Lemlunay (T’Boli Tribal Festival), Philippines

September 11, 2009 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

Lemlunay FestivalLemlunay or also known as T’Boli Tribal Festival is an annual celebration staged at Lake Sebu, South Cotabato in Philippines. It is celebrated every third week of September that features tribal rituals that start at early down amidst sounds of gongs and native music, culminating at the town plaza where cultural dances and ethic sports like horsefight are held.

However, Lemlunay Festival is renowned by the 6 major tribes of South Cotabato (T´boli, Ubo, Manobo, Kalagan, Maguindanao, Tasaday) together with representatives from the different tribes in Davao (Tirurays, Mandaya, Surigao tribes, Langilan, Bilaan, Bagog, Mansaka). It was originally just a small town fiesta celebrating the feast day of Sta Cruz.
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Sandugo Festival, Philippines

July 4, 2009 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

Sandugo FestivalThe Sandugo Festival, otherwise known as the Blood Compact Commemoration is Bohol’s famous festivity. The “dugo” is a Visayan dialect put into a cup and then drinking the contents thereof. Henceforth the Boholanos celebrated this special event although not as consistently as being done now. It takes place every year which commemorates the celebration of a local Philippine leader Datu Sikatuna’s blood compact symbolizes the treaty of friendship between him and the Spanish king conquistador, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a two people of different race and creed.
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Via Crusis in Cebu

March 30, 2009 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

As a Lenten season is fast approaching, Via Crusis is one way to repent ourselves. It is a Lenten movement happens every April 1 where devotees from Cebu City and its neighboring cities and towns do their penitential procession through cities the Station of the Cross built on 12 hectares of rolling hills. Via Crusis is a Latin for The Way of the Cross, or sometimes called The Way of Sorrows refers to the portrayal of the passion of the Christ and the devotion commemorating it. The life-size statues of the 14 Stations of the Cross have been patterned after the Way of the Cross in Lourdes, France.
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Kalilangan Festival, Philippines

November 28, 2008 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

Every year, General Santos City marks its foundation anniversary on February 27 with various activities culminating the weeklong celebration of Kalilangan Festival. A Kalilangan is derived from the Maguindanaoan word “kalilang” which means “festival,” or “celebration.” It has been adopted as the carrier of the city’s foundation anniversary as it perfectly embodies the meaning of the historical episode being celebrated. The logo depicts the docking of the pioneers at the shores of Sarangani Bay. With empty hands and hopeful hearts, they tilled the lands, cultivated dreams, and planted a vision.
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Quiapo Fiesta: Procession of the Black Nazarene

November 24, 2008 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

Quiapo Fiesta or Feast of the Black Nazarene is celebrated on the second Tuesday of January. It is the feast day of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo Church. After the main mass, the famous statue of the Black Nazarene, carved in Mexico during the 18th century, is placed ona gilded carriage and borne in procession around the Quiapo district, with thousands and thousands of devotees participating.
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The “Hala Bira, Puera Pasma” Street Dancing in Kalibo

September 27, 2008 · Posted in Philippine Festivals · Comment 

Philippine Mardi Gras comes in very spectacular style when the people of Kalibo take to the streets to dance through the night and parade their magnificent costumes. The Ati-Atihan Festival is known to be the wildest among the Philippine fiestas. It has grown in giving honor to Santo Niño, a depiction of the Child Jesus which held every year on the third Sunday of January, in the town of Kalibo, Aklan. Art is become a big factor as celebrants paint their faces with black soot and wear bright, peculiar costumes as they dance in revelry during the last three days of this two week-long festival. There is a mix of parades, procession and dancing people on the rhythms of monotonous music of drums or the rhythmic tinkling of metal and stone on bottles while celebrating the Ati-Atihan.
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