SANGYAW FESTIVAL

History Of Sangyaw: A Taclobanon’s Heritage

Sangyaw is a popular native festival held every 29^th of June in Tacloban city.

Sangyaw, which means “to announce or herald a news” in the local dialect,

has assumed a popular following after its creation by then former First Lady

 Imelda Marcos in 1976. The current festivities became an annual event until

 1986 when the late Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency and abolished

 Sangyaw. It was only in 2008 when Mayor Alfred Romualdez, a nephew of

 the former first lady, finally revived the Sangyaw festival and was readily

 accepted with by the reinvigorated Taclobanon community in the city and

other parts of the region.

Sangyaw is religious in origin and traces its roots to a purely

Taclobanon Christian beginning. Sangyaw Festival showcases

 the rich cultural and religious heritage of the natives of Tacloban

and the province it belongs to. Warriors painted in colorful costumes,

 women performing elaborate rituals and the incorporation of

 Christianity are just some of the events featured in the event.

The main attraction, however, is the devotion to the Sto. Niño,

 patron of Tacloban City.

The Sto. Nino church in Tacloban has thousands of devotees all throughout

the year. It is said that an intercession prayer to the Sto. Nino reaps miracles.

Many such wonder miracles have been attributed to the Sto. Nino by the

 locals such as healing, good health, wealth, family, and guidance.

Today, the Sangyaw Festival is a cocelebration of that popular belief by

adjoining with other localities from all over the Philippines to showcase

their rich cultural heritage thru dances and religious pageantry.