
I can say that I had traversed the whole Philippine archipelago, that is the three main islands, Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao, in my early 20’s. For different reasons, from writing stuff to a straightforward leisure, I have had been to the Ilocos’ tipmost Pagudpod, shoot in all the Visayan Islands, and wander the land of promise, Mindanao. Last week, I was privileged to visit Palawan- unwinding, supposedly.

The first and remarkable destination I took during my dayfirst of the weeklong stay was the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center- more of a crocodile farm, in Puerto Princesa City. I was taken aback to eye the displayed skeleton of the biggest-live-crocodile caught in the country, in the early 90s. Ignacio Francisco Alcina’s Historia de las e indios de Bisayas…1668 suddenly hit me talking about the crocodiles, yes, buayas, that were then unrestrainedly breathing in Loom river in Borongan, Catubig river, Pambujan, and all over the Samar and Leyte regions. This means, crocs in our region are then prevalent.

Going back to Tacloban, as rampant as the buayas are the drivers and/or porters waiting for their “prey” out/inside the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport. It has been a recurring experience from my previous (local) travels in the region that our drivers (even tricycle drivers), overcharge itinerants, especially most when they noticed ones ignorance to the existing fares of the place.

Neither defamation nor slander is intended, it has been a poignant observation that there are some of us who cannot help, really, but to ride on the coat tails of our trippers, worst, even fellow Warays. Upon claiming my two suitcases from the baggage carousel of the DZR Airport, a porter, most willingly, asked me if I need assistance. “Ta hala, kay nararambingan ak,” I replied. What a showcase of munificence a fellow Waray can offer, I uttered to myself. It was my first time to accept porter assistance.

He helped me bring my suitcases and also got me a city-proper-bound taxi. When my baggages were already set in the taxi, he was now asking me 500 pesos. Anu!? I exclaimed. I thought I heard it wrong. But yes, it was 500 pesos. I can’t believe he was asking me 500 pesos for a two medium sized suitcases! He did not even carry it, for the bags were reeled. I did, as frugal as I am, not pay him the said amount. I gave him 250 pesos instead. Fair enough, I believe.

I thought the misery ended there.

But after I got off from the taxi, the driver was asking 400 pesos for the fare. “Mapadismayo!” I exclaimed again, now coupled with a long sigh. “Mano, diri na gad la ako nakausa sakay hin taxi pakanhi”, I added. I handed him 250 pesos, the usual amount I give for fare from the airport to my place, just in the city. The moment I entered my room, I turn on the fan to cool off, unwind again(!), both my physical and spiritual faculties.

I will be making various travels in the future, certainly. And I hope I will just encounter the literal caymans, crocs, alligators and its kind like that in Palawan. I have the courage to face them. I am more anxious of meeting by any chance, this thick-skinned buayas, skin thicker that of a rhinoceros, and mouth wide-opened, ready to devour their prey.

And yes, I am in a way dismayed of our contemporary buayas in the region. Because in the 1660’s, Fr. Ignacio Alcina made a noteworthy observation that: “Y es que ningun caiman que es natural del rio, o laguna, donde esta el pueblo, hace mal a indio alguno de el.” Or as translated by Fathers Kobak and Gutierrez, “It is that of no crocodile, which is a native of the river or lake where the town is, will harm any native belonging to it.”

I would rather have those crocs of before, than these crooks of today.###

(Published in Gahum Weekly, Vol 2, No. 15)