Aswang Festival in Roxas City
FOR the third time, the controversial but culturally important Aswang Festival was held in Roxas City, Capiz, toward the end of October, in keeping with the spirit of All Souls’ Day, celebrated in the west as Halloween.
As in previous years, the annual festival was greeted with disfavor by local church leaders. In a Pastoral Letter, the local parish proposed a boycott of the festival. On the second day of the event, church followers held a vigil and prayed for rain to stop the activities.It drizzled a bit, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people who flocked to the center of the town to see the colorful parade and watch the body-painting contest. The Viva Hot Babes, who flew all the way from Manila, performed provocative dance numbers in skimpy attires, thrilling the audience.
According to the organizer of the festival, the Dugo Capiznon Inc. led by Cheryl Ann R.
Lastimoso, the church was against the event because it purportedly “promotes belief in aswang and scares the children.”This is not true. I do not know where members of the clergy in Capiz got that idea because when I asked Lastimoso what the objectives of the Festival were, she said matter-of-factly: “We have three main objectives: first, to reverse the negative image of Capiz as a haven of aswang and remove the stigma attached to the word. We consider aswang simply a myth, with no factual basis. It does not exist except in the imagination of people.
“Second, to promote economic growth by helping small businessmen. We do this through trade exhibits during the festival.
“Third, to promote Capiz as a good tourist destination by highlighting its famous sea food products, fine beaches and other local scenery.”
The festival included an educational component via a symposium where the aswang idea was discussed from the historical, cultural and paranormal aspects. Three resource speakers were invited to shed light on the topic: Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, executive director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts; Dr. Alicia P. Magos, faculty member of the University of the Philippines Visayas; and this columnist.
Guidote-Alvarez appreciated the cultural significance of the festival as an indigenous alternative to the western celebration of Halloween. She saw it as a good opportunity to remove the stigma attached to Capiz by confronting the issue of aswang rather than being embarrassed by it.
She cited Romania, which suffered for a time by being identified as the birthplace of Dracula.
The Romanians decided to make it a tourist attraction, staging festivities centering on the vampire story. This is what the Dugo Capiznon would like to happen to the aswang myth.
Dr. Magos spoke of the historical origins of the word. During the Spanish era, she said, those who rebelled against the Spaniards were labeled aswang (based on the legend of “Agurang and Aswang” representing good and evil), so people would get scared of them and not follow them.
During that time, aswang referred to the brave Filipinos who fought the Spaniards. They were actually the good guys. In time, the word acquired a negative meaning. Despite the fact that there is no hard evidence to support belief in a monstrous creature called aswang, the idea persisted.
For my part, I talked about the penchant of Filipinos in particular, and Asians in general, for believing in supernatural creatures. Although I said I had not found any evidence of the existence of aswang, there were other supernatural creatures whose existence could be proven, like dwarves and other nature spirits.
Guidote-Alvarez tried to bridge the communication gap between local church officials and the organizers of the festival by talking to the Monsignor about the real intent of the group in staging the event, which was the opposite of what the church feared.
According to her, the Monsignor listened sympathetically to her explanation and somehow understood that there was no intent to promote belief in the aswang.
If the clergy in Capiz had only taken the trouble to read carefully the noble objectives of the organizers of the Aswang Festival, instead of jumping to conclusions, they would not have taken such a negative stance. The church has nothing to fear about the aswang because it does not exist.
Speaking about the attitude of the clergy in Capiz, Jojo Robles, editor in chief of Manila Standard, remarked to me during a dinner hosted by Gen. Lastimoso and family for their guests in a beach resort in Roxas City: “Some people simply have no sense of humor.” He’s absolutely right!
For information on the life changing and empowering seminars I conduct, please call 8926806 and 8107245. E-mail innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph for comments. Listen to Inner Mind on Radio over DZMM radio 7:30-8:30 p.m. every Sunday
http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=30897
As in previous years, the annual festival was greeted with disfavor by local church leaders. In a Pastoral Letter, the local parish proposed a boycott of the festival. On the second day of the event, church followers held a vigil and prayed for rain to stop the activities.It drizzled a bit, but it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the people who flocked to the center of the town to see the colorful parade and watch the body-painting contest. The Viva Hot Babes, who flew all the way from Manila, performed provocative dance numbers in skimpy attires, thrilling the audience.
According to the organizer of the festival, the Dugo Capiznon Inc. led by Cheryl Ann R.
Lastimoso, the church was against the event because it purportedly “promotes belief in aswang and scares the children.”This is not true. I do not know where members of the clergy in Capiz got that idea because when I asked Lastimoso what the objectives of the Festival were, she said matter-of-factly: “We have three main objectives: first, to reverse the negative image of Capiz as a haven of aswang and remove the stigma attached to the word. We consider aswang simply a myth, with no factual basis. It does not exist except in the imagination of people.
“Second, to promote economic growth by helping small businessmen. We do this through trade exhibits during the festival.
“Third, to promote Capiz as a good tourist destination by highlighting its famous sea food products, fine beaches and other local scenery.”
The festival included an educational component via a symposium where the aswang idea was discussed from the historical, cultural and paranormal aspects. Three resource speakers were invited to shed light on the topic: Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, executive director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts; Dr. Alicia P. Magos, faculty member of the University of the Philippines Visayas; and this columnist.
Guidote-Alvarez appreciated the cultural significance of the festival as an indigenous alternative to the western celebration of Halloween. She saw it as a good opportunity to remove the stigma attached to Capiz by confronting the issue of aswang rather than being embarrassed by it.
She cited Romania, which suffered for a time by being identified as the birthplace of Dracula.
The Romanians decided to make it a tourist attraction, staging festivities centering on the vampire story. This is what the Dugo Capiznon would like to happen to the aswang myth.
Dr. Magos spoke of the historical origins of the word. During the Spanish era, she said, those who rebelled against the Spaniards were labeled aswang (based on the legend of “Agurang and Aswang” representing good and evil), so people would get scared of them and not follow them.
During that time, aswang referred to the brave Filipinos who fought the Spaniards. They were actually the good guys. In time, the word acquired a negative meaning. Despite the fact that there is no hard evidence to support belief in a monstrous creature called aswang, the idea persisted.
For my part, I talked about the penchant of Filipinos in particular, and Asians in general, for believing in supernatural creatures. Although I said I had not found any evidence of the existence of aswang, there were other supernatural creatures whose existence could be proven, like dwarves and other nature spirits.
Guidote-Alvarez tried to bridge the communication gap between local church officials and the organizers of the festival by talking to the Monsignor about the real intent of the group in staging the event, which was the opposite of what the church feared.
According to her, the Monsignor listened sympathetically to her explanation and somehow understood that there was no intent to promote belief in the aswang.
If the clergy in Capiz had only taken the trouble to read carefully the noble objectives of the organizers of the Aswang Festival, instead of jumping to conclusions, they would not have taken such a negative stance. The church has nothing to fear about the aswang because it does not exist.
Speaking about the attitude of the clergy in Capiz, Jojo Robles, editor in chief of Manila Standard, remarked to me during a dinner hosted by Gen. Lastimoso and family for their guests in a beach resort in Roxas City: “Some people simply have no sense of humor.” He’s absolutely right!
For information on the life changing and empowering seminars I conduct, please call 8926806 and 8107245. E-mail innerawareness_2005@yahoo.com.ph for comments. Listen to Inner Mind on Radio over DZMM radio 7:30-8:30 p.m. every Sunday
http://showbizandstyle.inq7.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=30897
posted by Misteryo Philippines Network (MPN) at 4:08 AM
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