Carabao, horse fights lure tourists

CARIGARA, LEYTE  a - Another action-packed Turugpo Festival was held in Barangay Camansi in Carigara town in Leyte province last Black Saturday to the thrill and delight of residents and local and foreign tourists.

The annual festival of animal jousts, also known as Turugpo Ha Camansi, featured carabao (water buffalos) fights (locally termed as pasungay) and horse fights (paaway).

Thousands of spectators, including local and foreign tourists, watched in awe as the carabaos locked horns, trying to push each other until one of them gave up and fled from the pursuing winner.

Unlike the original turugpo in the past, the paaway has been included in the festival over the recent years, and this involved two stallions, or male horses, kicking or biting each other to submission in front of a mare, or female horse, displayed purposely to trigger the fight.

Some in the crowd were reportedly hurt with minor injuries, a usual occurrence in the event when they breached the security line to get a closer view of the fighting animals.

The finale attraction was a different kind of cockfighting, locally known as carambola, where tourists and residents placed their bets on any of the 10 cocks let loose to fight simultaneously in a makeshift arena. While the losing owners tended to their wounded animals, the winning cock is the one left standing.

The Turugpo Festival is held every Black Saturday and has become one of Carigara’s tourism attractions that even the Department of Tourism had taken into its list.

According to the article “Carigara: 600 Years of History in a Town in Leyte,” the turugpo or the contest of strength between carabaos comes from the root word tugpo, which means matchmaking in the Leyte-Samarnon or Waray dialect.

“Matchmaking is commonly associated with promoting a relationship between lovers, but it could also mean matching opponents, which is what Kalgaranons (or Carigaran-ons) do during Black Saturday: Promoting a fight not between men but between carabaos.

“Originally held on Good Friday, turugpo had its origin in the Spanish era, some 200 years ago. It was Kalgaranons’ defiant answer to the Friars’ orders that Good Friday be observed in piety, solemnity and, if possible, in absolute silence,” said the article.

It added that, “in 1983, the late Bishop Cipriano Urgel of Palo requested that turugpo be staged on a day other than Good Friday in order not to distract the parishioners in their pious observation of Christ’s suffering and death on the cross.

“The organizers readily acceded to this request, considering that turugpo’s original intention—to defy the Spanish friars—was no longer present. Since then, turugpo has been held regularly on Black Saturday,” the article added.