alikaraw tRibu

Hilongos South Central School, Hilongos National vocational School, ST. Teresa School of Hilongos, MLG college of learning

ALIKARAW TALENT CIRCLE

Capricorn

Alikaraw is not Only About Conversion to Christianity
May 31st, 2008 by melvin-upeduc
Alikaraw and the Universe



Alikaraw stands for movement, progress and fluidity. It applies to anything that interacts, cooperates or anything that acts and works together as one. Alikaraw festival believes that the universe and nature are intermingled various lives and it is worthy of the deepest religious reverence.
Understanding them, appreciating their beauty and magnificence, and preserving nature, is the central focus of the lives of the people behind Alikaraw. This
is the only festival that upholds true celebration of life as it provide a sense of positive belonging to nature, God the Creator and the universe.

Before the introduction of Christianity in the pagan Filipino communities, nearly everyone feels religious feelings when looking at nature or the wide sky. Most of them explain those feelings in terms of the religion they adapt. Thus, Alikaraw
choose to respect the universe with awe, reverence, love, festivity, feelings of belonging and recognition of tremendous power, exquisiteness and mystery. This becomes an aesthetic, social and emotional growth that unifies the community as they praise life and nature.

Most importantly, Alikaraw have faith to man, nature and its creator. As they respect nature and universe, they also respect His eminence; God, the creator of heaven and earth. The visions are right in front of their eyes, and the feelings are in their hearts. Through beats, music and yells, they recognize and humbly accept the universe
and nature as life itself.

Unlike other festivals and rituals, Alikaraw goes beyond conversion of pagans to Christians in offering a positive approach to the world and a reverent and religious attitude towards mankind. It affirms their unity with the Creator of the entire universe, and rejects the idea of human mastery over
nature or human pre-eminence in the cosmos. It takes their relationship to nature, to God and to the universe as the center of their faith, their ethics and their aesthetics.

“If we cannot love nature and its creator, then we cannot love ourselves
as we are.”