Sinanggiyaw Festival
Sinanggiyaw Festival is a fun celebration being held every 4th of October in Dumanjug, Cebu, Philippines.
The festival basically features a festive mood showcasing the fertility of its land and abundance of the town’s farm products.
Certainly, since the area is becoming more of an urban than rural, the aim is to promote the place for more visitors to come, see and tell the world about what it can offer and other resources they have for travelers to avail of.
The word ‘sinanggiyaw’ comes from the two Cebuano words: sinanggi (the harvested crops or the way/method of harvesting the crops) and ‘-yaw’ the last syllable for ‘sayaw’ for ‘to dance’.
In short the two terms can be translated as “to dance like the harvesting way”. The street dancing competition can literally show you the harvest method through their dance steps and choreography.
Not only the harvesting methods, but the steps and choreography basically follow the three seasons or in farming: planting, harvesting and thanksgiving.
For this last aspect, the original settlers celebrate thanksgiving to nature and creator for the abundance of nature. With the coming of Christianity, this thanksgiving celebration or ritual is being transformed into the religious aspects of Christian celebration.
Just like in most ‘fiestas’ around the country, this festival is celebrated to coincide with the town’s patron saint’s religious feast day – St Francis of Assisi.
Over a hundred years
This festival is believed to have been celebrated without fail annually since in 1855. It means that it is one of the oldest celebrations in the province and one that is being modeled by other towns in the province.
