APUNG IRU FESTIVAL

Religious festivals revolving around a body of water are common events in

countries of Asia. Water, after all, is an all-important element that has come
to stand for life. In India, mass bathing is done in the holy waters of Ganges
River to cleanse people of their sins. In Thailand, every full moon on the
12th lunar month (usually mid-November), the Loi Krathong festival is held,
to honor Mae Khongka, the mother of waters. Under a moonlit night,
flowers, candles and incense are floated on rivers all over the country to
the accompaniment of prayers, songs and fireworks display.

In the Philippines, fluvial festivities are also observed with much folk revelry
especially in provinces with river towns like Bocaue (Bulacan) and
Peñafrancia (Bicol). But in terms of mass fervor , unabashed excitement
and elaborate preparation rituals, nothing beats the celebration of the fiesta
of Apalit, highlighted by a traditional river procession of its pintakasi, Saint
Peter or Apung Iru, on the waters of Pampanga River.

Held every last week-end of June (28-29 this year), the fluvial rites may
have begun as a primitive festival to honor the many gods of nature that
our ancestors worshipped. With the coming of our Spanish colonizers, the
rites could have merged with Christian elements, mutating into the
distinctive folk festival that we know today. In the midst of all these is the
one object of the townsfolk’s deep veneration--the age-old ivory image of
the titular patron, Apung Iru, originally owned since the early 1800s by
Apalit’s eminent family, the Arnedos.

The life-size image shows a seated Saint Peter, complete with papal
accouterments: a gold crown, cape, ring and staff. The santo is housed in
the Capalangan barrio chapel after a fire gutted the private shrine where it
used to reside. The religious pageant begins with a town procession of the
santo, carried by members of the Knights of Saint Peter. Then, the sacred
image is brought to the river bank of Sulipan where as much as five
thousand people and a flotilla of boats wait with eager frenzy for the saint’s
arrival. It is here where the libad or fluvial parade begins.
Anticipation mounts as Apung Iru is transferred from a wooden boat to a
processional pagoda decorated with multi-colored flowers. Swimmers fill
the river to assist in the smooth conveyance of Apung Iru. With the image
enthroned, the floating pagoda begins its 7-kilometer, 2-hour journey to
San Simon town. From the banks of the river, throngs would acknowledge
the passing Apung Iru by waving leafy branches and fronds or by making
the sign of the cross. With excitement reaching fever pitch, brave souls
would dunk themselves in the waters of the river, unmindful of the danger,
swimming alongside the flotilla as hundreds more throw food offerings to
water-drenched devotees.

It is interesting to note that in Christian Goa, India, a similar fluvial festival is

observed every 29 June to honor Saints Peter and Paul and to welcome
the monsoon. Fishermen from the large fishing families of Bardez taluka
would lash their boats together to form rafts on which religious
presentations were made. From the 17th to the 19th century, Goa was a
major center for ivory; could the fine ivory used in carving the image of
Apung Iru have originated from this former Portuguese colony?

Whatever, Apalit’s ancient way of paying homage to Apu Iru remains

unrivalled in color and spirit, and, flavored with the Kapampangan’s zest for
living and feasting, continues to be a unique, mind-boggling experience that
mixes deep religiosity with riotous revelry!