nayakal@muohio.edu
The Carabao Festival
http://www.filipino.com/
Abstract
On May 14 th and 15 th every year, the people of the Philippines honor their patron Saint, San Isidro , in their Carabao festival in Pulilan. Farmers bring their clean and well groomed carabaos (water buffalo) to Pulilan for the infamous carabao race. First, all participating carabaos gather in the churchyard and are blessed by the local priest through prayer and by sprinkling them with holy water. The carabaos and their owners then parade through the town. Each carabao is decorated with ribbons and flowers, and pulls a cart or float around town (MacDonald 1992: 298). At the end of the parade, the carabaos all participate in a race. The winning carabao becomes king for the day and the remaining carabaos gather in the churchyard to be blessed once again. Following the race are games, food and fireworks. The festival joins multiple cultural realms in one celebration. The communities come together for the same reason socially not stratified.
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Introduction
The tradition of the fiesta in the Philippines comes from different Spanish religious practices. Most of these fiestas are celebrations of patron saints and the major events in the life of Jesus Christ. The Carabao festival in the Philippines is no exception. This festival is in the honor of Saint Isidore, the patron saint of Filipino farmers. Every May 14 th and 15 th , in the cities of San Isidro , Bulacan and Rizal, the towns gather to pay tribute to their patron saint and the carabaos (water buffalo). The festivities include a feast, a parade, fireworks and a carabao race. The carabaos, otherwise moderately respected, become king for the day. This barrio fiesta is not as big as the world famous Dia de San Isidro in Madrid , Spain ; however, it is worth seeing because of its rustic energy and Arcadian enjoyment.
Context of The Philippines
The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands in the Western Pacific Ocean . The group of islands is located about 1,210 kilometers east of the coast of Vietnam in Southeast Asia . The total land area is about 300,000 km 2 . The capital of the Philippines and the largest city is Manilla (www.asiainfo.org).
The climate is humid and tropical with an average yearly temperature around 26.5° C. From June to September, the major monsoon blows from the southwest. The return monsoon, from October through April, blows from the northeast. The country is also located on a typhoon belt and is hit by about 10 typhoons per year. Coming from a volcanic origin, the islands are very mountainous. Most of the volcanoes are active. Tropical rainforests cover now less than 10% of the total land area due to illegal logging (www.asiainfo.com).
In the 13 th century, 10 Datus from Borneo landed in what is today known as Panay Island . The Philippine archipelago was not put on the map though until 1521 by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. The archipelago was named Filipinas after Spain 's Phillip II. Spain took control of the islands during colonization. Because of its prime location, the Philippines has always been a natural hub for commerce. The Spanish converted the nation to Christianity which has held strong ever since (http://imperial.park.org). Philippine independence was proclaimed on June 12, 1898 after a revolution, but the nation was annexed by America through the Treaty of Paris with Spain on December 10, 1898. The nation remained an American colony until World War II when it cam under the Japanese empire. The Philippines ruled under a democratic government. In 1946, the country claimed its independence from Japan . The nation is now entirely independent from all other nations (www.asianinfo.org).
Origins of The Carabao Festival
The word “carabao” means water buffalo which is the universal beast of burden of the Philippines . It is a day dedicated to honor San Isidro , patron of farmers. Many inhabitants of the Pulilan province are farmers and this is why they dedicate the day to honoring their patron. This annual festival has existed for centuries and is an explicit example of Filipino culture and faith (Henderson 1997: 66). It was originally a festival only to honor San Isidro but today is also a festival to pay tribute to the water buffalo, a very important contributor to Filipino farming (www.tqnyc.org).
Performance
The highlight of the festival is the carabao race. The carabaos are assembled in the churchyard where the priest blesses them and sprinkles them with holy water. They then parade around the town before they participate in the race. Finally they compete in a 400 meter race. At the end of the race the priest blesses all of them one more time. The caraboas are all scrubbed down, decorated with ribbons and pull a cart through town. On the cart is a statue of the patron saint, Saint Isidro (Henderson 1997: 66). The winning carabao becomes king for the day. The men wear red Kundiman trousers (loose traditional Tagalong pants), white barong tagalong (Filipino dress shirt), and a rattan salakot (bamboo hat) on their head. The women wear patadyong in red kundiman (wrap around skirt). The race is followed by a feast and fireworks (www.pagsanjan.org).
Since the day is in honor of the farming patron, a harvest celebration takes place as well. Doorways are filled with displays of vegetables, fruits and sheaves of rice. Houses are decorated with ornaments made from rice. At the end of the festival the ornaments are taken down and eaten as a special treat (MacDonald 1992: 298).
Artifact
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Interpretation
Prognosis for The Carabao Festival
Today, the Carabao festival is just as popular as ever. Due to the countries strong religious allegiance, the Carabao festival still holds its original purpose and meaning. According to Alicia p. Magos, a professor at the University of Philippines , “This is one of the many traditional aspects of Filipino culture worth seeing today.” Thousands of people still flock to the region of Pulilan to experience the carabao race and festivities (www.ncca.gov.ph/culture&arts.htm).
Conclusion
It is obvious that the carabao festival is important to the people of the Philippines. This festival expresses religion, economic status and social structure into one celebration of games, food and other enjoyable festivities. It is honorable and important to today's society due to the ability to ignore social status for a day and form communitas through the region. The Carabao festival has been a notable aspect of Filipino culture for hundreds of years now and will be for years to come. There is no doubt that the Carabao festival is not only significant religiously, but is thoroughly enjoyed by all participants due to the related festivities.
Internet References Cited
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“A Brief History.” 20 Sept. 2004. <http://imperial.park.org>
World fair history site; includes history of nations around the world.
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Asianinfo.org. 20 Sept. 2004. “Geography of the Philippines .”
<http://www.asianinfo.org>
National information website (geography, history and demographics).
“Carabao festival.” Marimari.com . 10 Sept. 2002. Events and Festivals. 21 Oct. 2004
<http://www.marimari.com/content/philippines/events.html>
- travel website of The Philippines
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“The Fiesta of San Isidro .” Pagsanjan.org . In History and Legend. 21 Oct. 2004
<http://www.pagsanjan.org/hometown/history.html>
Pagsanjan website for nformation on the Philippines and for tourists.
Peer-Reviewed References Cited
- Ember, Melvin & Carol R.
Ember.
Gonen, Amiram2001 Countries and Their Cultures. Vm.3, Detroit : Macmillan Ref. USA .
.1993 The Encyclopedia of the Peoples of the World. New York : Henry Holt and Company.
Henderson, Helene and Sue Ellen Thompson, eds. 1997 Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 2 nd ed. Detroit : Omnigraphics, Inc.
Ingold, Tim
1994 Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology: Humanity, Culture and Social Life. New York : Routledge.
MacDonald, Margaret Read, ed.
1992 The Folklore of World Holidays. 1 st ed. Detroit : Gale Research Inc.
Turner &Turner
1982 Religious Celebrations pp.201-219.