PAOAY, Ilocos Norte--Thousands of people filled the
streets leading to the picturesque Paoay Church on February 17 as the townsfolk
celebrate the annual Guling-guling Festival, reaffirming the 600-year old
tradition of faith and resiliency of Ilocanos.
In keeping with the town’s Catholic roots, the festivity
is traditionally held the day before Ash Wednesday which marks the last day of
merriment before the observation of the season of sacrifice or lent.
The festival highlights street dancing and the community
feasting on “dudol”, a heritage delicacy made of rice and molasses and drinking
“basi”, a sugarcane wine, to stir excitement and bliss all throughout the
celebration.
A national
pageantry of faith and resiliency
Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos hailed the
people of Paoay as the celebration is now regarded as a national festival in
the Philippines.
“Being an authentic cultural festivity, the celebration
of the Guling-guling Festival is backed by the National Commission for Culture
and the Arts,” said Ms. Josefina Guillen, head of the national committee on
dance of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
Paoay Church’s parish priest Msgr. Manuel Lamprea Jr.
revealed that the tradition of Guling is entirely based on the bible,
particularly the Book of Exodus which is a strong manifestation of the strong
Christian beliefs of Ilocanos since time immemorial.
“Truly, this is a celebration of the remarkable faith and
resiliency of Ilocanos. Despite the difficulties that surround us, we still
find time to be resilient, to be proud and to remain Christian and prayerful,”
said Ms. Marcos.
 |
SCENES from the Guling-Guling festival 2015 dance parade and showdown. (Alaric A. Yanos) |
Enlivening Paoay Church
Local and foreign tourists marveled at the sight of the
glorious Paoay Church where the street pageantry showdown was held.
“Paoay indeed has been the center of our lives, the
center of our history. Through the celebration of Guling-guling, we have
brought to life the glorious Paoay Church that is recognized worldwide for its
tremendous architecture and for enduring natural disasters,” said the governor
During the celebration, she reminded Ilocanos of the
anonymous Filipino architect and extraordinary Ilocano engineers and workers
who put together a church in 16th century “making certain that until today we
will have a church that will stand a test of time, extreme weather and cruelty
of mankind.”
Ms. Marcos initiated several projects to enliven the
Paoay Plaza which embraces and enshrines the world-renowned Paoay Church. This
has then improved the economic situations in the town with more job
opportunities as it has drawn thousands of local and foreign tourists.
Passing the
tradition to the youth
Rosita Corpuz, 75, of San Roque, Paoay, reminisced the old days
while watching the grand street pageantry. “On the day of the festivity, we
would wake up early in the morning to cook “dudol” and proceed at the place of
the “dadapilan” (sugar mill machine), to drink “basi”.
 |
| VISITORS try the "paltaw", rice flour rolled into a ball and cooked in boiled sugar cane juice. (Alaric A. Yanos) |
She noted that seeing more young people participating is
an important aspect of the celebration “as passing the tradition to them will
mean the preservation of the traditions and continuity of the rituals and
practices in the next years to come.”
What makes Mrs. Corpuz more proud of the festival is that
despite the obvious modern improvements, it still prioritizes to showcase
Paoay’s traditions that withstood time.
Meanwhile, 14 year-old Maria Cabrera, a first-time dancer
in the street pageantry, said that Guling for the young people means “respect
to the people before us, our ancestors, which is why I am here to perform the
traditional dance ritual like the “binatbatan” that depicts the making of
Ilocanos’ woven cloth called “abel” to honor the legacy our forebears handed to
us.”
Ilocano men and women wearing abel-inspired traditional
costume were sighted during the celebration as they swayed their hips and arms
during the street-dancing parade. (PGIN-CMO)
The traditional sugar cane crusher known as
"dadapilan" is brought out during Guling-guling Festival for visitors
to watch how it is used.
Alaric A. Yanos
(Left) dudol and a banana trunk plate with the paltaw,
dudol, malunggay paltaw and papaya trunk paltaw)
Alaric A. Yanos
Dudol is traditionally cooked from a hole in the ground.
Alaric A. Yanos
Visitors enjoy basi tasting. Basi is an alcoholic beverage
fermented from sugar cane juice.
Alaric A. Yanos
Comments
Post a Comment