Tuesday, May 3 celebration of Iloilo’s oldest festival paid tribute to the Philippines’ national animal, which is the carabao.
The Carabao-Carroza Festival of the municipality of Pavia, now on its 39th year, which according to Iloilo provincial tourism officer-in-charge Bombette Marin, "truly reflects the culture of Ilonggos."
"Despite the pro-liferation of hand tractors, carabaos are still the farmer’s work animal. Because of that, it is for many years, our country’s national symbol. Even with these innovations, many farming communities in Iloilo still depend on domesticated animals, used as a draft animal since the ancient times," Marin explained.
The festival is a crowd drawer with visitors trying to get a glimpse of the traditional race of locally-bred carabaos.
"Each carabao is attached with a bamboo carriage and race across the fields reaching finish line. Prior to the event, they are trained daily," Marin said.
Further, he said that "carabaos are also exhibited as an artwork."
He shared that farmers clean their carabaos’ skin until it is smooth and polished. The horns are smeared with oil and given gloss. Then, they are sometimes groomed and dressed or artistically painted, decorated with ribbons, sometimes, painted and attached to carts and parade them through the town.
The festival kicked off at 7:30 o’clock, Tuesday morning with the parade of decorated carrozas carrying festival muses. It was followed by the 400-meter race of carabaos with carrozas and capped by the coronation of the Carabao-Carroza Festival Queen in the evening.
The activity, according to Marin did not only "promoted the carabao’s significance as a national animal, but also helps in its preservation."
According to research, "carabaos are dwindling in number and are already vanishing."
Marin quoted the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) report which claimed that carabao population in the country has steadily dropped since 1988. Statistics collected showed that in 1988 there were 2.95 million carabaos in the country. However in 1992, it dwindled to 2.48 million. The trend is continuing until today. (PNA) /MP
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