MARINDUQUE STATE COLLEGE

School of Secondary Teacher Education

Bachelor of Secondary Education
Accredited Level III - AACCUP

Documentation of Gasang-Gasang Festival

in Gasan, Marinduque

Ann Jeanette S. Besmonte

BSEd III – MAPHE
MArinduque State College
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Our colorful and lively Philippine culture that makes us distinctly Filipino is the one
thing that makes us different from the rest of the world. The Customs and Traditions of the
Philippines are strongly influenced by its colonized past. There is an important presence of
Spanish influence in many aspect of the Philippine culture. Filipinos are religious in nature;
most of the present celebrated traditions are a mix of Christian and other local religious
rites. As an example, each year, towns from around the country hold chief festivities known
as Fiesta which celebrate the patron saints of each town, villages or regional districts. The
festival season is celebrated with church ceremonies, street parades in honor of the patron
saints, fireworks, and beauty and dance contests for generations of old and new. These
Fiestas are also observed in countries that had a Spanish occupational past.

Marinduque is the province of home to one of the oldest religious festivals of the
country: the unique and colorful Moriones Festival celebrated annually every holy week.
The Moriones Festival also plays a prominent role in Marinduque's culture. Marinduque is
famous for this annual festival locally known as "Moryonan". During the month of March or
April, parades and celebrations can be seen on the streets. In Santa Cruz, Gasan, Boac,
and Mogpog, a parade of people dressed as "Moryons" can be seen on the main road
connecting the towns of the island. Boac and Sta. Cruz, the biggest towns in the province,
shows a reenactment in the evening of the actual event when Longinus, a blind soldier,
punctures Jesus with his spear and blood droplets from the wound restores Longinus'
sight.

Gasan is one of the municipalities in the province. It is the second oldest

municipality. People called themselves “Gaseno”. Gasan is the home to some of
Marinduque’s tourist spots. There are two festivals celebrated in the town of Gasan during
holy week – the Moriones Festival and Gasang-Gasang Festival. The Moriones Festival is
celebrated with other municipalities during holy week. Gasang-Gasang Festival features a
live dance competition held in downtown Gasan. All barangays participate in this festival.
The Municipal Mayor, Mayor Victoria Lao Lim led the celebration of this event and Gasan
Culture and Arts Foundation (GASCUAF). Because of this, Gasang-Gasang Festival found
popular support and accepted both here and abroad. It finds good reasons for the tourist to
stay longer in the province.

Statement of the problem:

1. What is Gasang-Gasang Festival?

2. What is the goal and purpose of Gasang-Gasang Festival?
3. What is the impact of Gasang-Gasang Festival in Gasan?
4. What are the costume, music, dance steps of Gasang-Gasang Festival?

Significance of the study

1. It would help to preserve the tradition of Gasang-Gasang Festival.

2. It would help to promote tourism in the municipality of Gasan and the province of
Marinduque as a whole.
3. It could be used as a reference for the development of Gasang-Gasang Festival or
other similar study.

Scope and Delimitations

This study focused on the Gasang-Gasang Festival in Gasan, Marinduque. The

respondents in this study were the choreographers of Gasang-Gasang Festival of each
district of Gasan and the organizers of the festival. The output of this work may ensure
presentation of one of the customs and traditions of Gasan, Marinduque.
 CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Foreign Literature

In Ancient Greece and Rome, festivals such as Saturnaliawere closely associated

with social organization and political processes as well as religion. In modern times,
festivals may be attended by strangers such as tourists, who are attracted to some of the
more eccentric or historical ones.

The word "festival" was originally used as an adjective from the late fourteenth
century, deriving from Latin via Old French. In Middle English, a "festival dai" was a
religious holiday. Its first recorded used as a noun was in 1589 (as "Festifall").Feast first
came into usage as a noun circa 1200, and its first recorded use as a verb was circa
1300. The term "feast" is also used in common secular parlance as a synonym for any large
or elaborate meal. When used as in the meaning of a festival, most often refers to
a religious festival rather than a film or art festival. In the Philippines and many other
former Spanish colonies, the Spanish word fiesta is used to denote a communal religious
feast to honor a patron saint. (www.wikipedia.com)

Foreign Studies

1. Japanese festivals

These are traditional festive occasions. Some festivals have their roots
in Chinese festivals centuries ago, but have undergone great changes as they mixed
with local customs.

