Ginum: A Time for Drinking
The Philippines boasts a large treasure trove of feasts, and even when the West colonized our country for several centuries, our love for celebrating was never erased from our culture and history. However, some indigenous feasts are not well remembered, and for now it's time to remember one such feast, the Ginum.
The word is Bagobo for "A time of drinking." Even in Tagalog, the word for drinking is inom. Ginum is celebrated for four days, but must be when the moon is at its brightest. There's no exact time of the year that the Ginum must be performed, so it is up to the chief to tell his community when. During the Ginum, the Bagobo chant or dance stories about warrior heroes and origin myths. One such hero is Tuwaang, of which many other stories came out of. As with any epic heroes, Tuwaang can do superhuman things, like talk to the wind and cannot be wrestled down.
Ginum is also a time for elders to speak of their bravery. Young Bagobos cut two bamboo poles from the forest and tie vines around them, and then bring them to where the community is gathered. But they don't bring them just like that: they chant and dance, as the offering of the bamboo poles to the elders is considered a ritual in the feast. The elders then hold on to the bamboos as they tell their stories.
For young men, the Ginum is a time for cleansing of the spirit. This can be somewhat equated to the Sacrament of Baptism in Christianity. When the sun rises, a priestess brings them to a river where a small altar is erected. She carries with her a palm that is just beginning to bud; this budding palm means innocence. The priests dances while the eldest of the group prays. Five young men join the altar along with the priestess. She dips the palm leaf into the river and with the water dripping from the leaves, she bathes them nine times while the boys face the altar. They then turn to where the sun rises, and again, they are again bathed nine times. All the young men do this, in groups of fives; they use water flowing from their head to wash parts of their bodies, including the face and arms.
With any feast, offerings are given to spirits. Pamulak Manobo is the 'chief god' of all the deities the Bagobos believe in. Pamulak Manobo gives life, good harvests, and good seasons. The Bagobos offer food and drink to him and the other gods, and sometimes other materials like jewelry and fine herbs.
Finally, at the end of Ginum, elders speak of bravery while the young ones, who have just been cleansed, listen. They have been given new-found courage and strength as they grow older and wiser.
There are so much more overlooked celebrations, celebrations that may have some similarities with either our Moslem or Christian traditions. It must be true, then, that in every corner of the Philippines, a community is celebrating something.
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NOTES
Information of the Ginum ritual comes from Pagdiriwang 2: Stories of Filipino Rites and Rituals by Monina A. Mercado.