Taong Putik Festival, Nueva Ecija | Mud, Miracles and Devotion

July 13, 2022 Rex Lim Lim 2022, CHURCH, GUIDE, HOW TO, ITINERARY, TRAVEL GUIDE

Reading Time: 5 minutes

In the outskirts of the town of Aliaga, a peculiar yet creepy pagan festival is held annually and is called the Taong Putik Festival.

Join us in this adventure as we witness this solemn feast day on this side of Nueva Ecija province.

Sukob

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As I chained my bicycle inside the elementary school at around 05:30 in the morning, the once quiet town was now filled with hooded figures flocking the church grounds because of the annual Taong Putik Festival.

Young and old locals gather at the rice fields on the dawn of June 24 to spread mud all over their faces and bodies. To top it off, a cloak made of dried banana leaves, vines, and twigs is worn by everyone as they walk barefoot around the streets of Bibiclat.

While wearing their cloaks, they ask for alms around to buy candles, which they will light at the church while hearing the holy mass. The excess alms, in turn, are donated by the locals voluntarily to the church.

In the movie Sukob, one can vividly recall the scary figures that roam the church grounds. They were seen wandering around and looking at the body of Kris Aquino after jumping from the belfry.

Pagsa-San Juan

This ritual is held annually during the feast of St. John the Baptist. While the majority of the country goes splashy with water as if it was the Songkran, Brgy. Bibiclat emulates the saint by transforming themselves into Taong Putik (mud people).

Further, St. John the Baptist according to the bible, is said to be wearing mud and vines on his body when he prepared the way for Christ during the baptism in the river.

This devotion and homage to St. John have now turned into the Taong Putik Festival or Pagsa- San Juan.

In addition, this practice also has its roots during the Japanese Occupation of 1944. According to the accounts of the older residents, their relatives were led to the firing squad to be executed but heavy rain followed suit, this led the Japanese forces to abandon the place and not carry on with the execution.

How to Get There

The Taong Putik Festival or Pagsa-San Juan is an annual tradition celebrated in Brgy. Bibiclat in Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
From Manila, take any buses bound for Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. Then from the bus terminal, transfer into jeepneys bound for Aliaga

Be there as early as you can, people start to apply mud and walk towards the church by 04:30 in the morning
There is a novena until 06:00 in the morning, before the actual mass