Rice ‘kiping’ keeps ‘Pahiyas’ festival alive
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:32:00 05/15/2008
LUCBAN, Quezon – Though locally recognized as a pioneer in the manufacture of artificial kiping (colorful, leaf-shaped Maytime decorative item), Nat Deveza prefers using the traditional rice-based wafers as the centerpiece of the yearly “Pahiyas” festival in Lucban town at the foot of Mt. Banahaw in Quezon province.
“The rice kiping is an inherent part of the Pahiyas. I don’t want to change that tradition. Resorting to artificial kiping is a no-no. Mine is only an alternative,” Deveza, 41, manager of Lucban Kiping Manufacturing Co., said.
A retired employee of San Miguel Foods Inc., Deveza recalled that he first saw the synthetic kiping in early 2000 as a decoration in the municipal hall. “Back then, even the Church had kiping decor made of crepe papers,” he said.
He said the sight of artificial Pahiyas decoration gave him the idea to create plastic-made kiping for long use. The engineering graduate from De La Salle University immediately conducted research and tapped the help of Rene Balon, sales manager of Fompac, one of the biggest manufacturers of plastic-based items.
In 2002, Deveza introduced to his townmates the prototype of a kiping made from colorful plastic. But to his chagrin, his project was bombarded with criticisms. The local government even sent him a letter banning his work and discouraged residents from using it during the festival.
Even the local Church was opposed to synthetic kiping and accused him of trying to erase a tradition, he said.
The reactions were an eye-opener. “There is no replacement for the traditional kiping. It should always be a part of every Pahiyas festival,” Deveza said.
How is it made?
Kiping making begins with the selection of fresh mature leaves – usually from kabal, coffee or talisay trees – to serve as molds.
Rice is soaked for two hours before it is ground into a paste and mixed with food colors and a sprinkling of rock salt. The rice paste is spread on every leaf and steamed for 30 minutes.
The finished product is then dried and peeled off from the mold.
The Pahiyas festival, which is held every May 15 in honor of San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, is not complete without the explosion of colorful kiping as main decor in houses along the procession route.
When he opened his company in 2003 selling assorted homemade souvenir items, Deveza started producing traditional kiping with members of his household.
As the price of rice – the main ingredient of kiping – escalates, he was compelled to also increase the price of his product. Last year, when a kilo of regular-milled rice was only P22, the price of his decor was P5 apiece. But with the current rice price of P32, he upped his price to P6. “But it’s cheaper if one orders in big volume,” he said.
A two-story house usually requires a thousand pieces of kiping.
‘Arangya’
Despite his sad experience with the plastic kiping, Deveza still manufactures the product in arangya or chandeliers, mostly for exhibits here and abroad. The decors lent added color and beauty to Philippine exhibits in Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, Britain and Russia, he said.
Deveza was also able to come up with another variety of kiping made from abaca. A big arangya of abaca kiping measuring 3.25 feet costs P2,900, while the plastic one is P2,800. A piece of abaca kiping costs P14.50 and the plastic, P13.50.
Though he discourages the use of artificial kiping during the Pahiyas, Deveza revealed that some residents near the Church insist on using his synthetic decors. “They don’t have to order the real kiping every year. They only have to fold the arangya and keep it for another use,” he said.
With the prohibitive cost of kiping, most house owners along the route of the procession are now inclined to go back to the basic decors of the Pahiyas from farm produce, such as fruits and vegetables. An old farmer remembers that several decades ago, houses were usually adorned with the best of fresh harvests during San Isidro fiesta.
“But when local officials turned the festival into commercial activity to lure tourists, big businesses began to invade and exert influence on the manner of celebrating the occasion. Slowly, we began to lose the true spirit of the Pahiyas and that is, to thank San Isidro for our bountiful harvest,” Jose Veloso lamented.
In past festivals, the narrow streets of Lucban were often transformed into a virtual panorama of business commercials of different products and streamers.
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