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Panagyaman Rice Festival

Panagyaman Rice Festival is a rice festival in the Philippines held in the entire month of April. Its name comes from the word panagyaman, an Ilocano word that means thanksgiving.

It is the very first national festival when it was established in 2004 and it is considered the national celebration of successful rice harvest according to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. A previous celebration was called Rice Festival Week observed every last week of April.

Rice and Filipino culture

The history of rice in the Philippines goes back thousands of years ago. (See National Rice Awareness Month for a fuller discussion.) In precolonial times, it was a not staple food and Filipinos subsisted on crops such as yam and millet. It was not easy to cultivate and its availability was scarce that it was exclusively served for the wealthy and elite families.

Rituals, taboos, and practices sprang up and were observed before and during planting of rice seeds or seedlings all the way up to harvesting and preparing the soil for the next planting season. These propitiatory rituals were done to appease and gain the favor of the spirits that reside in the fields and rice stalks. Failure to perform them or inadequate compliance could court their displeasure and invite bad luck in the farms.

During Spanish colonial rule, the belief in spirits, taboos, and rites that were believed to be endowed with magic that helped control the variables in the cultivation of rice and lead to successful harvest were abandoned, transformed, or infused with Christian practices. The Spaniards also introduced plow technology to the country and improvement in irrigation system that increased rice production such that it had become a commodity. Over time, Filipinos regard it so vital that food cannot be called a meal without it.

Despite introduction of farming technologies, hybrid rice varieties, government programs to increase yields, and its importation that maintain sufficient supply in the market, rice remains to be regarded not only as a crop that is nourishing but also a food item that is sacred. Such a belief in some ways persists up to the present day. Rice is perceived as the fruit of God’s blessing and the hard work of farmers.

Households involved in its production perform a blend of animism, magic, and Catholic prayers. Wasting food, such as spilling from one’s plate and table, is frowned upon. When it is about to be served, Filipinos use the scoop to make a sign of the cross on the surface of the bed of fragrant, freshly cooked rice. One is also forbidden from stepping or sitting on sacks of rice.

Dishes such as labor-intensive and elaborate recipes like rice cakes continue to have symbolic roles in community celebrations like fiestas and social gatherings such as weddings. For instance, newly wed couples are encouraged to consume recipes made from sticky glutinous rice so that their union will become as “sticky”.

Rice festivals in the Philippines

In the Philippines, rice is one of the primary agricultural crops and remains the country’s staple food even with the availability of other options such as bread, noodles, and root crops. It is consumed in every meal. Its preparation can range from a simple unseasoned dish (water and rice in a pot over medium or high heat to bring it to boil, at which point the heat is lowered until it is cooked). Its bland taste profile is a perfect match with viands of soups, stews, seafood, meat, and vegetables.

It can be made into more aromatic variants with the use of leaves, bamboo, coconut, seasoning, etc. Moreover, it can be prepared into desserts, delicacies, alcoholic beverages, and colorful ornamentation such as in the annual Pahiyas Festival of Quezon. As such, it plays a pivotal role in shaping Filipino culture, cuisine, and celebrations.

Ramon Magsaysay issued Proclamation No. 279 on March 24, 1956 that declared the last week of April as Rice Festival Week. The decree’s aim was to shed light on the national effort for food security through adequate production of rice in the country.

Then on April 19, 2004, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 606 that declared April as the Panagyaman Rice Festival. It acknowledged that summer is the time for harvest festivals, the cultural significance of rice, the success in the introduction of hybrid rice, and the role of farmers in the progress towards a hunger-free nation. The United Nations likewise declared 2004 as the International Year of Rice.

Panagyaman Rice Festival used to coincide with the founding anniversary of the province of Nueva Vizcaya until it was changed to Grand Ammungan Festival in 2009. Presently, it is held in the towns of Pura in Tarlac and Maddela in Quirino.

Here is a list of rice festivals in the Philippines.

FestivalLocationDate
Agawan FestivalSariaya, QuezonMay 15
Ana Kalang FestivalNagcarlan, LagunaThird Wednesday of April
Bakle FestivalKiangan, IfugaoAugust
Banayan FestivalBanaybanay, Davao OrientalOctober 28
Binallay FestivalIlagan City, IsabelaMay 30
Binungey FestivalAnda, PangasinanApril 17
Cagayan Valley Farm Progress Show: Rice FestivalCagayan Valley RegionApril
Carabao-Carroza FestivalPavia, IloiloMay 3
Dikit FestivalAurora, IsabelaApril 30
Imbayah FestivalBanaue, IfugaoApril
Himorasak FestivalMatag-ob, LeyteSeptember
Kahumayan FestivalKapatagan, Lanao del NorteDecember 2
Kakanin FestivalSan Jose del Monte, BulacanSeptember
Kakanin FestivalSan Mateo, RizalSeptember 9
Kamgbegu FestivalLapuyan, Zamboanga del SurOctober
Libon Paroy FestivalLibon, AlbayJuly
Mayohan FestivalTayabas, QuezonMay
National Rice Awareness MonthPhilippinesNovember
Pagay FestivalAlicia, IsabelaSeptember 28
PagdiwataPalawanDecember 8
Pahiyas FestivalLucban, QuezonMay 15
Palanyog FestivalPalapas, Ligao City, AlbaySecond Saturday of October
Panagyaman FestivalPura, TarlacMarch
Panagyaman FestivalMadela, QuirinoApril
Panggayjaya FestivalBambang, Nueva VizcayaApril
Paray FestivalIrosin, SorsogonSeptember
Parayan FestivalSan Roque, Northern SamarMarch 16
Pasalamat FestivalCarlota City, Negros OccidentalApril
Pinilisa Festival Jones, IsabelaMarch 17
Pipigan FestivalMuzon, San Jose del Monte, BulacanDecember 22
Punnuk FestivalIfugaoAugust
Rice FestivalBraulio E. Dujali, Davao del NorteOctober
Rice Harvest FestivalMamasapano, MaguindanaoSeptember
Saludan FestivalTigbauan, IloiloMarch / October
Sinabalu FestivalRizal, CagayanOctober
Suman FestivalBaler, AuroraFebruary
Rice Festivals in the Philippines

References

Panagyaman Rice Festival Summary

NamePanagyaman Rice Festival
CelebrationAgriculture, Culture, Food, Rice,
Contact0917 111 7423
CountryPhilippines
DateApril
Emailprri.mail@mail.philrice.gov.ph
EstablishedApril 19, 2004
Facebookweb.facebook.com
FounderGloria Macapagal Arroyo
Previous NameRice Festival Week
Twittertwitter.com
Websitewww.philrice.gov.ph