The Higantes Festival is a local festival held annually In

Angono Angono ( or ), officially the Municipality of Angono ( tgl, Bayan ng Angono), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 130,494 people. It is best known as the "Art ...

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where hundreds of

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...

s are paraded, representing the common people's mockery of the bad ''

hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...

'' (land) owners of the past during Spanish colonial rule. It has evolved into also celebrating the feast of Pope St. Clement I, every 22 and 23 November.

Origin

The origin of the festival dates back to Spanish colonial rule, around the late 1800s, where the wealthy ruling class who ruled Angono as their ''hacienda'' strictly prohibited the common people from celebrating, except for one single festival in the entire year. The hardworking common people used the ''higantes'' puppets in their once-a-year festival, rendering the papier-mâché giants to look like the ''hacienderos'', mocking the owners throughout the festivity. The art of papier-mâché was said to have been learned by the common folk from Spanish friars through unstated means. The giant puppets depict a man or woman in multiple costumes, with their faces making commands, while their hands on their waist.

Observance

In present celebrations, the Angono townsfolk continue to build ''higantes'' to represent each

barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

(village) for the festival's parade. Many forms of the puppets have been made, in accordance to the specialization of a village. For example, a village famous for their balut delicacy, would create a ''higante'' with a duck-shaped head. Majority of the giant puppets, however, continue to have human heads, with varying size and shapes. Over time, the number of puppets used during the parade have increased to more than a hundred.

Intangible heritage

Possibly the earliest form of

puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

in the

, ''higante''-making has been supported by the government to keep the festival and its related traditions alive. A three-meter-tall puppet usually takes about an entire month to make, where the most difficult part to create is the head, which is made of paper strips. The body of a ''higante'' puppet is made up of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

strips, to make it easier for a puppeteer to carry it during the long procession, which normally takes hours to finish. The handle's height is adjusted to see its legs when it is raised by 30 centimetres from the ground. A related tradition with the ''higante'' puppets is the ''basaan'', where people are sprinkled water during the parade to gain good fortune and blessings. Among Christians, the water is said to symbolize San Clemente, patron of fisherfolk. Shouting for water is an aspect of the tradition. Another tradition is the ''parehadores'', a marching band and a group of young girls in colorful costumes with wooden slippers. They are responsible for holding the ''sagwan'', wooden boat paddle, a symbol of the devotees of San Clemente. While marching, the band and the group of girls shout, "''Viva San Clemente"''!" The girls are always in front of the band as they parade. Other traditions are also known during the festival and its preparations.

References

{{reflist Festivals in the Philippines Culture of Rizal Puppetry in the Philippines November observances Papier-mâché 19th-century establishments in the Philippines

Origin

Observance

Intangible heritage

See also

References