PAMAYPAYAN FESTIVAL : An Overview

by: Jever O. Ladines

A festival is any occasion for celebration, one which commemorates

an anniversary or another significant event. The world celebrates a lot of
festivals which shows the various culture, traditions and integrity among the
people of the different countries. One, for example is the Philippines,
Filipinos love festivals. Almost every region in it celebrates its’ own festival.
Be it a cultural or religious, it gives everyone the opportunity to join and
enjoy the festival. For Filipinos, festival is the time to rejoice and have fun
according to their culture, religious wearing custom and rituals.

“PAMAYPAYAN FESTIVAL” came from the word “PAMAYPAY”, a

tool that we use to surge heat. It can come in different colors and sizes,
depending on your taste. The use of pamaypay is one of many traits we got
from the Spaniards. It symbolizes beauty and simplicity. Pamaypayan is a
place or home of pamaypay weavers. At present , 51 out of 95 barangays
in Lopez, Quezon are producing pamaypay as an alternative source of
livelihood.

Pamaypayan Festival promotes pamaypay and its sub products like

hats, bags, slippers and costumes made of anahaw, buli and other
indigenous materials and as their One-town-One Product (OTOP). The
festival also aims to encourage the pamaypay weavers that the product
they produced could possibly turn into a highly valuable item that can be
known not only in the province but also in the international market.
 The Pamaypayan Festival is celebrated every last week of April with
feature activities like Pamaypay Weaving Demonstration to Visitors and
Tourists, Street Dancing Competition , Pamaypay Arch Contest ,
Pamaypay-Related Contests e.g. Palakihan ng Pamaypay ,
Pinakamagarang Pamaypay at Pinakamakulay na Pamaypay , Agro-
Industrial Trade Fair with Contest on Pamaypay-Inspired Booth and the
Search for G. at Bb. Pamaypayan Festival.

The celebration is also a tribute to the town’s pamaypay weavers who

have preserved the priceless tradition of their forefathers
Thus, this traditional craft remains viable and continues to flourish in the
wider market, but its sustainability depends on the willingness of the skillful
young generation to keep alive the tradition that is the stamp of the real
Lopezeños’ ingenuity, diligence and dexterity.