Culture of Pangasinan - Lecture notes 1 PDF

Preview

Summary

Different traditions and culture of Pangasinan...

Description

Region I is composed of 4 provinces, 9 cities, 116 municipalities, and 3265 barangays.

Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur Cultures, Traditions, and Beliefs The Ilocanos are hardworking, determined, simple and as well appreciative, but the are also known for being stingy, “kuripot” in their tounge. Yet, for them being called this is just a joke among all Filipinos, not as a negative description of their kind. It is their characteristics that that our nationality have grown to understand.

Being Thrifty They value money so much that most people see them as stingy, but in truth they are just thrifty, they want to spend what they earned wisely. All of this is due to the fact that in their homeland, in the Ilocos Region, which is located between the barren lands of the Cordillera mountain ranges and the South China Sea. An absolutely blessed land with agricultural benefits, making life in Ilocos is very difficult. And with the fast growth of population, their homeland is not enough to contain them. Thus this sort of environment turned them to fighters and survivors. And mainly focusing on living a better life. And due to all this, it is hard for them to make money, plus considering the fact that they are very far away from the centre of the trade industry. The long hours it takes to travel in order to take their products, mostly fruits and vegetables, to the capital makes their jobs even more harder. And once they arrive, the products are no longer fresh thus making business hard. And all of this led to the traits of Ilocanos being thrifty. Marriage Ilocanos have a very strong family tie. Just like all Filipinos, they follow all the norm inside the house and within the family. Like the father being the head, the one who provides and the for the family to survive, the mother being the “light of the home”, the one who takes care of the children and manages all house finances. Plus, the Ilocanos have high respect to their parents, which is absolutely evident in their marriage traditions. Before even planning for marriage, Ilocano youths seek first the approval of both sets of parents. The parents are to decide if they would agree to let their child marry or not. The young man,groom, asks for his parents’ consent. His parents will pay the dowry and finance the wedding. Then, the young man formally announces (panagpudno) his intentions of marrying the young woman to her parents. The groom’s parents visit the bride’s parents, in which they set the date of the wedding. In setting the date, both parents go to a planetario (planetarium) to learn what dates are the good-luck days.

Another meeting is set for the wedding (palalian or ringpas) wherein the groom and his relatives to the bride’s house to finalize the wedding arrangements. The families set the choice of sponsors, the dowry, sagut (wedding dress and accessories which will be provided by the groom), and the parawad (cash that given by the groom to the bride’s mother as a reward for raising his bride). Val aluing uing Education Their are not just industrious in the fields but also in schools. Most of them are literate, and the parents are very passionate in giving their children proper education, and would sacrifice everythimg in order to give them a good life.All this is done because they believe that their children will have better opportunities aside from farming. And parents will ensure that their children will have a better future than the parents have.

Gods and Goddessess Here is a tale of their almighty ones. Philippine F Folk olk Litera Literature ture Cabalangegan was formerly a jungle at the edge of the river Abra. On the far side of the river were mountains high and steep. On these mountains lived an old man named Abra, the father of Caburayan. The old man lived and controlled the weather. It is said that the river Abra was a gathering of water vapor, shaded, and the days were always bright with sunlight. At that time Anianihan, God of Harvests, was in love with Anianihan, Goddess of Healing. Her mother, Lady Makiling knew about their mutual understanding, but Abra did not know it for the three were afraid to tell him since he might punish them as he disapproved of Anianihan. Abra wanted his daughter to marry either Saguday, God of the Wind, or Revenador, God of Thunder and Lightning. This being so, Anianihan took Anianihan from her home. Abra wept a great deal. He sent Lady Makiling away after beating her. When Abra was alone, he wept day and night till Bulan, God of Peace and Calm, came. But though Bulan was there to brighten Abra’s spirits, Abra did not stop weeping. He could not express his anger. He begged the other gods to bring back his daughter. One day the sun, eye of Amman, shone so bright that the water of the river Abra was excessively heated. Smoke rose from the river. Soon, thick, black clouds began to darken the sky. Then Saguday sent the strongest wind until the crowns of the trees brushed the ground. The god Revenador sent down the largest strings of fire. The heaviest of rains fell. All these frightful events lasted seven days. The river Abra then rose and covered the trees. There rose a vast body of water and the highest pan of the mountain could be seen. It looked like the back of a turtle from a distance. At this spot Abra lived. On the seventh day, Abra heard a cry. He also heard a most sorrowful song. Abra dried his tears and looked around, but he saw no one. He determined to find Maria Makiling, his grandchild. He did not find her for the cries of the baby had stopped. The search for the baby lasted three full moons, but to no avail and the poor old man returned to his home very sad. He lost all hope. His wits were gone. At that time Maria Makiling was under the care

