SETTING HORNS TO CHALLENGING KAPAMPANGAN TRADITIONS

BY YANCY

No other words like that would have given frail children like me the immense horror when the calendar was ripped for the month of April. Contrary to what many people believe is the month of reflection and spiritual renewal, the period of Lent steered my juvenile life into a somber one. The streets were empty as homes become the pilgrimage of the families with prayers that might take effect until God knows when. The special television programs left a bad taste in my mouth, as they showed old movies and anthologies that bored the heck out of me. The clocks broke as we relentlessly recited prayers for the Holy Rosary, with my sister holding her laughter as my grandmother unconsciously mistook a few words from the chants.

Lo, the striking heat from the summer sun antagonized my alreadydefeated stance as we unwillingly waited for the bloody march of the flagellants– known to locals as magdarame– to come near us. Although fear and disgust were the emotions that can be seen flaunted in the streets, there seems to be an indomitable force that keeps the locals flocking to these self-proclaimed “martyrs”-- a perfect definition for the drunkards, thieves, bystanders, and other men in my barangay who participated in this century-long tradition. Recognizing these specific people through the things that they have done in the remaining days of the year, I gradually realized that our religious traditions, especially the local ones, have long been stuck as merely a performative gesture, not an avenue of personal development.

Culture and traditions have long been seen as the identity of a certain domain or community. For Kapampangans, these elements were realized due to their rich history both before and after the influence of our colonizers had flourished. As these practices have penetrated the identity of the locals, they have found themselves subjected to it. Without any shadow of a doubt, they have regarded them as incorrigible against misinterpretations or any sense of falseness.

Without any noticeable movement to challenge these local traditions, we are left with a flamboyant showcase of these practices with little or no regard for their true messages. In a disappointing scheme of events, the reality of celebrating festivals and traditions throughout the province of Pampanga has left only a remnant of awareness for the individuals who became the reason for the existence of these causes.

Mabalacat City’s Caragan Festival, as the first case, is a celebration of the Aeta chieftain named Haring Caragan, who became the rock that established the province’s latest city. Although the festival was established to