Lucban’s Pahiyas Festival A feast for the senses

Every year during the month of May, the small, historic town of Lucban in Quezon – nestled snugly at the foot of mystical Mt. Banahaw – opens its doors even wider as it welcomes balikbayans and tourists to the celebration of the Lucban San Isidro ‘Pahiyas Festival.’

The color and pageantry of this annual fiesta attracts thousands of holiday-makers, prompting the Department of Tourism (DoT) to list Lucban among the Philippines’ tourist towns. This year, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano joins the exodus out of Manila and into Lucban, with several special guests in tow, eager to introduce them to a firsthand experience of the Pahiyas.

The festival traces its roots to the 16th century – from a simple act of gift giving of the townspeople of Lucban, who were deeply grateful to the Franciscan missionaries for the religious instruction they received. Later, the Lucbanons began bringing the best of their harvest to church, both in solemn thanksgiving and to ask for further blessing.

As the yield of their lands became more bountiful, the town church became too small, ill equipped to accommodate the offerings. So, the people agreed to display their crop in front of their homes. The priest would then go around a designated route to bless them, with a statue of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, leading the way. Because locals believe that houses along the route are twice blessed, the priest changes the course taken each year, giving all residents a chance to take part in the ritual.

Pahiyas literally means "decor’’ or "embellishment’’ and refers to the brightly colored, multi-textured trimmings Lucbanons hang on their houses to welcome the passage of San Isidro. They artfully, display their freshest fruits and vegetables, pile up a variety of native baskets, tack colorful hand-woven buntal hats onto walls, drape cords of the delicious Lucban longganisa over their windows, and even prop up the occasional roast suckling pig against a door frame or balustrade.

Yet what undoubtedly draws the eye is the traditional kiping – paper-thin wafers made from rice flour paste, shaped in the form of the leaf of the kabal tree, and dyed in brilliant colors: Red, fuschia, orange, green, and yellow. They are strung together to form all sorts of shapes – from oversized flowers to the elaborate arangya or chandeliers. They become even more dazzling when they catch the light of the sun and everything around them becomes swash with color. After the festival, the kiping creations are taken down and cooked into rice chips, to be eaten by the very same people whose hands painstakingly shaped them. Clearly, nothing goes to waste.

The best way to experience the festival is on foot, in the midst of the mass of tourists who pack the town’s narrow streets. Each one jockeys for a better position to catch that once-in-a-lifetime shot, see that rare sight, or take in the aromas wafting from a nearby pancit hab-hab stall. The energy is thick, almost tangible. And though you may be tired at the end of the day, you will nonetheless feel replete – completely satisfied – with the extraordinary sensory feast that is Lucban’s Pahiyas.

[ Lucban Town Wiki ]