Giwang-giwang

As our yearly “panata”,  my family and I give-out free ice cold filtered water to the devotees who join the Good Friday procession in the town of Binangonan, Rizal.

Last year we gave out about 700 cups of water and  300+  pieces of kababayan tinapay.

Last night,  we gave out some 900 cups of water,  300+ spanish and kababayad breads.

We also gave- away  492 pieces of white bimpo to those men who helped carry the Santo Sepulcro,  locally  referred to  as Giwang–giwang.    But after the men saw the bimpo,  they did not want the water and tinapay anymore.  In their frenzy to get bimpo,  they knocked-off  dozens of cups of iced water.

It is a common belief in our town that if you rub a white cloth on the image of the Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday,  this cloth could be your protection against sickness, accidents, bad luck, evil spirits, etc.   It is like your agimat or anting-anting.

So following that belief and age old tradition,  and to help the men wipe-off their pawis while carrying the Giwang-giwang,  we gave away the white bimpo.  But it became chaotic because there were thousands of men,  and we only had 500.

My husband kept on blaming me for only ordering 500 and not a thousand.  “Nagtipid ka pa kasi” he said.    I felt so guilty for not following his suggestion.

So next year we will up the ante and give out a lot more.   We will also triple the number of cups of water and bread.   We’ll see how things go.

(lots of photos to follow)