When Pigs Get Wings
Well, no wings in this report. But we do have tutus, IV drips and hogs on bikes.
BALAYAN, Philippines (AFP) - A pig in a tutu, a porker on a bike, a hog on a drip — it was no ordinary parade that snaked its way through this Philippine town Sunday.
Participants in your average hometown parade aren't usually dead, let alone roasted, nor are they generally carved up and eaten afterwards.
But in Balayan, south of Manila, a centuries-old religious festival is all that's needed to kill, clothe, parade and consume the neighbourhood pigs.
Hundreds of succulent, roasted pigs decked out in colourful costumes were paraded in the festival celebrating the sainthood of John the Baptist.
The pigs, known as "lechon" in the local language, were placed on motorized floats as residents soaked each other in water to recall the baptism of Jesus Christ.
The eccentric event serves as a religious and purifying rite in the mostly Roman Catholic town of Balayan and draws thousands of tourists each year.
Nobody really knows when the tradition began, although it likely pre-dates the arrival of the first Spanish missionaries who introduced Christianity here in the 15th century.
The succulent, reddish-brown lechon is a centerpiece of Philippine culture, much like Thanksgiving turkey in the United States. No party or family reunion is complete without one.
But at this festival, the cooked pigs are paraded around the town as thick crowds line the streets and snatch off bite-sized pieces.
Among the more colourful displays was a pig atop on a motorcycle with a ski mask on its glistening, oily head and sunglasses above its snout.
We will not be showing this post to our kids. We've spent years telling them not to play with their food. We'd hate to undo all that.
Animals, World news | Gaius Sunday, 24 June , 2007
By M. Murcek, Monday, 25 June , 2007 @ 7:33 am
What? The festival hasn’t been cancelled because it might offend some muslim somewhere? The mind boggles…