of the fierce dog Lobo, that was under a god of the Underworld. He had been punished by the other gods and that is why he looked like a fierce dog. He was sent down to do charity. Festi Festivals vals Here are some of the festivals of the Ilocanos in their mainland. BAC-B BAC-BACARRA ACARRA FESTIVAL Bacarra, Ilocos Norte Farmers Festival November 30 The legendary word “bac-bacarra” is a specie of freshwater fish abundant in the river during the 15th century which gave birth to the town’s name. GULING-GULING FESTIVAL Paoay, Ilocos Norte Guling-GulingMartes May aims to commemorate the 16th century old practice of the Spanish friars for the religious sector to interact with its parishioners. It has always been celebrated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. PAMULINAW AMULINAWEN EN FESTIVAL Laoag City February 10 Our Lady of Peace Pamulinawen is the name of a woman made popular in the classic Ilocano song titled Pamulinawen. PINILI TOWN FIESTA AND AGROINDUSTRIAL FARE and GARLIC FESTIVAL April 13 – 16 Pinili,Ilocos Norte Pinili Town Fiesta and Agro-Industrial Fare is celebrated in honor of St. Isidore de Farmer Garlic Festival which is now a tourist attraction is observed because garlic is the main commodity of Pinili. EMPAN EMPANAD AD ADA A FESTIVAL Batac, Ilocos Norte December 8 – 30 • BATAC EMPANADA is made of savory filling of grated green papaya, mongo, longganisa and egg. The dough that serves as its thin and crisp wrapper is made of rice flour. Sinait Garlic Festiv Festival al Sinait,Ilocos Sur May 1 – 3 The province-wide cooking contest is also held side-by-side with the Search for the Biggest Garlic Bulb and Garlic Bundling, whose categories include Longest Twined Garlic, Creative Bundling, and Bundling Competition which also allows tourist participation. Pinakbet Festival Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur April 23 it features street dances and cooking competitions and honours the Sta. Maria’s farmers’ industry and their housewives’ cooking skills.

Binatbatan Festiv Festival al Vigan City, Ilocos Sur First week of May the festival got its name from the Ilukoterm batbatin, or separating cotton balls from the seeds of the local fruit tree kapas sanglay. The cotton balls are then spun and used in weaving the abel, which Chinese merchants then residing in Ciudad Fernandina, the Vigan of old, exported and which was among the local products shipped during the galleon trade from the 15th to the 18th century. Tabako F Festival estival Candon City, Ilocos Sur • every last week of March • thanksgiving for the city’s bountiful harvest of tobacco. Semana Santa • Holy Week Good Friday procession highlights decorated carrozas bearing life-size, Spanish vintage statues of saints. On Easter Sunday, the dawn celebration depicting the Resurrection of Christ called “Sabet” is a scene to watch out for.

La union Culture Beliefs and Tradition Philippines Tawid Taoid, a showcase of Iloko-Bago performances, was celebrated in La Union as part of the National Arts Month in Februrary. TheThe travelling performance and exhibit showcased various arts mastered by the students of the Tawid Taoid partner schools such as La Union National High School (LUNHS), La Union Special School for Culture and Arts in Santol, La Union, and Saint Louis College. TheThe opening ceremony of Tawid Taoid was held at the Santol Town Auditorium on Feb. 17. Another set of performances was mounted at LUNHS Don Pacoy Ortega Auditorium on Feb. 18. The event closed at the Saint Louis College (SLC) Gymnasium on Feb. 20. From the Tagalog term “tawid” and the Ilokano term for heritage, “taoid,” Tawid Taoid in La Union showecased the diversity of cultures in La Union, featuring Bago dances, songs and oral tradition, and Ilokano folk dances, chants and dramas. San Fernando Town Fiesta February 6 to 12 to honour St. William, the Hermit. San Fernando, La Union Feast of Our Lady of Caysasay San Fernando, La Union held on the second week of September which is the 5th day of August in the Lunar calendar Agoo Semana Santa •May 6 Agoo, La Union During the Holy week the town people of Agoo come up with religious activities to make the occasion more meaningful and sacred.

