They came knocking at the door, telling the homeowners in a song that they are spirits from the hereafter, pleading for help, for some kind of relief. The song sung by the cantores is called “Taotaoag.” It is a dramatization of the poor souls in purgatory’s need for intercessory prayer.

Members of the Municipal Council for Culture and the Arts, together with Rotary Club of Bayambang and the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs, knocked on the doors of six prominent Bayambangueños in the late afternoon of October 31 to sing the “Taotaoag,” which is a traditional chant in the Pangasinense language. Sung in freestyle and monotone, it opens with an appeal to Christians and ends in a lively counterpoint:

“Ay denglen yo pa Cristiano/So pantaotaoag mid sicayo”

…

“Say irap mi pay talineng yo/A lilicnaen mid purgatoryo.”

The houses of Dr. Henry and Julie Fernandez, ex-Vice-Mayor Jose ‘Boy’ Ramos and wife Judith, Vice-Mayor Raul Sabangan, Municipal Engineer Eddie Melicorio, Mayor Cezar T. Quiambao and Ms. Niña Jose, and Mr. Danilo Gozum were visited one after another by the MCCA led by its Executive Director, retired Professor Januario Cuchapin, and wife Prof. Erlinda, Dr. Clarita Jimenez, Dr. Annie Manalang, Prof. Salome Malicdem Montemayor, and Mr. Rafael Saygo; Municipal Administrator Atty. Rajini Sagarino; Municipal Librarian Leonardo Allado; Rotarians including President Leticia Ursua, Secretary Gloria Valenzuela, Lita Bautista, and Asteria Perez-Wilhelm; and OSCA Chair Iluminada Mabanglo; among others. Telbang Kagawad Oscar Ora served as the guitarist.

Part of the tradition in the singing of “Taotaoag” is the old-time practice of panagkamarerwa, which is said to be an indigenous version of Halloween trick o’ treat. The house being visited either had to offer treats in the form of native delicacies or be subjected to panagkamarerwa (the trick part), which is somewhat a legalized form of stealing anything around the house that could be spirited away in the gathering darkness.

Some of those who were visited were prepared, while some were caught by surprise. Mrs. Julie Fernandez invited the ‘intruders’ to a spread of puto Calasiao, latik deremen, pancit sotanghon, and fresh lumpiang ubod. By the time the “Taotaoag” cantores reached the second house (the Ramoses’ mansion nearby), which prepared an equally lavish set of afternoon snacks, the cantores were too full for more. Thankfully, the next households offered treats in other forms (drinks, juice, cupcakes, cash). Apparently, no one of the homeowners wanted to get tricked.

To all the participants, the experience was an unforgettable revival of an almost forgotten cultural tradition. It is hoped that, as Prof. Cuchapin put it, the event would become a yearly tradition once more from hereon in. (Bayambang PIO/Media Affairs)