Bizarre rituals in Olango Island
By Ria Mae Y. Booc
Cebu Daily News
A cat fight has a feline pitted against a fighting cock. A man walks about dressed in a cotton duster looking like a a pregnant woman.
Men hold aloft a wooden phallic symbol. Another man carries a tray selling carabao feces disguised as snacks.
In all the merriment by the sea the figurine of the island’s patron saint, San Vicente Ferrer, is loaded on a motor banca for a procession.
This mix of the bizarre and the religious came together in yesterday’s annual “Baliw-Baliw†Festival in Sta. Rosa, Olango island off Mactan.
The festival has been celebrated through several generations, evolving over time from pagan rites and later a fluvial procession.
Benedicto Sagarino, fiesta president, said he remembers watching the event as a young boy with his father.
"Gani bisan wala pa ko natawo naa na jud ni siya. Karon, hapit na gud ko mag-60 anyos. Mapasa pa jud ni sa sunod henerasyon (I wasn't born yet, this celebration was already being held. I’m almost 60 years old now. This will pass on to the next generation)," Sagarino said.
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