Turumba of Pakil

Last weekend, my friends invited me for a Laguna road trip, particularly focusing on the town of Pakil.

This is not the first time I've been here, kung tutuusin regular na ruta ko na to pag kailangan kong suminghot ng Baticuling sa Woodcarving Capital ng Pilipinas. Every time I go to Paete, its a must na dumaan ako sa St. Peter of Alcantara Parish also known as Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba but for no apparent reason, hindi ko pa masyadong nae-explore ang maliit na bayan na ito.

Pakil is a fifth class urban municipality.. and known to be the home of the Turumba Festival.

The Festival commemorates the Seven Sorrows of the the Blessed Virgin Mary and held 7 times each year between the months of April and May. It is also called Pistang Lupi because at the closing of each festivities the novena booklet is folded to mark the pause in preparation to the next lupi.

The Festival dates back to September 1788 when some fishermen discovered a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows on a 9"x11"oil painting in canvass in their fish net. Believed to be a religious image they decided to drop it off on a rock near Pakil Church so that they could continue their fishing duties.

One Sunday morning, a group of women found the painting and despite the bad weather condition during the night, the painting remained dry. When they tried to take the painting away, it was too heavy even for Mariangga which is the strongest of them. They quickly went to the parish priest, who in turn called the churchgoers and the church servers to get the image. Miraculously the priest was able to lift the image with ease and the people who witnessed it started to sing and dance in honor of Our Lady.



"Turumba is a Spanish word meaning crazed or insane, this is how then the Spanish friars viewed how the townspeople danced their dance in honor of the Virgin Mother." - Wikipedia

"The word turumba is from the Tagalog phrase "natumba sa laki ng tuwa" or tremble in great joy." - Wikipedia

The town celebrates the Pista ng Lupi on:
-1st Lupi or Biernes Dolores falls on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday.
-2nd Lupi or Pistang Martes falls on Tuesday following Easter Sunday
-3rd Lupi or Pistang Biyatiko falls on the 2nd Wednesday after Easter Sunday.
-4th Lupi or Pistang Biyernes falls on the 3rd Friday after Easter Sunday.
-5th Lupi or Pistang Linggo falls on the 4th Sunday after Easter Sunday.
-6th Lupi or Feast of the Ascension falls on the 5th Sunday after Easter.
-7th Lupi or Feast of the Holy Spirit falls on the Sunday of Pentecost.

The town also celebrate their town fiesta every 12th of May and on the Sunday nearest September 15 the Catholic Church celebrates the national feast of the discovery of the image.

After ng bawat celebration, karamihan ng mga deboto ay pumupunta at naliligo sa Turumba Pool na halos nasa likuran lang ng Simbahan. It is a community pool na running water na galing sa Bundok Pingas where the center of pilgrimage to the Virgin of Turumba started.

You can see the locals usually get water from it at yun ang ginagamit nila sa pang-araw araw.

If you spend an afternoon in this silent town, makikita mo na karamihan sa mga tao ay umiikot ang buhay sa kanilang relihiyon at kultura. Their lifestyle is slow paced yet most of them are hard working and very accommodating to both tourists and the curious mind.

For more information about the Festival, check this video!