One of the two annual festivals in Pavia is the TIGKARALAG Festival. It has started in 1992 showcasing the eclectic costumes and masks to enliven the All Souls Day’s eve celebration. Tigkaralag came from the Ilonggo words “tig” which means season of and “kalag” which means souls hence “Tigkaralag” itself means All Souls Day. Generally it is laid on the morbid concept of coffins, crashing tombs, candelabras and mummies. The participants are dressed in whimsical spooking and tightly-designed costumes, with matching horrendous masks and war paints to render the look of the true mummies.
Participated in by the 18 barangays of the municipality of Pavia, Tigkaralag Festival’s participants parade themselves from Brgy. Aganan to the town’s plaza where a dance-drama competition with a storyline reflective of Tigkaralag is staged. New concepts, choreography and costumes are being introduced every year. Pavia’s town’s folks and the neighboring towns’ gather in the plaza in a festive mood to witness such a terrific and atrocious one of a kind fête held in the evening of the 30th of October every year. It is how Pavianhon (the people of Pavia) celebrate their own unique Halloween Party, not only them enjoying the event but many have already been lured to the spell of the dancing “kalag”. Undoubtedly it is one of the most sought after festivals in Iloilo. (photo source: http://paviaisback.com)
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