‘Guling-guling,’ an Ilocos party before Lent

PAOAY residents don costumes made of “inabel” as they perform dances during the annual Guling-guling Festival, a gathering devoted to merrymaking prior to Lent. LEILANIE ADRIANO/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

PAOAY, Ilocos Norte—Ilocano folk wearing “abel”-inspired traditional dresses filled the streets here on Tuesday for a day of merrymaking as Christians prepared for the Lenten season.

Tourists and residents milled around to take snapshots of men, women and children who roamed or danced in front of the picturesque

St. Augustine Church for the celebration of the Guling-guling Festival a day before Ash Wednesday.

In Guling-guling, which started in the 16th century, people gather to cook and partake of “dudol” (native rice cakes), and drink “basi” (sugarcane wine) before they endure the Lenten fast.

The festival’s more fascinating aspects are the costumes, designed and produced using the “inabel” handwoven fabric, or Abel Iloco.

Inabel has always been associated with the Ilocanos since 1572 when the region was governed by Spain, according to records.

Known for its strength and durability, inabel used to be traded for gold, ceramics, jars, iron and beads from China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

The Spanish colonial government also endorsed inabel as an excellent material for the Spanish galleons’ sails. Inabel was widely used for the sails of boats and other sea-going vessels of the period.

Ian Ree Raquel, Ilocos Norte provincial tourism officer, said donning the costumes was meant to popularize once more the cotton-loom woven textiles produced in the province. Leilanie Adriano, Inquirer Northern Luzon