BAGUIO CITY – City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan administered a Cordilleran practice called “Pitik” during the kick-off ceremony of the unity gong relay in celebration of the 29th Cordillera Day last Saturday July 9 at City Hall.
Pitik which is the same as prayer is a practice observed by many Cordillerans as a sacred procedure when invoking the name of Kabunian, the supreme ruler and other deities who have control over all events.
Before a ritual is carried out especially when a ceremony requires the playing of the gongs bringing out a ceremonial jar or “Culi” and wine will be served, an elder preferably of good moral and reputation in the community is honored to intercede for the ancestors and ask for their approval for the peaceful conduct of an occasion. It is believed that by doing so, the ancestors who first practised the same will be pleased and that they will forge unity amongst the living mortals. Failure to offer wine in solidarity with them can turn the event into a failure by inflicting sickness or temporary insanity to anyone or worse, an accident may happen during an impending travel. This is to remind the people that they were remiss or have forgotten the procedure.
In this occasion, Mayor Domogan thanked God for blessing the Cordilleras with His bounty and asked for His continued support to this land, its people and culture.
“May He grant to His people the value of love and care so that they will become responsible stewards over His great resources so that we can pass them to the generations to come.”
He invoked God’s favorable approval of the move to establish a Cordillera Autonomous Region so that the Cordillerans will not be disenfranchised regardless of their ethnic affiliations.
The mayor likewise invoked God for His protection for the officials who will bring the unity gong to the provinces, that they may effectively convey the message of this year’s theme, “Working Together for an Autonomous and Empowered Cordillera” as sonorous as the sound of the gongs.
After the Pitik, officials of this city together with Mayor Salda of La Trinidad, Regional Directors Milagros Rimando of the National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera and Marlon Iringan of the Dept. of Interior and Local Government honored guests, took part in the toasting of wine amid the beat of the gongs and the Cordillera hymn sung with fervor by the City Hall Choir./June B. Bacbac
