Aginin Bayok Sa Atong Tiwarik

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Aginin Bayok Sa Atong Tiwarik is a dance epic oral tradition about Cebuano history written by Jovito Abellana whose family of “Old Cebu” was known for keeping oral traditions through the generations. This oral tradition helps us date Cebu and Cebuanos in the area. Personally, I suspect that Cebuanos may have an earlier connection to … Read more

Kapampangan Water Festival

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Kapampangan Water FestivalSANGWANAN / SANJUÁNAN / SAN JUAN BASÂSan Juan Bautista, Betis, Guagua, Pampanga During the ritual, dripping-wet Betis folk take turns hoisting up an ancient bronze Holy Cross while dancing a kuraldal, a Kapampángan dance for saints. It is widely believed that the bronze cross brings blessings to anyone who touches it. This is … Read more

Sangwanan

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Sangwanan Happy St. John’s Day & June Solstice! Kapampángans celebrate the coming of the rainy season with several traditions such as this water-throwing ritual held every feast of St. John the Baptist! SANGWÁNAN • (suhng-WAH-nuhn)Kapampángan water-splashing ritual on the feast of St. John the Baptist (June 24); one of several celebrations coinciding with the ancient … Read more

Santungan

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Santungan It was World Refugee Month & World Refugee Day a few days ago, so here’s a Kapampángan word that means “refuge, sanctuary”! How do you say “refuge” in your language? SANTÚNGAN • (suhn-TOO-nguhn)refuge, sanctuary Root WordSANTUNG • (suhn-TOONG)(to) seek refuge, protection, shelter Verb Conjugationsumantung, sásantung, sínantung – to seek refuge, protection, shelter (Actor Focus) … Read more

Jose Rizal Height

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Jose Rizal Height How tall was Jose Rizal? Did you know? Historian and journalist Ambeth Ocampo discovered that Dr. Jose Rizal had a height of 161 cm or 5’3″ ft! This is after he found this information in one of our National Hero’s notebooks when he was only 19 years old. According to Ocampo, in … Read more