Lucban stages Pahiyas festival
It’s kiping time in the merry Quezon town of
Kiping are brittle rice wafers used to adorn houses in the town in celebration of the internationally known Lucban Pahiyas Festival honoring San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers.
Pahiyas is a Filipino term coined after payas (grand or spectacular) and hiyas (gem). Kiping is derived from the word kipi or kinipi, which means to remove extra water from the dough of soaked and ground rice.
Historical records show that although the practice of making kiping started in Lucban in the 16th century, it was in the early 18th century that a native in Lucban, Juan Suarez, learned the basics of making the Mexican tacos or taquitos and started preparing tacos by using rice dough in banana leaves.
“The leaf forms of kiping that we know today are credited to the Japanese, who taught the Lucbanians to use the leaves of a kabal tree, which grows abundantly in remote areas of Lucban, as patterns,” Dr. Palermo Salvacion of Lucban had been quoted by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) as saying.
Kiping-making is lucrative, said another PhilRice interviewee, Lamberto Tiope of Lucban, a maker of the popular rice wafers. A grant (2.5 kilos) of rice can make 150 pieces of kiping.
“Usually,” Tiope said, “people buy one aranya (three-layered kiping ‘chandelier’) with 900 kiping.”
During the Pahiyas Festival. Lucban turns into a merry community in view of the many activities, including contest, on many things concerning rice, PhilRice manager Mario Movillon told this writer. Movillon had served as judge in many Pahiyas contests in Lucban in the past.
Outside of Lucban, the tradition is also celebrated.
During the month of May, for instance, the Philippine International Convention Center, big department stores, hotels and other entities in Metro Manila adorn their establishments with kiping.
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