Simply Amazing Kariton Festival of Licab Nueva Ecija
If you want to experience simple yet extraordinary celebrations, the Philippines is a perfect gateway for you. The country offers not only the most beautiful and extravagant festivals and happenings for its tourists but as well as low-key bizarre celebrations.
Like Licab, Nueva Ecija province’ Kariton Festival you can never be surprised they do and that on how they celebrate it.
Kariton is a local term for cart. This simple machine is usually used by farmers in carrying their harvest goods in selling and deliveries. It is one of the oldest ways of transportation in the local provinces in the country. In Licab Nueva Ecija, the Kariton is tied up and drawn by a Carabao is celebrated. This plays a vital role in the history of the province when Don Dalmacio was said to be carrying the Kariton living the town of Ilocos Norte to Nueva Ecija until he settled in Licab.
As Dalmacio was considered the founding father of Licab in Nueva Ecija, Kariton Festival was formulated to commemorate this event and the importance of the Kariton in Dalmacio’s conquest and discovery of Licab. Until today the significance of Kariton in the lives of the farmers of Licab is greatly evident because of the farmers continued patronage of the Kariton in the midst of today’s generation’s modernization. A Kariton is cheaper as it may seemed applicable to the budget of the local farmers compared to high technological machines available in the market that will surely fastens their workloads.
Kariton festival is celebrated together with the towns founding anniversary and in honor of its patron saint San Isidro Labrador on March 28. The festival is composed of a parade, trade fairs, sport games and many others. The festival highlights the parade of the different colorful Kariton. There are more less seventy Kariton’s who participates in the Kariton Festival parade each year. Each of them decorated in colorful and organic decorations commemorating simple, traditional and local lives of farmers in the town of Licab. Some looks like nipa houses, floats of different flowers and harvest goods. There are Kariton’s also that were simply paraded in its usual forms. This is to show the real essence and faces of the local Kariton and how does it becomes vital in Licab farming. The parade showcases the local life in the northwestern farming town of the region.
The Kariton was firstly made out of bamboo trunks but now has evolved into hard wood chunks with surplus wheels. During the event the carabao or cow that drags the Kariton are also adorned, dressed and wear hats.
Kariton Festival is another lively celebration of the simple yet colorful lives of the local Filipinos. Giving thanks and honors to their founding father and their Patron saint aware everyone how Filipinos never forgets to look back to their roots. Cheers to a better harvest and more Kariton’s to share. Simply amazing!