DINAGYANG CULTURAL EVENT- AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE
by Anita C. Ng

Since its inception, Carolina Medical Mission has always included recreational opportunities for the CMM volunteers to enjoy the cultural offerings of the Philippines. The traveling adventures prove to serve as an educational and self-enriching experience for CMM volunteers, many of whom are balikbayan (Filipinos living abroad). These on-hand experiences offer the volunteers a greater understanding of the beauty and diversity of the Philippines thus helping break down walls of indifference and enhancing our compassion for the land and people that we serve.

Personally, the CMM trips over the last nine years have provided me with an exceptional opportunity to visit and to learn about regions of the Philippines that I've never dreamt that I would ever see in my lifetime. Each year is an adventure as we explore a different locale. From the view of picturesque scenery to the tales of rich folklore and from the confusion over an unfamiliar dialect to the taste of regional differences in a familiar Filipino dish, the CMM traveling experiences created wonderful memories for me and my fellow volunteers.

The CMM 2002 volunteers attended the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City. This popular cultural event brings together Filipinos from all parts of the Philippines, the balikbayan and the visitors from other countries. In the Visayas, the month of January is filled with festivities to honor Santo Nino (Blessed Baby Jesus). The celebration is called Sinulog in Cebu City; Ati-atihan in Panay Island (mardi gras style) and Dinagyang in Iloilo City.

Dinagyang is an Illongo word which means merry-making. It is an annual sociocultural-religious festival. "The Dinagyang Festival is Iloilo's version of the Ati-atihan festival, now widely celebrated not only in Panay Island but also in other parts of the country. This Iloilo Ati-atihan dates back to 1967 when the replica of the image of Senor Santo Nino was brought from Cebu to IIoilo City. The celebration which focuses on the Santo Nino (Baby Jesus) may trace its roots to the barter or purchase of Panay Island by 10 Bornean Datus from Negrito King Marikudo during the 13th century in Sinugbuan, San Joaquin, Iloilo. Costumes of the festival participants were made of indigenous materials like leaves and barks of trees; woven anahaw, coconut palm fronds and husks. Such costumes were ornate and fabulous with a variety of forms and kaleidoscopic colors. Competing tribes used their ingenuity to research and to make costumes with great secrecy (until the event) and even the movements and frenetic dance steps were practiced behind lock doors. In the past, attendees were mere spectators, but present day anyone is welcomed to join in on the revelry and "to gyrate wildly in the streets sans inhibition. With soot painted all over the face and body, one could just fantasize on anything that hits his /her face and, in wild abandoned, dance to the cacophonous beat of drums in the streets mingled with raucous laughter and merrymakers."