110. BAMBANTI FESTIVAL IN NUEVA VIZCAYA

BAMBANTI FESTIVAL IN NUEVA VIZCAYA

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
12 February 2020

The Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya led by Governor Carlos M. Padilla requested the Province of Isabela to share its best practices in culture and the arts particularly the multi-awarded Bambanti Festival. I was instructed by the Governor through the Provincial Administrator to represent the province during the 1^st Nueva Vizcaya Culture and Arts Summit held at the FTM Food Fiesta in the capital town of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya.

The one-day forum discussed the challenges, goals and outcomes for the culture and arts sector of the province. The other invited speakers were former Nueva Vizcaya Governor Ruth Raña-Padilla who is the incumbent vice chair for culture and arts of the Cagayan Valley Regional Tourism Council (CVRTC). Her topic was “Culture and Arts in Governance. The third speaker was Mr. Ramon Jerry Cabalce, the chairman of the CVRTC for the term 2019-2022 and his topic was “Linking LGUs and Tourism Stakeholders Through Culture”. Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member, Hon. Eunice Galima-Gambol, SP Committee Chair on Tourism, Culture & Arts, represented the Governor and gave the welcome remarks. The participants were Tourism & Cultural Officers and Designates of the 15 LGUs and their respective Sangguniang Bayan Members Committee on Tourism, Culture and Arts Chair; cultural warriors from the academe; and other culture and the arts enthusiasts both in the public and private sectors. Ms. Marichelle O. Costales, my counterpart in Nueva Vizcaya, managed the whole day historic affair.

One of the highlights of the summit was the awarding of recognition, through a provincial resolution, to Mr. Adolfo and his wife Mrs. Sublina Quewigh of the Municipality of Alfonso Castañeda. The Bugkalot (Ilongot) couple of Barangay Pelaway are cultural bearers and traditional folk artists for more than half a century. The “katutubong manlilikha” consistently performed or produced over a significant period, works of superior quality and distinctive quality, possesses mastery of the tools and materials needed by the art and both had an established reputation in the arts as masters and makers of extraordinary technical quality.

The Isabela Tourism Office prepared a one-hour powerpoint presentation narrating the evolution of the tourism office of Isabela and how the Bambanti was born, institutionalized and eventually became multi-awarded. My talk was supported with five videos containing the Bambanti 2015 movie teaser by Zig M. Dulay, Bambanti Village, Bambanti street dance and showdown and the awarding of the Guinness World Record. The presentation was highlighted with the enumeration of the seven Bambanti awards which includes: Aliw Awards for Best Festival Performance and Practices (2015, 2016 & 2017), Aliw Hall of Fame Award (2018), Guinness Record for the “Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Scarecrows” - 2,495 Isabeleños (2019), ATOP-DOT Pearl Award Grand Winner for Best Tourism Event - Festival as Thanksgiving for a Bountiful Harvest (2019), and Philippine LEAF (Live Entertainment Arts and Festival) Award for Most Outstanding Agricultural Festival (2020). I also underscored that the festival is one of the best practices incorporated in the annual Seal of Good Local Governance – Tourism, Culture and Arts entry and documentation for five consecutive years (2015-2019).

The province of Nueva Vizcaya is 17 years older than the province of Isabela. More than half of what is now Isabela belongs to the territorial jurisdiction of Nueva Vizcaya from 1839 to 1856. The present-day Ifugao, Mt. Province, Quirino and much of Aurora province were also part of old Spanish Nueva Vizcaya. During this period, the capital of the whole province was stationed at Pueblo Camarag, now a barangay of the Municipality of San Isidro, Isabela. Vestiges of the old San Jose de Camarag Church can still be found in this old settlement near the Ganano River. Camarag was a one-time home of Nueva Vizcaya Military Governor Mariano Oscariz, the Conqueror of the Ifugaos. After the creation of Isabela province on May 1, 1856, Nueva Vizcaya’s capital was permanently assigned in the old town of Bayombong.

Nueva Vizcaya was created on May 24, 1839 and its territory comprised all towns from Ilagan to Aritao in Caraballo del Sur including the visita of Palanan (then a part of Nueva Ecija province) and Catalangan (in the Sierra Madre now the area of San Mariano town in Isabela). However, the creation was approved by a Royal Order only in April 10, 1841.

The term “nueva” means “new” while “Vizcaya” refers to the province of Vizcaya (spelled Bizkaia in the Basque language) in northern Spain. “Bizkaia” means “mountainous”. The terrain of Vizcaya in the Basque region in Spain is very similar to the geography of Nueva Vizcaya. Surrounded by Northern Luzon's three large mountain ranges, Nueva Vizcaya is bordered on the west by the Cordillera mountains, on the east by the Sierra Madre mountains, and on the south by the Caraballo Mountains. Aside from having a similar topography, the naming of the new province was influenced by the incumbent Governor-General (1838-1841) Luis Lardizabal y Montojo who was from Basque country in Spain. The right part of the present official seal of Nueva Vizcaya province still bears representation of the heraldic of Vizcaya, Spain.

The territories of Nueva Vizcaya were greatly reduced as a result of the creation of the province of Isabela (1856), Ifugao (1908) and Quirino (1971). It now has a total land area of 3,975.67 square kilometers.

Nueva Vizcaya comprises 15 municipalities and is the home to about 18 indigenous peoples, which includes the major tribes of Ifugao, Gaddang, Isinay, Dumagat, Kalanguya, and Bugkalot. Every last week of May, these ethnolinguistic groups gather to celebrate the Ammungan festival (formerly Panagyaman festival), a week-long festivity culminating on May 24, the province' foundation day.

Nueva Vizcaya’s Ammungan (Gathering) Festival and Isabela’s Bambanti (Scarecrow) Festival both aims to promote culture, tradition and its agricultural products. Inter-province cooperation will result to a synergism which would eventually lead to a successful promotion of tourism in the valley.