TURUMBATURUMBA
Turumba festival is dedicated to the 7 sorrows of the Virgin Mary which is held
during summer and consider as the longest festival in the Philippines. There are
seven events within the time of this festival and usually celebrated by various
activities like the traditional "komedya" or "moro moro",
musical events like the performance of "musikos" (little orchestra)
such as Banda Uno and Banda Dos, variety shows and beauty contest. During the
main event, there is a procession of people with the virgin icon circumferencing
the town's shrine or around the streets of the main town. During this procession,
people are dancing in the jolly tune of Turumba song, everybody set themselves
in the mood of celebration.Pito
(7) ang Lupi o Pista ng Birhen ng Turumba sa Pag-aalaala sa Pitong Hapis o
Balaraw na tumimo sa Puso ni Maria:Una:
Nang ihain ni Maria ang kanyang Anak sa templo at dito'y nadinig niya kay propeta
Simeon na ang kanyang Anak ay magdaranas ng hirap para sa kaligtasan ng tao.Ika-2:
Nang ang mag-anak ay tumakas patungong Ehipto upang iligtas ang batang si Hesus
sa pagpatay nu Haring Herodes.Ika-3:
Nang mawala si Hesus nang tatlong araw at ito'y hinanap at natagpuan sa templo
sa gitna ng mga pantas.Ika-4: Nang masalubong ni Maria ang Mahal na Anak na duguang
nagpapasan ng mabigat na Krus.Ika-5:
Nang ipako at namatay si Hesus sa Krus sa Kalbaryo.Ika-6:
Nang ibaba mula sa Krus ang bangkay ni Hesus at ito'y kanyang kinalong.Ika-7:
Nang ilibing na si Hesus._____________________Date
changes in the festival of Turumba.Why is there a variation of dates in the events
of this festival?
The
actual date of this festival is related to the date of Holy Week. Thus the first
festival is held during the Fridays before the Palm Sunday
HISTORY
OF TURUMBA
According to some native ancestors of Pakil, the image of the
Blessed Mother of Turumba was brought along by a missionary by barge through Laguna
de Bay. The original image of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Sorrows was only framed
about 9 inches by 11 inches oil painting.
Suddenly,
a severe thunderstorm came by thus the image was fallen overboard. The image was
first seen by the fishermen on Friday floating on the water. The fishermen tried
to pick it up but the image went underneath the water. After several tries, they
finally caught the image through their fishnet. The fishermen noticed that the
image was of the Blessed Mother of Sorrows, so they decided to bring the image
to the nearest area church.
The
fishermen were wondering for they were experiencing too much energy paddling their
boat heading to that area church. A strong wind blew against them, too. They realized
that maybe She won't let them bring Her image to that locality. The fishermen
decided not to pursue there and instead head towards the next area church on the
other side of the bay. They experienced the same thing as in their previous attempt.
The next thing they knew was they were paddling heading towards Pakil seashore.
The fishermen were amazed because the wind blew towards that direction and they
had no difficulty paddling their boat. They figured out She wanted Her image to
be brought to Pakil church. It was almost sunset, so the fishermen decided to
just put the image on top of a huge wide stone off the seashore and they went
back to the sea. There was a heavy rain overnight.
The
following day, which is Sunday, it was not even dawn yet when a group of women
arrived at the scene and noticed the image of the Blessed Mother of Sorrows. The
women were astonished because the image was still dry after all that heavy rain
overnight. They were amazed further when they tried to carry the image because
it was too heavy, they can not even move the image. So, the women decided to go
to the church and let the Parish priest know about those strange things that had
happened.
That
was Sunday, the priest including the choir and musicians were preparing for the
morning services when the women arrived. As soon as they were informed, they gathered
altogether and rushed to the shore where the image was located. The priest went
beside the image, gave Her prayers and praises. As the priest touched the image
and started lifting it, the people around began singing, dancing and yelling..."Sa
Birhen!.. Sa Birhen!" It was a miracle that the priest lifted the image easily
all by himself. They return back to the church with the image while singing and
dancing, that was the first ever TURUMBA. It was another glorious coincidence
that the same day marked the celebration of the feast of our Lady of Sorrow throughout
Roman Catholic church around the world, September 15, 1788.
Since
the framed image of the Blessed Virgin Mother of Sorrows, that was found, was
too small to bring for the procession, an archbishop from Spain researched for
the real image of the Blessed Mother which was known to be as " Nuestra Senora
de las Antiguas". A replica was made from which is now being used since then
for the celebration and was named "Nuestra Senora de los Dolores de TURUMBA".
The
Turumba festivities, popularly known as "Pistang Lupi", become one of
the main tourist attraction in our town. The "Pistang Lupi" fiestas
for the Blessed Mother of Turumba consists of seven novenas corresponding to the
seven sorrows of the Blessed Mother. A Turumba procession follows right after
each novena. This religious celebration is known as the largest ang longest of
its kind in the country. During "Pistang Lupi" season, tens of thousand
devotees from nearby town and provinces (particularly from the province of Quezon)
join altogether to participate in the festivity.
"Turumba
Song"