ARINGAY FESTIVAL May 15-21 Aringay, La Union Fiesta celebration highlighting the agricultural product of Lasam, the Aringay Rice variety with agri-industrial trade fair, street dancing and other activities.

BUYBUY FESTIVAL February 9 – 11 Burgos, La Union “buybuy” or tiger grass Featured is a civic parade, trade fair and handicraft exhibition. Cultural performances can also be seen during this time.

Pangasinan Culture Beliefs and Tradition The province of Pangasinan has a rich and varied folk literature. An example of this is the Aligando, probably the longest local folksong at 563 lines (excluding four quatrains). It is also considered an original Christmas carol, and takes about an hour and a half to perform. Other examples of this ancient oral tradition include 631 proverbs, 465 riddles and puzzles, numerous myths, legends, tales of supernatural creatures, and love songs known as petek. The storytellers, known as tumatagaumen, wove tales for every season. Indicative of the peoples’ values and skills too were their dances. Thus, the imunan was a courtship dance, the tagam a war dance, and the kumakaret a test of dexterity. These dances were accompanied by the music of the tulali, a flute used during festivities. Since ancient times women have played a leading role in their communities. They enjoyed a wide variety of privileges other than those related to religious functions. In courtship, men were subject to a period of servitude, and although marriages were arranged, a bride price was practiced, and women could keep property and initiate divorce. The legendary Princess Urduja was renowned for her intelligence and her enlightened rule. Significantly, the women of

the province figured prominently in the agrarian colorum movement of the 1930s and in the women’s suffrage movement. The people of Pangasinan are noted for their piety; both the Virgin of Manaoag and the Son of God (Divino Tesoro) are said to have worked miracles. However, they also maintain a deep-seated belief in supernatural beings beyond the fold of the Church. These include the pasatsat, a gruesome ghost rolled up in a mat, anddikay dalen, literally, ‘grass of the earth,” dwarves who form a band and parade around at midnight, riding on bamboo twigs that sway with the wind. In pre-Christian times, the supreme deity was “Ama-Gaolay.” The people believed anitos or spirits lurked everywhere, capable of inflicting pain and suffering, or of granting rewards. ThePistay Dayat (Feast of the Sea) is an ancient ritual offering to the spirits of the waters to pacify the gods. Old women known as amiteras were priestesses, who performed ceremonies called maganitos to secure favor from the heavens. They believed in an afterlife. Death, for them, was a voyage, thus, food and other needs were buried with the dead. Mourning rites required an abstinence from rice, wine, meat and fish. A gold chain or a piece of rattan worn around the neck symbolized mourning attire with a great banquet marking the end of mourning. The people of Pangasinan are something of a paradox. They count among their fold the fiercest rebels against colonial rule, taking pride in calling themselves amputi layag or “white ear,” in allusion to the ears of Spaniards that they severed as tokens of victory. Pangasinan is one of the few provinces in the country whose people, both the elite anacbanua and the dependent timawa joined hands in revolt against the Spanish colonizers while keeping to the Catholic faith. They have been seen as exclusive, attempting to remain ethnically distinct yet they have absorbed a substantial Ilokano ethnic community. However, they are not regionalist. No presidential candidate has obtained a majority vote from the province. The people have also proved to be both traditionalist yet progressive quoting a statement: “while it is not an established fact that Urduja and her kingdom were in Pangasinan, let us keep her as belonging to the Pangasinense.”

Talong F Festival estival

The first month of the year promises to be a busy time for the townfolk of Villasis to Festival al. It’s a thanksgiving of the people, many are farmers, celebrate their Talong (eggplant) Festiv for their popular vegetable products that rightfully make the town acclaimed as the Vegetable Bowl of Pangasinan and it is also their way of promoting their talong of which this town is the top producer in Region 1. They are also main producer of eggplant, this town honors their prized violet crop of differentsizes through music, cook fest, street dancing and eggplant grilling. TheThe talong festival is highlighted with cookfest entitled “pinakbet sa kawa”. Each

barangay was given kawa (very big cookware) where they cooked the pinakbet and which they can use during big affairs in their respective barangays. Sigay F Festival estival

