A Festival Woven by a Miracle
Yet another wonderful festival is coming into Vigan City. As we know, festivals are celebrated by a community in promoting their culture and tradition, it also provides entertainment for everyone and spreads positivity! Vigan is filled with wonderful culture, as well as their arts. Why do we call it, "Binatbatan Festival of the Arts: A tapestry of culture and arts woven by a miracle"? Today, we are diving into another festival that promotes local fabric called Abel Iloco, the remembrance of Apo Lakay’s deliverance and the miracle that saved residents in 1882.
Let’s go back in time, when an epidemic happened that have killed over 934 residents in a month in the year 1882. Because of the rapid deaths happening in over a month, it alarmed the naturales or native inhabitants and mestizos or residents with Spanish blood asked a parish priest to request a visit Vigan of the Santo Cristo Milagroso of Sinait. They’ve done a nine-day novena, in which in case you do not know is the act of spiritual devotion, consisting of the recitation of a set form of prayer for nine consecutive days. Anyways, as the novena progressed, the number of deaths decreased and soon the epidemic stopped. Everyone was so grateful that they were given a miracle. Because of this, the naturales of Vigan have chosen the 3rd of May as the thanksgiving day for Santo Cristo who they also call Apo Lakay. Personally, Tres de Mayo is such a great way to remind everyone that prayers save lives. Being devoted to God and believing in Him helps us in our daily lives and can even help us change for the better.
Moving on, do you know what Binatbatan means? Well, it simply is the process of beating cotton pods to remove the seeds for Abel weaving. The process of binatbatan and weaving is adopted into a dance which is performed on the streets of Vigan. In this festival, Calle Crisologo would be decored with Abel Iloko cloth or Inabel to mark the celebrations. Binatbatan festival started in the year 2002, celebrated because it was one of the industries in Vigan that kept residents alive, by weaving Abel Iloko. This wonderful festival is celebrated in the last week of April to the first week of May.
There are tons of fun activities during this festival, like watching the street dancing ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1EV64in2II&t=91s ). This festival is a very educational and fun festival for everyone and it even promotes the City’s culture. However, we are still in a pandemic but thankfully cases are not increasing rapidly as it used to because almost everyone is already vaccinated, from children to old people, too! So we could still be allowed to go out and celebrate the festival with other residents and tourists, but we should always remember to observe the health protocols. Don’t overestimate that the vaccine won’t let you get infected.
Reference:
Viva Vigan BINATBATAN FESTIVAL. Retrieved on April 21,
2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1EV64in2II&t=91s
Novena. Retrieved on April 21, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/topic/novena
Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts. Retrieved
on April 21, 2022. https://generosepomelo.com/2019/05/05/viva-vigan-binatbatan-festival-of-the-arts/
Ilocos Sur: Viva Vigan! Binatbatan Festival, Tres de
Mayo and more Vigan festivities. Retrieved on April 21, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/bdxzrub9
Binatbatan Festival of the Arts 2019. Retrieved on
April 21, 2022. http://vigancity.gov.ph/binatbatan-festival-of-the-arts-2019-2/
Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts. Retrieved
on April 21, 2022.
https://tawidnewsmag.com/viva-vigan-binatbatan-festival-of-the-arts/
Abel weaving. Retrieved on April 21, 2022. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilocosnorte/14035380896
Tres De Mayo: Vigan's Iconic Day For Culture And
Heritage. Retrieved on April 21, 2022. https://www.edmaration.com/2016/05/vigan-tres-de-mayo-vigans-iconic-day.html
Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts. Retrieved
on April 21, 2022.
http://www.ilocandiatreasures.com/2010/08/viva-vigan-binatbatan-festival-of-arts.html
“Big Hero 6 — Scott Watanabe” Retrieved September 28, 2021 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/838795499354797043/
Hi there! Binatbatan Festival was celebrated in the New Normal and it’s really amazing, despite of what we are facing up to these days. It’s celebration was conducted and it is really a great accomplishment, coz it was celebrated in a nice and fabulous way. And I love the way you post it, coz it reminds us Bigueños of how great we are in the midst of pandemic.
ReplyDeleteThis is really informative! I really like how it's in-depth with the topic and I love that I'm learning a bit more about the festivities here. Overall, 10/10, noice. =v=
ReplyDeleteHello! I like how informative your blog is, and I learned so much from it. Keep it up!
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