2. TUFS Regatta

The events consist mainly of “achievement races” by first-year male or

female students. Other events include races by men, women, or men and women,
chosen from volunteer students (second-year or higher). In the achievement races,
 freshmen compete in teams formed according to their major languages. On the day
of the race, a costume competition by elaborately dressed participants and a T-shirt
contest are also held. Students wearing distinctive T-shirts designed according to
their major languages loudly cheer for their teams. Students in each major language
serve as classes, making these plans possible―one of the features that distinguish
TUFS from other universities.

3. Gaigosai Festival
The Gaigosai Festival is the University’s largest annual event, held in the
second half of November each year. This is a campus festival with a long history,
with this year marking the 86th time it will be held. The actual festival takes place
for five days, but it lasts one week if preparation and cleanup are included. The
characteristics of TUFS are well brought out in Gaigosai. True to the nature of the
university, where students study languages, cultures, and societies in various
countries of the world, the festival is really international. During the event, one can
see students wearing folk costumes of various countries here and there on the
campus. Students participating as part of their extracurricular activities in ethnic
dance clubs, including the flamenco and other Spanish dances, tax their ingenuity in
making presentations―a feature found only in TUFS. The University’s campus
festival is also called the “language play festival.” After many days of rehearsal,
students, mainly sophomores or higher, perform plays using the language in which
they major. The 26 such majors mean 26 plays.

4. Music Festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes
presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians,
or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other
attractions such as food and merchandise vending, performance art, and social
activities. Many festivals are annual, or repeat at some other interval. Some,
including many rock festivals, are held only once. Some festivals are organized as
for-profit concerts and others are benefits for a specific cause. Another type of music
 festival is the educative type, organized annually in local communities, regionally or
nationally, for the benefit of amateur musicians of all ages and grades of
achievement.

Local Literature

The fiesta is part and bundle of Filipino culture. Through good times and bad times,
the fiesta must go on. Each city and barrio has at least one local festival of its own, usually
on the feast of its patron saint, so that there is always a fiesta going on somewhere in the
country. But the major and most elaborate festival of all is Christmas, a season celebrated
with all the display and show the fun-loving Filipino can handle.

A festival is a special occasion of feasting or celebration, usually with a religious

focus. Aside from religion, and sometimes folklore, another significant origin is agricultural.
Food (and consequently agriculture) is so vital that many festivals are associated
with harvest time. Religious commemoration and thanksgiving for good harvests are
blended in events that take place in autumn such as Halloween in the northern hemisphere
and Easter in the southern.

Local Studies

1. ATI-ATIHAN (January 16-22 - Kalibo, Aklan)

One of the most popular of the Philippine festivals, the Ati-atihan is a
celebration in honor of the Sto. Niño. Revelers don colorful costumes and paint their
bodies black and dance to the distinctive beat of "Hala bira!" around the town.

2. SINULOG (Every third weekend of January - Cebu City, Cebu)

The Feast of the Sto. Niño is celebrated in Cebu with a procession, street
dancing competition and a fluvial parade. Much like the Ati-atihan, the Sinulog
Festival is marked by frenzied revelry to the chant of "Pit Senor!"
3. DINAGYANG (Every fourth weekend of January - Iloilo City, Iloilo)
Spectacle characterized by a frenetic stomping of feet and hypnotic
drumbeating. It is a colorful whirl of thousands of people dressed in unique
costumes dancing and chanting all day and night.

4. PANAGBENGA (23 February-3 March, Baguio City)

Its flower season in the city of Pines - perfect timing for an all-out fiesta in
the streets. The Baguio folk take a break on these days to revel in the cool climate
and the unique culture of the city. Multi-hued costumes are worn, mimicking the
various blooms of the highland region (or any of its 11 ethnic tribes). These are
flowerbeds - disguised, of course, as the Panagbenga parade floats.

