Binatbatan Festival traces its roots from the Abel weaving industry of Vigan which has been in existence even before the Spaniards came to colonize the Philippines. It is celebrated from the last week of April to the first week of May was originally the Feast of the Natives that began on May 3, 1883, according to the writings of Damaso King, a well-known Vigan historian. 


  In honor of Apo Lakay of the Simbaan a Bassit as an act of thanksgiving for having saved Vigan from a deadly epidemic in 1756. It evolved from this and majestically transformed today as the most colorful and significant festival to Bigueños as it focuses on the remembrance of Apo Lakay’s deliverance as well as promoting the local fabric, Abel Iloco. Along with the street pageantry of the Binatbatan Street Dancing, it also emphasizes Agriculture with its Karbo festival, Calesa Parade, and the Santacruzan.

Abel Iloko, a woven fabric endemic in the Ilocos Region, Binatbatan Festival is not merely just a festival. It depicts the rich culture and old industries of Vigan. It comes from the word batbat, a pair of bamboo stick used to separate cotton pods that come from a tall tree called kapas sanglay. The word "kapas" from kapas sanglay means "cotton" in Ilocano. 

The hot weather doesn’t stop the street dancers and continued their performance with a smile of pride with their rich culture and heritage. Streets were closed, and people flocked to certain locations, drums are beating loud and clear. From Vigan's bustling Quezon Avenue, until the busy Liberation Boulevard to Calle Crisologo.


The Colorful costumes are being worn by the street dancers as they proudly proclaim "Viva Vigan!" Binatbatan festival has emerged to be one of the largest cultural gatherings up north the Philippine archipelago. Street dancers of the Binatbatan Festival joyfully and cheerfully wave their "batbat," some simulate the method done by Abel-weavers in separating the cotton as they gracefully perform the process artistically with the beat of the drums and lyres rolling around the historic streets of the heritage city of Vigan.

Binatbatan Street Dancers also carry with them a basket at their back where they place the cotton pods taken from the kapas sanglay tree. Kapas sanglay tree bears fruits that dries up at the branches of the tree itself and then just fall off after the fruit splits by itself exposing the seed-filled cotton inside.The products of the "Binatbatan" process in Abel-weaving is now seen at the clothes of the participants of the street dancing they are wearing the abel Iloko fabric.



The Viva Vigan! Binatbatan Festival of the Arts is a cultural showcase of the city that was first organized in 1993 to coincide with the Tres de Mayo festivities. The centuries-old structures along Crisologo Street were all decorated with abel iloko cloth or inabel to mark the celebrations. The binatbatan street dancing started in 2002, with dancing mimicking the traditional Ilocano way of beating the cotton pods with two bamboo sticks, the first process in making inabel.

 

Sources and References: 
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Ilocano Culture: Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts — Tawid News Magazine
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Binatbatan Festival of the Arts 2019 – Vigan City
Ilocos Sur: Viva Vigan! Binatbatan Festival, Tres de Mayo and more Vigan festivities | Ivan About Town
[Vigan] â–º Binatbatan Festival: A Festival of Cottons and Fabric - EDMARATION