Sigay” means harvest, light and merriment. The fishing town of Binmaley celebrates its rich yields from its farms and waters and establishes its rightful claim to being the Seafood Capital of the North. Enjoy the Agno River fluvial parade, banca carera, street dancing and seafoods cookfest during the festivities. The Sigay Festival is a one week celebration from January 15 to February 2 which will give tribute to the aquaculture industry of the town, which is the number one livelihood of the community of Binmaley. “Sigay” is a Pangasinan dialect word which means to harvest. Since Binmaley is positioned as the Seafood Capital of the North, having the largest land area for aguaculture in Pangasinan, it is apt to name our festival SIGAY to bring in the positive spirit of harvest. In fact, Binmaley, has produces milkfish, malaga (siganid) and prawns from fishponds and has catapulted itself as the “Fishbowl of Pangasinan“, after years of hardwork by local fish farmers. Sigay festival is full of exciting events that participated and attended by Binmalenian’s and visitors. Special events like Fluvial parade, AgroAquaculture trade fair, Charismatic thanks giving, Banca carera, Senior citizen’s night, Seafood cookfest, Educators – Professionals night, Aquaculture and business management seminar, Sanguniang kabataan night,Barangay night, Procession of the town’s Patron, Charity ball – Balikbayan night, Comemoration night, Ms. Binmaley Coronation night, Thanks giving Mass, Civic parade and street dancing competition are enjoyed by all people of Binmaley and visitors from nearby towns.

Corn F Festival estival

Sto. Tomas was also the one of the corn-producing towns of the province, its fiesta is highlighted by its Corn Festival which showcases this prime product in street dancing competition, longest corn barbeques, and agri-trade fair. The Corn Festival was a very good occasion for the people of Sto. Tomas to show their stride and expertise in agriculture, particularly in growing corn, incidentally the top product of the town after rice. Dumayo F Festival estival

The Annual Anniversary of Urdaneta’s cityhood celebrates the harmonious community established by the locals with migrants and business locators who made the city their home and the fastest growing central business hub north of Manila. “Dumayo”festival celebrates this convergence through activities like the Carabao festival parade, trade fairs, exhibits, cook fest and more.

Gilala! Hundred IIss lands Fes Festival tival

The most anticipated and largest crowd-drawer event in Alaminos City. Lavish celebration marks the Hundred Islands Festival. Exhilaration rides the atmosphere with the string of athletic and challenging pursuits like sky diving competition, skills Olympics or island adventure race, inviting the thrill-seeking foreign and local tourists. Sighs of awe and approval can be heard as the best of aqua products and seafood cuisine enjoys center stage. Restaurants often let out the latest and most sumptuous menus during the festival. A trade fair also usually graces the occasion. But the most awaited spectacle would be the fluvial parade, showcasing floats made of shells and other fabulous marine themes. Magnificent designs only gets better at each competition. And the street rings of beats for the street dances, as well as the melodic masterpieces from the drum and lyre groups of different schools, joined by the official drum and bugle group. The heat of the sun mingles with the warm smiles of people following the floats and with the hot, dynamic dance routine of the street dancers. Mango-bamboo F Festival estival The Mango-Bamboo Festival is not just meant to be a festival or entertainment event. It was called Mango-Bamboo Festival because the two products have a greater chance to compete in the world market. Malangsi F Festival estival Known for their flavorful fermented fish (“buro” for the locals), this town pays homage to its harvests from the Mangabul Lake and features freshwater fishes in its culinary and street dancing competitions, and the requisite longest grill. Pandan Fes Festival tival Street dancing competition highlights the celebration of the town’s unique product,pandan (or screw pine from which its name was derived from) and the many faces of agriculture as an industry. Mangungur Mangungura a F Festival estival The fishermen’s festival in this scenic coastal town is a veritable celebration in itself as tourists and the locales are treated to colorful street dancing and unique water sports race using their native sea vessels like balsa baloto bawis Pista'y Day Dayat at Pista’y Dayat is a thanksgiving celebration for a bountiful agricultural yield and plentiful fishing harvest held on May 1. This festival is characterized by Mass and fluvial procession held in the beaches of Pangasinan, a province in Northern Philippines. The sea festival serves as a showroom of the various accomplishments of the province notably on environment and tourism. This also serves as a thanksgiving and unifying event among Pangasinenses in their march to prosperity and progress in order to realize the dawning of the Golden Era in Pangasinan.

Bagoong Fes Festival tival Lingayen is known for its bagoong-makingand it is generally believed that bagoong was introduced in the town by early Chinese settlers. The mayor said it is about time Lingayen promotes its bagoong industry to the world in order to create bigger de...