Tags: Festivals and Fiestas, Indigenous Culture
By Anna Valmero
TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE – Every June 29, the streets of this city is transformed into a sea of painted bodies as part of a joyous celebration honoring the Pintados, or early Filipino warriors adorned with tattoos.
According to noted historian Ambeth Ocampo, these tattoos indicate social class among early Filipinos even before arrival of the Spaniards in the country. The tattoos were a mark of rank and strength, especially among men.
Spanish Jesuit Francisco Alzina, who recorded Visayan literature, said in his 1668 monograph Historias de las Islas el Indios de Bisaias that young men during those days painted themselves after performing a brave deed such as joining a battle.
“They (Pintados) paint themselves by first drawing blood with pricks from a very sharp point, following the design and lines previously marked by the craftsmen, and then over the fresh blood applying a black powder that can never again be erased.
They do not (paint) the whole body at one time complete… they had to perform a new feat of bravery for each of the parts that were to be painted.”
The Spanish friar also described the tattoos of the Pintados as “very elegant, and well proportioned to the (body) arts where they are located.”
This tradition vanished after missionaries from Spain brought the image of Santo Nino (Child Jesus), which was known as El Capitan in the island.
To commemorate the culture and the rich history of the Pintados, Tacloban businessmen and entrepreneurs founded the Pintados Foundation Inc. to oversee the celebration of the Pintados Festival. Today, the celebration is called Pintados-Kasadyaan Festival or the “Festival of Festivals.”
The festival was first celebrated in 1987. Kasadya-an means merry-making and gaiety in Visayan. During the celebration, various municipal festivals converge in Tacloban for one major parade.
Writing for Bananacue Republic, “AgnesDV” noted that the festival is Leyte’s answer to Ati-Atihan in Aklan and Sinulog in Cebu to attract more tourists to the province.
“The Pintados Festival is the first ever grand scale tongue-in-cheek celebration of a Western-painted history of a conquered land, thus Pintados, or painted history. Which country in the world celebrates its conquest, its inferiority, its primitiveness, and shows it off with pride and with as much fun and enjoyment as we do?”
Photos by Michael Magsalang (via Flickr) and Wikipedia
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