5. KAAMULAN (28 February-3 March, Malaybalay-Bukidnoon)

Expect the Bukidnon to go tribal from the first to the second week of March,
when the streets of Malaybalay take on that familiar fiesta theme. Banners,
banderitas, and beer will be norm, as well as the sweet, haunting sound of native
music. An early morning pamuhat ritual kicks off the festivities, to be followed by an
ethnic food fest, trade fairs, and a lot of native dancing.

6. PAHIYAS/ MAYON/ AGAWAN (11-15 May, Quezon)

Flowers come out in May, but these aren't the only things flaunted during
this merry month. Down south in the town of Lucban, Quezon, there's also the
kiping - a colorful, translucent rice tortilla that serves as an edible ornament of sorts.
You will see lots of these at the Pahiyas Festival, an annual celebration held to usher
in a bountiful harvest, and smashing good times. It's a free-for-all, grab-all-you-can
affair with suman-sweet, sticky native rice cakes-as the center of contention. It is
also the grand prize, so feel free to join the fray. Rest assured, whether you get
handfuls or just a mere mouthful, the Mayohan sa Tayabas will leave you wanting
for more - suman, of course! Sariaya's own version of the San Isidro festival
showcases the creativity and ingenuity of the townsfolk in their craft and culinary
tradition.
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The research used a descriptive type of research which documented the Gasang-
Gasang Festival in Gasan, Marinduque.

Research Locale

Marinduque is an island province of the Philippines located in Region IV-

B MIMAROPA region. Its capital is the Municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies
between Tayabas Bay to the north and Sibuyan Sea to the south. It is west of the Bondoc
Peninsulaof Quezon province; east of Mindoro Island; and north of the island province
of Romblon.

The origin of the name of Gasan came from the term Gasang or Gasang-Gasang, a
type of coral once abundant around the town's shoreline. Legend has it that when the
Spaniards discovered the town, they found an old woman near the banks of today's
Matandang Gasan River. When asked in Spanish what was the name of the town, she
interpreted it as if they were asking about what was the name of the corals growing around
the area, with the Spaniards interpreting her answer as the name of the town. Over time,
the term Gasang-Gasang was shortened to Gasang before being shortened further to Gasan.

Research Instruments

Documentary analysis is the main instrument that will use in this study. Primary
sources like municipal ordinance will be gathering and use guided interview to get more
variable information that will help complete the study. I will interview people who were
directly involved in the festival.
Data Gathering Procedure

Before conducting the study, the researcher will go to the office of the municipal
Mayor of Gasan, Marinduque to seek permission to conduct the study about Gasang-Gasang
Festival. The researcher will collect the data from the municipal office, scheduled personal
interview within the concerns persons. After which the data and information will be
analyzed. Writing of the narrative will follow.

Time Table

Weeks Accomplishment
First and second week of April Chapter I
Third and fourth week of April Chapter II

First and Second week of May Chapter III; Data gathering Distribution

Third and fourth week of May Collecting/ Retrieval of Questionnaire

Four Weeks of June and July Chapter IV; Interpretation of data

Chapter V; Summary, Conclusion and
First and Second week of August
Recommendation of Data
Third Week of September Defense
Last Week of September Book Binding

Budget

Expenses Cost
Foods / Defense P 500
Printing/ Photocopy P 500
Binding of Thesis P 600
Thesis Adviser P 500
Panelists P 900
Critique/ Editor P 1 500
Fare P 100
Total P 4 600
Bibliography

http:Wikipedia. Org//Marinduque

www.wikipedia.com

http://tourism-philippines.com/festival-marinduque//moriones

http://tourism-philippines.com/festival-kalibo-ati-atihan

http://tourism-philippines.com/festival-kangga/

Unpublished work:

Famela Laceda Orilla Documentation of Bila-Bila Festival in Boac, Marinduque, 2013