Oton,
Iloilo will burst into life for a four-day of partying to celebrate its 447th
Foundation Day with the annual Katagman Festival on April 30 – May 3, 2019. It
is a lively and unrivalled tribute to the town's history, culture and
traditions with music, dancing and lots of food and drink.
April
30 (Tuesday) Opening of Agri-Fair, Garden Show and Plant Sale and FITS Day at 9
a.m., Mass at 2 p.m., Parade at 4 p.m., Opening Program at 6 p.m. and Hiyas Sang
Katagman at 7 p.m.; May 1 (Wednesday) Katagman Fun Run and Walk at 5:30 a.m.,
On-the-Spot Painting Contest at 7:30 a.m., FITS Day at 8 a.m. and Bugal Sang
Ogtonganon: Awarding of Outstanding Ogtonganons and Young Achievers, Awarding
of Clean and Green Modelong Gulayan, Awarding of Top/ Prompt Business Tax
Payers at 5:00 p.m.
May
2 (Thursday) Laro Ng Lahi and Sinadya sa Baybay at 7:30 a.m., Motorboat race
and Baroto Race at 7 a.m., Hataw sa Katagman at 4 p.m.; May 3 (Friday) 447th
Foundation Day Mass at 2 p.m., Katagman Festival Street Dancing Competition at
4 p.m., Katagman Festival Music, Dance and Theater Competition at 6 p.m.
Katagman
Festival occurs every year in the last 17 years, to the satisfaction of locals.
Visitors are able to learn how beautiful and rich is the town’s historical
value highlighted during the Dance and Theater Competition that re-enacts
important historical segments such as the trade between the locals and Chinese
merchants, the significance of the Chinese porcelains and the gold death mask
and how Christianity flourished in the area.
The
recovery of many Chinese porcelain ware in some parts of Oton, being an ancient
place, could show that the Chinese traded with the locals. The abundance of
porcelain ware used as grave goods by our ancestors may indicate that they had
been in the area for a long time. Chinese goods abound in the Visayas as they
exchanged silk, porcelain, colored glass, beads and iron ware for hemp cloth,
tortoise shells, pearls and yellow wax of the locals.
A
rare Chinese burial gold leaf mask, one of the oldest objects found in Barangay
San Antonio, was excavated in the 1960s by Alfredo Evangelista and F. Landa
Jocano. Made of finely created gold sheets, the mask covers both eye and a disc
that covers the entire nose. The golden mask is part of a burial tradition from
a limited group of Filipinos who have had early contacts with Chinese
merchants. The gold death mask discovered was dated sometime late 14th to the
early 15th century A.D The gold death mask was declared as a National Cultural
Treasures and is known to be one of the 15 Most Intense Archaeological
Discoveries of the Philippines.
Oton
was established in 1572 by the Augustinian Friars and became the center of
Spanish administration in Iloilo. Once known as Ogtong, it was a missionary
base for the conversion of the entire region.
The
Dance-Drama is an impressive ending to the annual celebration that will surely
leave fond memories to many attendees. Attending and witnessing Katagman
festival is a perfect way of gaining a better understanding of Oton’s local
culture.
Oton
is approximately 10.2 kilometers or a 30-minute drive south from the city. This
First-Class municipality has a land area of 8, 456 hectares and is politically
subdivided into 37 barangays. The town is bordered in the east by the district
of Arevalo in Iloilo City; west by the municipality of Tigbauan: north by San
Miguel; and the southern portion by a stretch of shoreline of the Sulu Sea.
To
get there one can take a jeepney fronting Molo Supermart. For more information
about any of the events above, please contact Cheche S. Demo-os – Municipal
Tourism Officer at 09778500954.
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